Six of Ten Vehicles Delivered, Balance by Year End

At DVD 2022 in Millbrook this week, Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land (RBSL) has provided updated details on progress of the update taking place for the British Army’s Fuchs/Fox CBRN reconnaissance vehicles.

Ten vehicles were gifted to the UK by Germany thirty years ago, during the first Gulf War, and in 2020 RBSL received a £16 million ($18 million) to upgrade and sustain the fleet and the associated simulator, replacing the CBRN missions equipment, addressing obsolescence issues and providing in-service support.

To date, six vehicles have been converted and delivered to Falcon Squadron, Royal Engineers. The remaining four are on track for conversion by year end. The usual – significant – challenges associated with technology insertion into legacy platforms have been overcome by a close working relationship between the company, the user and the MoD, which have “worked together in a collaborative and pragmatic manner to overcome the issues,” according to RBSL Programme Manager, Kevin Davis. “There are inevitable difficulties that come with this type of programme, and there have been some tough discussions, but all parties have worked to ensure we achieve the common goal […] At RBSL, we have been able to engage directly with the end user, working routinely with Falcon Squadron to keep the programme moving. It’s a really great example of how RBSL can work effectively with the end user to solve problems and provide the support required.  Falcon Squadron have been really good, engaged and ensured that they have played their part fully […] We’re in a much better place now than when we first took on the contract and, whilst the programme remains challenging, and will do until we have converted all 10 vehicles, we’re on track to complete the conversion of all 10 vehicles by the end of 2022.”

RBSL has also implemented a new support contract, which includes technical support, provision of spares and repairs, maintenance, training, and design services. The team is also providing engineering authority to support its management of platform safety.

The programme is in line with the British government’s agenda to provide opportunity to SMEs, and to level up regional economies, as a result of which Supacat has a subcontract to physically integrate the chemical and radiological sensing equipment – and to provide technical and logistic support. “This contract protects key engineering skills in the UK and offers the opportunity to not only work collaboratively with Rheinmetall – our majority shareholder and Fuchs Design Authority – but also a range of UK SMEs,” Davis commented.