Greg Combet, Minister for Defence Personnel, Material and Science, today announced that trials for competing medium to heavy weight trucks for the Australian Army had been completed.
Tenderer to provide Medium to Heavy Weight Trucks to the Army under Project Land 121 were asked to provide a range of vehicle platforms for evaluation. The Medium Heavy Capability component of Land 121 represents approximately 2,000 trucks and modules.
“The trial tested 24 vehicles in five vehicle categories, employing over 64 Army test drivers and putting the trucks through comprehensive field testing, on both public roads and military training areas, over a six month period,” Mr Combet said.
“As a result of the trial Thales’ Bushmaster Utility, MAN Military Vehicle Systems Australia’s HX vehicle series and Mercedes-Benz Australia/Pacific’s Zetros and Actros vehicle series have been identified by Defence as the contenders to proceed to the next stage,” Mr Combet said.
The trials were conducted under stage one of the Land 121 Medium Heavy Capability tender refreshment process. The Government ordered the tender to be refreshed when new requirements became apparent due to the changing strategic environment.
“Phase 3 of Project Land 121 (Overlander) is the largest land project in the current Defence Capability Plan that seeks to significantly improve the capability, logistics and mobility for the Australian Defence Force,” Mr Combet said.
“Given the previous problems that have been experienced in this project the Government is fundamentally seeking a Military-Off-The-Shelf solution which will be subject only to minimal changes necessary to address safety and legislative requirements.
“This has been a problem project and we still have a way to go. However, the Government is determined to ensure that we get this project back on track so we can get the trucks our troops need to do their job,” Mr Combet said.
