Looks like Defence dropped the original vendor (thanks Bonza for the clarification, I wrote the original in haste) $300M upgrade to make ASLAVs (wheeled AFV) more resistant to roadside bombs.
See from today's Australian Financial Review (AFR) below.
Reasons given were that the Canadian vendor oversold the upgrade process. Defence will now look at a fix inspired by the USMC.
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9 comments:
The upgrade wasn't cancelled, only a particular vendor solution, which promised more than it delivered. The upgrade to the fleet of ASLAV fleet continued as a priority project.
ASLAV's in theatre received an upgrade package adopted by the USMC for their LAV-25's instead, as an interim solution whilst the situation with regard to upgrading the remainder of the fleet is considered and other solutions assessed.
Interesting to note we still haven't suffered a fatality for one of our soldiers carried in one of our armoured vehicles in over 9 years of operational service in Afghanistan. Hopefully it stays that way!
Cheers
Bonza
No dramas Eric, cheers!
PS, good to see the AFR actually reading and quoting the transcripts from the Parliamentary Hansard.
Usually they garble it so badly, they completely misconstrue what it is they are actually writing about.
PS, apols for the poorly written first post. Still getting the hang of my iPad 2 birthday present... An edit function wouldn't go amiss!
:D
iPad 2 is pretty good.
Not a bad present at all. I was expecting gift vouchers or some such...
ELP/Bonza: iPad 2's abound.
Set up one yesterday, in cahoots with Apple Mini with really neat BT keyboard/trackpad displaying through 55" Sony 3D Bravia.
Talk about layback computing!
Though took a while to figure out needed mouse with tail to initiate set up of peripherals (as usual, not in the doco).
Hansard Transcripts:
Yep, pretty much all that you want to know about what is broken in and ails Defence/DMO, today, is now in the Hansard Transcripts, for all to see!
Same as what and how it was when the Sunday Program sourced its material for their series of damning TV current affairs reports that led to exposing what was wrong with the Collins Sub Program, back then (late 1990s).
Here is the rub, the US is buying NEW double hulled Strykers for $2 million each, how does the DMO get to such a figure?
Makes the upgrade a tad overpriced?
I think your price is a bit low there Gobsmacked, the US Army is in fact spending more than our entire upgrade budget, simply on developing the new V shaped "twin" hull Stryker variant. The US Army's development budget which will result in 9 fully formed new vehicles, fully tested with comparative blast testing conducted against current MRAP vehicles, is coming in at a cost of $310m. The acquisition contract is on top of that... While the individual vehicle price might not be that much higher (some prices I've seen are that new Stryker's are costing $3.8m) and we're spending a tad over $1m per vehicle in this upgrade, they have a much larger vehicle base to spread the cost and our schedule can't wait if we're going to have an operational armoured Cavalry capability. Our ASLAV fleet is just about buggered and needs the "zero lifing" that this upgrade is going to provide, urgently. If we hadn't flogged them on Ops for the last 12 years, they might have been able to make it, until their replacement under LAND 400 is due (circa 2017-18) but they have been used heavily and urgently need to be reset and upgraded to continue providing us with effective capability.
Our budget is $302m to upgrade 260 vehicles for the full Phase IV upgrade. The apparent high cost will see the vehicle's hull and motive systems "zero lifed" the powerpack, braking, turret, weapon and self-protection systems upgraded, new ballistic solutions provided, reduced thermal signature systems added and a lethality upgrade provided through addition of Blue Force tracker type battle management systems, new generation fire control for the 25mm gun and 12.7mm RWS and new thermals/passive NVG and comms kit based on the new infantry/armour communications system being provided by Elbit.
In effect, the ASLAV's are going to get a similar (in concept) upgrade to that the M1A1 AIM SA tanks received before we received them. Effectively, they will be new vehicles, something they sorely need after 12 years operational service in Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan, plus all their peacetime usage.
Cheers,
Bonza
Thanks
Interesting to note we still haven't suffered a fatality for one of our soldiers carried in one of our armoured vehicles in over 9 years of operational service in Afghanistan. Hopefully it stays that way!
Incorrect, Trooper David "Poppy" Pearce was killed whilst driving an aslav pc in afghanistan in 2007.
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