North firms in prime position on Army bid
Oct 2 2007 by Chris Knox, The Journal
DEFENCE manufacturers in the North-East have moved into a prime position to win work on the Ministry of Defence’s £16bn FRES military vehicle programme.
Defence lobby group Northern Defence Industries (NDI), which represents around 200 companies across the North-East and Yorkshire, has reached an agreement with all of the companies competing for a slice of the massive contract to build the Army’s next generation of armoured vehicles.
The programme is the biggest ever launched by the Army and will see 3,000 vehicles made which will be in service for up to 40 years and have through-life costs of £60bn.
The MoD is currently trialling utility vehicles by three companies as part of the FRES (Future Rapid Effects System) programme. These are the Boxer by German-Dutch business Artec, the Piranha by General Dynamics UK and the VBCI by French company Nexter.
NDI got each firm to sign a Global Partnering agreement, most recently with Artec, which obliges them to look for opportunities for its members on the building of the fleet of vehicles.
Jeroen Kist, managing director at Artec, said: “I am well aware of the excellent skills in armoured fighting vehicles available in Yorkshire and the North-East of England through the UK’s earlier involvement in the Multi Role Armoured Vehicle (MRAV) programme.
“The Artec team looks forward to working closely with NDI to put forward an attractive and leading Industrial Participation Programme that fully meets the aspiration of the MoD for its Defence Industrial Strategy.” Trevor Harrison, NDI group managing director, said: “I have spent most of my career around armoured fighting vehicles and can endorse what Jeroen has said.
“There is a wealth of valuable experience in our region that can be mobilised to be strong partners in the FRES project. NDI has a good track record when it comes to bringing together prime contractors with SME’s, who have an important role to play in the complex supply chain characterised by this programme.”
Neither the MoD nor NDI have given any indication of when the contracts will be decided upon, but a crucial hurdle is set to be cleared this November, by which time Defence Procurement Minister Lord Drayson has said he wants to make a decision on which chassis to use and which company will oversee the project. BAE Systems hopes to secure the chassis contract after investing £20m in its factory in Newcastle. The business, at the former Vickers factory on Scotswood Road, has warned that the future of its 650-strong workforce is riding on the FRES project.
BAE Systems is facing strong competition from engineering firm ABRO (Army Base Repair Organisation), which has been an integral part of the armed forces but is now semi-independent.
The Army have stressed how vital the manufacture of these vehicles has become, with a spokesman warning that without FRES, the Army would effectively be “writing itself off as a medium to heavyweight force for a generation”.
The vehicles, which will be used for reconnaissance, direct fire and manoeuvre support missions, are expected to be rolled out from 2012 onwards.
Click here to read the House of Commons report on the FRES programme.
