Preserving capacity, General Tom Lawson, Chief of the Defence Staff, Keys to Canadian SAR
Issue link: http://vanguardcanada.uberflip.com/i/476674
M MSVS Photo: RMMV 28 FEBRUARY/MARCH 2015 www.vanguardcanada.com been able to achieve with this chassis in terms of agility and how it compares to other trucks. The ATX8 will be powered by Navistar's MaxxForce D 12.4 engine and an Allison 4500SP transmission. Rheinmetall: The growing choice of allies Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles (RMMV) Canada's offer is based on the HX77, which has been in development for 14 years. While the truck is a converted commercial vehicle, the company worked extensively for several years with the Brit- ish Army before the first vehicles entered service in 2007, to take the fundamental design of the TGA Series – the commer- cial pattern vehicle – and militarize it to meet the U.K. MoD requirements. "Not so much in terms of mobility or load carry- ing capability but more about EMC (elec- tromagnetic compatibility), transportabil- ity by rail, sea and air," says John Reade, director of operations at RMMV Canada. As a result, over 1,000 vehicles have been delivered to the British Army, most of which have been deployed to Afghani- stan for logistics to provide supplies to forward operating bases. And the feed- back from the field has been unequivocal: "They don't break." The engine of the HX77 can run for 250,000 km before it has a failure and the Canadian army is only going to run it 2,000 or 3,000 km a year in its 30-year life, Reade notes, so the need to replace parts and fix failures is remote. Since first delivery to the U.K., the HX77 has won several key competitions globally, says Reade. "Several allies to Canada have determined that it was the best truck, including Germany, Norway, Sweden, Singapore, Australia and just re- cently New Zealand." Australia is ordering 2,500 protected and non-protected vehicles for a contract worth C$1.5 billion, but these recent successes represent a mere fraction of the more than 60,000 HX systems now oper- ated by over 50 nations worldwide. RMVV is also emphasizing ar- moured protection systems and is ready to deliver fully armoured integrated, interchangeable cabins in accordance with STANAG 4569 (protection against ballis- tic threats and mines). Reade said the vehicles would be built at the RMMV plant in Vienna, Austria, because DND's specifications perfectly match the vehicle manufactured there and because "it would take five or six years af- ter signing the contract to build the neces- sary infrastructure here in Canada." He pointed to current Canadian capac- ity, the expected timelines, and the rela- tively small number of vehicles as strong reasons why any manufacturer would be reluctant to build the entire truck in Canada. However, production of modules and C4I integration will be performed by RMMV Canada in Saint-Jean-sur-Riche- lieu, Quebec. "The combination of passing all of the tests required, together with the firm con- viction that the company knows how well the truck is doing in a warzone, leads me to believe we are offering a very substan- tial, capable truck," Reade concluded. The MSVS has often been referred to by the army as "the backbone of ground transport for the Regular and Reserve Forces." If so, it's long overdue.