Polaris is a regular exhibitor at Australian defence expo events and a regular supplier to the Australian Defence Force (ADF) but it can’t say how many of its products it supplies or just who to.
However, it is well understood that Australian special forces employ the US-made Polaris offroad vehicles, though exact numbers aren’t known.
Michael Cannell, Polaris manager of commercial, government and defence sales and operations for the Asia Pacific region, said at last Land Forces, the contract to supply the ADF with Polaris Dagor AI vehicles was announced.
“Deliveries are going really well and we are almost at the end of that project now. Not confirming where they are going,” he told ADM.
“Where they are going and how many vehicles, I can’t talk about.”
Dagor A1 is a lightweight versatile tactical vehicle, transportable inside an aircraft or on a sling beneath a helicopter.
Australia’s ADF customers are really happy with the vehicle, he said. It’s well suited to the ADF emphasis on littoral warfare.
“They are used globally by a lot of Five-Eyes nations,” he said.
Could a civilian buy one of these, maybe for farm use or just to possess something unusual? Well maybe.
Cannell says there were some restrictions, not so much to do with US ITAR, which controls transfers of advanced US military technology. It’s more to do with emissions.
“We also have a requirement to make sure we vet every company, every relationship we have for a defence product,” he said.
“Polaris has a massive range of commercial vehicles. I look after government and defence. Government to me could be the local council that wants a vehicle to drive around the parks, surf lifesaving or SES for search and rescue vehicles, police forces.
“There are a number of different applications. We have a really extensive dealer network that does agricultural vehicles and race vehicles.”