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The project to get Leopard 2 Armoured Engineering Vehicles for Canada

With apologies for any kittens killed in the posting of this latest story.....
Defence Minister Peter MacKay is denying the Department of National Defence tried to hide details of its military spending by quietly awarding a $105-million contract to a German company to build armoured vehicles.

Speaking exclusively to CTV's Question Period, MacKay said information about the project was readily available online.

"That information was on a DND and Public Works website for three years," MacKay said in an interview that will air Sunday. "It was released accurately in detail at the time … and suggestions otherwise are simply false."

However, critics say that DND's website did not include an announcement that the contract was awarded to the German firm FFG. A notice about the deal was posted in April on an industry website where companies can bid on government work.

"The fact they didn't issue a press release suggests they didn't want people to know about it. So it gives a perception they were nervous about this, and they were trying to cover it up," said Steven Staples, president of the Rideau Institute, an Ottawa-based think tank that has scrutinized DND's spending figures ....
 
The fact they didn't issue a press release suggests they didn't want people to know about it.

really? I suppose they didn't want the public to know about the toilet paper and paper cups either.....I'll bet there was no press release for those puchases.....
 
GAP said:
really? I suppose they didn't want the public to know about the toilet paper and paper cups either.....I'll bet there was no press release for those puchases.....
Generally true, but:
1)  not without exceptions (like announcing less than $6K of roof work around Montreal); and
2)  this was a $100M+ deal not announced in the midst of a flurry of other contract announcements in the recent past (check here, here, here, here, here and here).

Unlike Rideau Guy, I don't see sinister intent, given the info was out there (albeit needing to be hunted down a bit - but I thought that's what reporting's all about, right?). 

From a government comms strategy angle, though, it does draw the eye a bit that there was no announcement.
 
.... just out on the project:
The Force Mobility Enhancement (FME) project includes the acquisition of a fleet of Armoured Engineer Vehicles (AEV) that will provide crucial support to the Leopard 2 tanks, Light Armoured Vehicle III, and future fleets, such as the Close Combat Vehicle and the Tactical Armoured Patrol Vehicle. The project will also include the installation of tactical mobility implements on the fleet of Leopard 2 main battle tanks.

The first phase of this project is to acquire Armoured Engineer Vehicles (AEV). The ability of these vehicles to operate under fire will further enhance the Canadian Forces’ mobility and deployability in a wide range of missions. This phase will also acquire Armoured Recovery Vehicles (ARV) in support of the AEV.

The AEV ensures troops have a clear, safe path to navigate by clearing mines, debris and other obstacles, filling in craters and providing limited road maintenance and construction. As the new fleet of AEV will use a Leopard 2 tank chassis, they will have a high degree of crew protection and will continue to be an integral part of any armour deployment.  The AEV is employable in a wide variety of situations.  The in-service Leopard 1 AEV’s were employed in domestic operations such as flood control and the 1998 Ice Storm.

The new AEV will replace the Canadian Forces’ aging fleet of Leopard 1-based AEV Badgers. The new fleet of AEVs will be capable of supporting the Leopard 2 main battle tank fleet until 2035. FME will procure 13 AEVs, with options for an additional five vehicles.  The contract for the conversion of Leopard 2 chassis into AEVs was awarded to Flensburger Fahrzeugbau (FFG) Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung (GmbH) on April 5, 2012.  The Government of Canada’s Industrial and Regional Benefits policy is applied to this phase of the project, which means FFG must generate economic activity in Canada, dollar for dollar equal to the contract value.

The second vehicle type, the ARV, is essentially a tow-truck for a tank or other large, armoured vehicle. The ARV is also manufactured using a Leopard 2 chassis and is able to recover vehicles from the battlefield while under fire, thanks to its high degree of crew protection and specialized towing equipment. FME exercised contract options from the Tank Replacement Project on March 26, 2012, for the conversion of four Leopard 2 chassis into ARVs by Rheinmetall Land Systems (RLS) GmbH.

The second phase of the project will be to procure tactical mobility implements for the Leopard 2 tank fleet, including dozer blades, mine ploughs and mine rollers. FME will acquire 16 mine rollers, 16 mine ploughs, and 18 dozer blades.

Both the AEVs and the implements procured under FME are expected to reach Initial Operational Capability by February 2015, with Full Operational Capability expected by December 2016.
 
ARV's? pffft Since when does it make sense to have recovery vehicles? We haven't had them all this time surely they aren't required now?  ::)

Bloody hell when are the brass going to realize that we need support vehicles in the INITIAL purchase and not years after. Makes it pretty hard to do any battlefield recovery without borrowing gear from someone else.

And where do I sign up? ;D lol Loved working on the ARV, recovery was the best part of the job IMHO.

Arte et Marte

Wook
 
Wookilar said:
Bloody hell when are the brass is the gorvernment going to realize that we need support vehicles in the INITIAL purchase and not years after.

Slight fix.

In the end, the brass can only spend what the government says, on what the government says. It is not uncommon for the "brass" to be told "yeah ok, but your are buying X number of Y and thats it. Z will have to wait. So you do you want Y or not ?"
 
Understood, deal with it all too often. The politicians and bureaucrats may tell us how much money we can spend on a particular project, they generally do not dictate how many of each chassis we buy with those funds.

I have to argue that you MUST plan for support vehicles inside your initial allocation, not at some future time as yet to be determined.

Ever try to support a battle run in a vehicle that has no hope of: a) keeping up; b) no lift capability; and, c) no recovery capability (other than calling a flatbed of some sort)? That is leaving out all the issues of self-protection and focusing only on the tech side of the house.

Having 45 brand new tanks is awesome and empowering and sexy. What happens when one breaks down and the old recovery vehicle you have used for the last 20 years (+) can't do it?

I understand all about risk management, but does higher really think they can run an effective battle without recovery capabilities? That's us, not the politicians.

 
Wookilar said:
ARV's? pffft Since when does it make sense to have recovery vehicles? We haven't had them all this time surely they aren't required now?  ::)

Bloody hell when are the brass going to realize that we need support vehicles in the INITIAL purchase and not years after. Makes it pretty hard to do any battlefield recovery without borrowing gear from someone else.

And where do I sign up? ;D lol Loved working on the ARV, recovery was the best part of the job IMHO.

Arte et Marte

Wook

"The normal procurement and implementation of a new MBT fleet takes about 10 to 15 years, historically speaking."

That was part of a brief I got a couple of years ago by the implementation team.

I think we're doing pretty good in the timeline so far. I'm just glad we're not rolling around in *shudder* MGS.

Regards
 
.... via the Office of the Premier of New Brunswick last week:
FFG Canada, an international joint-venture company, will create 26 new jobs in Bathurst.

Premier David Alward joined FFG Canada president Barry Kyle at the announcement in Bathurst today. 

“Investing in the aerospace and defence industry is one of the six areas of focus in Rebuilding New Brunswick: Growing Together – An Economic Development Action Plan for New Brunswick, our economic development action plan to drive progress in our province,” said Alward. “Our investment will assist this new company by creating high-quality jobs and provide spinoff opportunities throughout northern New Brunswick.”

The action plan is designed to accelerate economic growth in all regions of New Brunswick.

“I am delighted to see the focused support that the provincial government will bring to the defence and aerospace sector through its strategy,” said Kyle. “Land systems have a promising future in New Brunswick.”

The provincial government provided support to the company in the form of a $700,000 payroll rebate and $300,000 in forgivable loans through Invest NB. In addition, the province provided $500,000 under the $200-million Northern New Brunswick Economic Development and Innovation Fund.

This $1.5 million investment will contribute $2.6 million annually to the province's gross domestic product once all the jobs have been filled.

FFG Canada is a new international joint-venture company between Industrial Rubber Company Ltd., and German defence firm FFG Flensburger Fahrzeugbau Gesellschaft mbH (FFG), with the company headquarters in Bathurst. The company will begin its operations with the $135-million contract awarded to the German defence firm to supply 13 WISENT 2 Armoured Engineer Vehicles (AEV) to the Department of Defence through the conversion of Leopard 2 main battle tanks into armoured engineer vehicles.

Invest NB's mission is to identify and pursue opportunities for strategic and commercially viable foreign direct investments in New Brunswick. Guided by a private sector board of directors, the Crown corporation offers personalized services tailored to the needs of expanding companies and provides financial assistance when required and as appropriate to secure investments.
 
Wookilar said:
recovery was the best part of the job IMHO.

Arte et Marte

Wook

The only thing more fun than recovery was ditching the vehicles as part of a recovery course, then watching the candidates figure out how you possibly got the vehicle mires above the fenders, yet were still able to get back to dry land without getting dirty. >:D
 
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