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Out with the old…
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Tanks and armored vehicles generally receive the lion’s share of attention, but field vehicles and trailers are the real backbone of any army. They transport personnel and combat supplies, haul those flashy armored vehicles around, evacuate casualties, and serve as platforms and prime movers for weapons systems. Some even offer C4ISR and electronic warfare capabilities, thanks to specialized equipment sets. Australia’s “Hardened and Networked Army” meta-program needed to pay attention to these vehicles as well, given an existing fleet that was bought between 1959-1994. Hence Overlander.

LAND 121 – also known as Project Overlander – is the largest land project in Australia’s Defence Capability Plan. Overall, this is currently an A$3 billion (USD $2.65 billion) investment in the Australian Army to replace its fleet of Army trucks, four-wheel drives, trailers and modules for Army’s high readiness units. As Defence Mnister Hill said in 2005: “Our current fleet is ageing and is becoming more costly to maintain and upgrade. The vehicles will range from lightweight four-wheel drives to heavy trucks and prime movers with interchangeable modules to increase operational flexibility.”

Part of Overlander is actually off, as Australia’s DoD ended up canceling and re-issuing its medium-heavy truck tender. Mea nwhile, its light protected vehicle competition has seen important developments on 2 fronts…

• Overlander: The Program
• Contracts & Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings

Overlander: The Program

Loading a Unimog

The Australian Government Department of Defence “seeks proven and mature vehicle and trailer suppliers to develop a long-term relationship to provide the full range of Field Vehicles, Trailers, and Modules and their Through Life Support.” The tender for the medium and heavy vehicles and modules was released to a shortlist of 9 companies announced in March 2005, while an open tender has been released for the light range of vehicles and modules. “Favourable consideration will be given to those companies who will assemble the vehicles in Australia.” Each RFT also required accompanying offers for fleet support, and sought an agreement to guarantee the whole of life acquisition and logistic support of the new fleet for up to 30 years. The fleet includes 6 different basic vehicle types, with about 15 functional vehicle variants. In addition, about 18 specialist modules or shelters and 9 trailer variants will be acquired.

The request for tender for the trailer segment was restricted to Australian-based manufacturers, plus those vehicle suppliers capable of supplying a proprietary trailer. The request for tender is tailored to “encourage the production of trailers in Australia.” The RFT for all 3 fleet segments closed in May 2006, with detailed proposals presented to Government in 2007. October 2007 saw the shortlist announced, and the target date for delivery of the first of the vehicles is December 2009.

Phase 3 of Project Overlander will consist of:

• 293 Bushmaster protected mobility vehicles
• 3,400 unprotected light and protected medium to heavy vehicles
• 3,000 trailers

The new medium weight through heavy vehicles will be up-armored against small-caliber bullets and small land mines, and introduces integrated load handling systems to load shipping containers and special pallets (flatracks) without assistance.

Though the DMO does not mention it in their totals, vehicle modules are also part of the Phase 3 buy. These are removable structures carried on vehicles to equip them for specialist roles. They can also be switched between vehicles for a further increase in flexibility. Module roles include:

• Ambulance
• Cargo transport
• Combined personnel and cargo transport
• Command post
• Computer and information systems
• Mobile warehouse and store
• Mobile workshop

The trailers will carry general freight, fuel, ammunition, stores, containerised freight, tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, engineer plant and equipment and specialised equipment modules and shelters. They are expected to include 9 different types:

• Cargo trailers from 850 kg (1,870 pounds) to 5 tonne payloads,
• Container carrying trailers of 10 and 16.5 tonne payload, and
• Equipment carrying trailers, including a low loader of nearly 70 tonne payload

Phase 4 of the project will consider further specialized protected light vehicles, with a procurement decision expected in 2010. Australia has joined the USA’s JLTV program to that end, without making a commitment to its chosen vehicles. This phase will involve a potential additional investment of approximately A$ 1.2 billion.

In 2012, the Government will consider the final Phase 5 of the project, to provide commercial vehicles to augment the fleet for Australian training activities, at a cost of about A$ 300 million.

If so, the replacement fleet would be:

• 293 blast-resistant Bushmasters (Thales Australia, contracts signed)
• 1,200 Mercedes G-Wagens (Daimler-Chrysler, contract signed). Note that Canadian and Norwegian experiences in Afghanistan strongly suggest that the G-Wagen is too fragile for use in hostile territory.
• 2,400 medium-heavy trucks, in an array of variants (BAE, contract canceled and now in question)
• 1,200 – 1,300 Protected Mobility Vehicles-Light, or PMV-L (Phase 4, TBD)
• 2,000 commercial vehicles for training within Australia (Phase 5, TBD)
• Plus about 1,200 modules (possibly GH Varley Pty, et. al.?) and 3,000 trailers (Haulmark, contract pending under Phase 3)

DID hasn’t counted the Phase 4 & 5 future expenditures in the program’s size, because these phases have not yet begun. As Australia’s purchase of extra Bushmasters shows, priorities and funding levels can shift considerably due to operational experience. Overlander could become a A$ 4.5 billion program, rise higher, or not reach A$ 4.5 billion, depending on the situations and politics prevailing at the time.

Contracts & Key Events

105mm, towed
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Nov 6/09: The first prototype Mercedes Benz G-Wagen vehicles have been handed over to staff from Australia’s Land 121 (Overlander) DMO team at a ceremony conducted in Graz, Austria, The prototype G-Wagen vehicles will now be subjected to a quality assurance and verification and validation testing regime. Testing is scheduled to be complete by late August 2010, with first delivery for operational use scheduled for 2011. Australia Defence Magazine.

The vehicle was developed in the same Bendigo facility that developed the Bushmaster, but this vehicle is named after an Australian snake: the Death Adder Acanthophis hawkei. A November 2009 release claims that selecting the Hawkei for PMV-L would generate 700 jobs in Australia – but some may simply be retained jobs at Thales, since Bushmaster production is forecast to peak in 2010-11, and then decline.

July 20/09: Oshkosh Defense and Thales Australia are teaming up to submit 7 vehicles to the Australian Department of Defence for Phase 3 Medium/Heavy Capability segment Comparative Evaluation Testing, which could involve up to 2,400 Military Off The Shelf (MOTS) trucks. Comparative testing is expected to be conducted through October 2009.

Oshkosh Defense is submitting 5 variants based on its U.S. Marine Corps MTVR, alongside 2 Thales Bushmaster Single Cab variants of their blast-resistant patrol vehicle. Oshkosh Defense.

Oct 29/08: Labor Party Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon announces that the Government has given approval to commence planning for Phase 4 of the LAND 121 project, which will replace some of the Australian Defence Force’s 4,200 Land Rovers with a fleet of protected light mobility vehicles.

As part of their plan to examine all of their options, Australia has decided to participate in the technology demonstration phase of the United States’ Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) Program, which aims to replace its Hummers with better-protected vehicles in the 14,000 – 20,000 pound range. This is not a total commitment to the JLTV program’s 3 contenders, however; Australia’s DoD will also engage with industry to explore other options. Ministerial Speech | Australian DoD release | US Army re: JLTV.

Oct 29/08: Labor Party Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon witnesses the signing of a $350 million contract with Mercedes-Benz Australia/Pacific to supply 1,200 “G-Wagon” trucks to the ADF, following 4 months of extensive testing. This order finalizes the Oct 5/07 decision that identified them as the preferred bidder, “subject to successful negotiations.”

These vehicles will be the first to be delivered under the LAND 121 project, which will buy 6 different types of G-Wagon. Planned variants include a 4×4 general purpose station wagon, a pair of 4×4 cargo variants, a 6×6 cab chassis variant, a 6×6 dual cab truck, and a specialist 6×6 surveillance and reconnaissance vehicle. The parties have also signed a 30-year strategic agreement, and a service/parts/support contract which will run for an initial 15 years, with an option for an extension.

Deliveries will begin in 2009, and continue through 2014. The military-specification G-Class vehicles will be built in a dedicated factory in Graz, Austria in both a 4X4 (for the lightweight component of the tender) and a 6X6 configuration (for the light component). The new military vehicles will also feature detachable unit-specific modules from VARLEY in Newcastle, New South Wales. They will be designed for tasks including munitions transfer, field ambulances and troop carriers.

There are currently more than 2,000 examples of Mercedes-Benz vehicles in service with the Australian Defence Force including the Actros 8×8 heavy duty transport vehicles for the Royal Australian Air Force, the Unimog medium recovery vehicle, and Unimog medium cargo vehicle. DoD release | Auto Channel.

Oct 28/08: Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon announces a contract for another 293 Bushmaster mine-resistant vehicles, to meet Protected Mobility Medium requirements for Land 121 Project Overlander Phase 3. This finalizes the orders announced in August and October 2007, and brings the ADF Bushmaster fleet to 737 vehicles. See DID’s “Bushmaster Bonanza at Bendigo” for further details.

Aug 10/08: New Labor Party defence minister Joel Fitzgibbon announces that Project Overlander will be re-tendered, after BAE proved unable to meet its contractual commitments. The exact shortfalls were not stated or reported, but cancellation is likely to cost A$ 30 million, and estimates place the final project cost of the re-tender at around A$ $300 million.

As one might expect, the cancellation has become a political football. The new Labor Party government is accusing the previous Liberal Party government of rushing the process without allowing sufficient time for testing. Australia’s Liberal Party points at the project’s timeline, and says that any problems are a combination of the new government’s failure to prevent continual specifications changes, and a contractor’s inability to deliver on promises it made.

The Overlander Program office has initiated consultation with the 5 companies involved in the medium heavy segment tender, and intends to initiate a revised tender process for that segment in November 2008. Thales Australia, whose Bendigo facility manufacturers Bushmaster vehicles and other trucks, had partnered with America’s Oshkosh; this renewed competition offers them an important second opportunity. Australian Broadcasting Corp re: cancellation / opposition response | Victoria Herald-Sun | Bendigo Times | Official Liberal Party response.

Oct 5/07: Australia’s Minister for Defence Dr. Brendan Nelson announces that subject to successful negotiations, the preferred Project Overlander Phase 1 tenders are Haulmark Trailers Australia (for trailers), Daimler Chrysler Australia/Pacific (for unprotected lightweight and light vehicles) and BAE Systems Australia/ Stewart & Stevenson (for medium and heavy vehicles). The project includes small 4-wheel drive vehicles, medium and heavy trucks, and large semi-trailer style vehicles to replace the existing fleet acquired between 1959 – 1994. See Oct 2/08 entry for the finalized order.

These vehicles will be capable of carrying enhanced protection kits, but as experiences with American Hummers, British Land Rovers, and Daimler-Chrysler Gelandwagens in several NATO forces have proven, there is no substitute for vehicles designed from the outset to be blast-resistant. Which is why there’s also a 4th winner – the government’s recent buy of at least 250 Bushmaster blast-resistant vehicles from Thales Australia will fall under the Overlander umbrella.

Many specialist vehicle modules, trailers, and all the Bushmasters will be produced in Australia. This Australian portion is worth approximately A$ 800 million (about $707 million). See also BAE release.

Oct 5/07: An Australian DoD release highlights the role of local Australian firm G.H. Varley Pty Ltd. Subject to satisfactory contract arrangements, the Newcastle firm is a key subcontractor for specialist modules that would fit to the Daimler Chrysler fleet (potential value A$ 40 million) and BAE Stewart & Stevenson’s medium and heavy weight vehicles (potential value A$ 100 million)

“Specialist modules are removable kits attached to vehicles for special tasks, including casualty evacuation, personnel carriage, communications, computer services, cargo distribution and reconnaissance.”

August/September 2007: Second pass approved by Australia’s NSC. Source.

Bushmaster, Iraq
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Aug 18/07: The Hon. Dr Brendan Nelson, Minister for Defence, announces that Australia will buy at least 250 more Bushmaster vehicles. See “Bushmaster Bonanza at Bendigo”; the final figure is 293.

June 2006: Australia’s Defence Capability Plan released, in which it stated that Land 121 Year of Decision was 2006/07.

mid-2006: Tenders closed and tender evaluation began. Source.

Dec 13/05: Minister for Defence the Hon. Senator Hill announces the release of 3 separate Requests for Tender (RFT). As part of the initial project phase, a range of vehicles will be purchased for Army’s high readiness units, such as 3 Brigade, 5 Aviation Regiment, 10 Force Support Battalion located in Townsville and Sydney a well as RAAF units at Amberley. See “a”

March 17/05: 9 potential tenderers short-listed. Source.

June 2004: First pass approval by Australia’s NSC. Source.

Aug 27/03: Request for Interest Announced. Source.

Additional Readings

• Australian DMO – LAND 121 Project home page