An open day will be held on 17 Feb at Trentham Military Camp for media to view the NZ Army’s new JCB High Mobility Engineer Excavator (HMEE).
The HMEE is a highly mobile excavator with increased protection designed to survive on the modern battlefield. With a top speed on the open road of 90km per hour and great cross country capability this means the HMEE can and will operate alongside the NZLAV.
Engineer support to civil aid, route maintenance and general engineering tasks will also be enhanced. This is due to the increased technical capability of the HMEE and the protection it provides operators.
The HMEE has been proven operationally by the US and UK Armies to be combat viable and has been effective working alongside other armoured vehicles in high threat environments.
Experience in Iraq and Afghanistan has shown that the vehicle’s armour has allowed US operators to survive mine and IED strikes which would otherwise have caused fatal consequences if less protected vehicles had been attacked.
