12/05/2013 Defence IQ Press

Morgan Advanced Materials, Ricardo and Ultra Electronics have formed an exclusive partnership to bid for the continued support and upgrade of the UK Ministry of Defence’s Mastiff, Ridgback and Wolfhound fleet of Protected Patrol Vehicles.

Morgan Advanced Materials’ Composites and Defence Systems business (formerly NP Aerospace) is the acting as the prime contractor in the contract. It has designed, developed and integrated UK-specific, specialised armour protection and electronic systems into the entire Mastiff family of vehicles from base platforms purchased from the US. Morgan also implemented and operated the spares support processes, including configuration management, stocking and supply chain management, which kept the fleets running during combat operations.

Ricardo is an automotive engineering specialist and was responsible for the initial design, development and engineering of the Foxhound vehicles, manufacturing all 376 units ordered to date. Ricardo was prime contractor on the Vixen and RWMIK+ upgrade programmes and has also undertaken a project for the Defence Science & Technology Laboratory (DSTL) to identify improvements to the fuel efficiency of Mastiff vehicles.

“Ricardo is extremely pleased to be joining forces with Morgan and Ultra in what represents a highly effective and all-British partnership, drawing together world-class engineering capabilities and extensive experience in military vehicle design, development, manufacture and overhaul,” said Ricardo UK managing director Martin Fausset.

Ultra Electronics has pioneered vehicle information and power systems and has worked on behalf of customers including the MoD, US Department of Defense and other Tier 1 suppliers into the defence sector. Ultra is currently under contract to provide multiple electronic systems for the Warrior Capability Sustainment Programme and Scout SV development. It is the only Tier 2 supplier involved in all aspects of Generic Vehicle Systems Architecture (GVSA), Generic Soldier Architecture (GSA) and Generic Base Architecture (GBA).

The MoD will shortly award contracts for Post Design Service, Coherence and future upgrade work. Morgan will lead the group and is bidding as prime contractor.

25 June 2012 army-technology.com

General Dynamics UK has received a contract from the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) to supply the first systems information exploitation / health and usage monitoring system (SIE/HUMS) to the British Army.

Under the £4m deal, the company will install the systems in a total of 578 vehicles, including six protected patrol vehicle (PPV) variants in the operational training fleet to help enhance their availability and operations.

Armoured vehicles to be equipped with SIE/HUMS include the Mastiff, Ridgback, Husky, Jackal, Coyote and Wolfhound.

According to GD, the selection was based on the cost-effectiveness of the solution and also took into consideration the company's previous work, which included integration of more than 15,000 vehicles from the British Army's fleet.

The SIE/HUMS system is designed to enable operators and fleet managers to optimise vehicle use and minimise maintenance by providing accurate performance data, obtained through monitoring of onboard systems.

"The SIE/HUMS system is designed to enable operators and fleet managers to optimise vehicle use and minimise maintenance by providing accurate performance data, obtained through monitoring of onboard systems."

Data gathered will also help the personnel to enhance fleet availability, which will deliver an improved army vehicle fleet-management capability, in addition to allowing conditioned-based maintenance where lightly-used vehicles receive less work, which will eventually reduce maintenance costs.

The data collected and analysed by the system will range from engine management-system data, such as oil and water temperature, speed, distance travelled, and performance, to information about shocks and vibration, excessive vehicle speed or high fuel consumption.

Once the data is collected, operators conduct a statistical time-based analysis to identify potential problems; as more information is gathered, prognostics will also allow for better preventative maintenance practices, which contribute to increasing fleet availability.

The system is designed to be generic vehicle architecture (GVA) compliant and can plug-and-play with other GVA devices to improve onboard capabilities, as well as being modified through software configuration to record data as required.

A huge Mastiff armoured vehicle overshadows a young Afghan boy, on his way to fetch water from the village well, in the Shahzad region of Helmand province - [Picture: Staff Sergeant Mark Jones, Crown Copyright/MOD 2009]

23 Aug 11 UK MoD - A Military Operations news article

A group of soldiers whose task it is to clear routes in Helmand province of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) recently emerged from their Mastiff armoured vehicle unscathed when a device exploded underneath it.

31 Armoured Engineer Squadron (31 AES), 32 Engineer Regiment, normally based in Hohne in northern Germany, are currently part of the Task Force Helmand Engineer Group.

They are the leading route proving and clearance squadron and their job is to travel across the UK's area of operations in their Mastiff armoured vehicles to make sure routes are safe from IEDs and bombs.

On one of their many patrols recently, the team were clearing one of the main routes through Helmand when their vehicle struck an IED. Sapper Gareth Addy said immediately they knew what it was:

"There was a massive explosion that seriously rocked the vehicle. It was the biggest I've ever experienced. Immediately afterwards it went very quiet and then you start to realise what's happened and worry if everyone is OK."

The team quickly began their drills to assess the situation and check whether there were any injuries. Despite the size of the bomb and the force of the blast, none of the people in the Mastiff were hurt.

The vehicle sustained some damage, but, thanks to the armour and design of the Mastiff, it was only minor, and after a further assessment by the team of the route, the patrol continued with their journey.

Sapper Gareth Addy, 31 Armoured Engineer Squadron, ready to go out on patrol in his team's Mastiff vehicle - [Picture: Crown Copyright/MOD 2011]

Sapper Addy, aged 31 from Bridlington, who is a Mastiff driver and gunner, said it was only when they returned to Camp Bastion some hours later they realised how lucky they had been:

"The vehicles we use really do work and everyone now knows that, should the worst happen, they will do a good job of protecting us. In a strange way, that incident increased everyone's morale and confidence for the remainder of the tour."

The Mastiff is a heavily armoured, 6x6 wheel-drive protected patrol vehicle which carries eight people, plus two crew. It is used in Afghanistan to transport troops and protect large convoys as well as directly engaging the Taliban with its advanced weapons systems.

Although heavily armoured, these wheeled patrol vehicles have a less intimidating profile than tracked vehicles and give commanders on the ground in Afghanistan more options to deal with the threats they are facing.

Part of the Mastiff's resilience towards mine explosions comes from the fact that its hull is V-shaped, as opposed to flat, which pushes the force of any explosion outwards.

During Operation HERRICK 14, the engineers from 31 AES have played an important part in enabling both troops and locals to move more freely from one area to another and with greater confidence in their security.

31 AES is part of the Task Force Helmand Engineer Group, made up of Royal Engineers from both 32 Engineer Regiment based in Hohne, Germany, and 24 Commando Engineer Regiment based in Barnstaple, North Devon.