According to a tweet from MaxDefense Philippines, the Philippine Army has finally received its ArmTrac 100-350 Mk.2 mine/IED search and detection vehicles after its British manufacturer ArmTrac shipped them and arrived recently at a port in Luzon..
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Philippine's Army Vehicle Mounted Mine Detector (VMMD) is based on the JCB Fastrac 8000 tractor (Picture source: MaxDefense Philippines)
The vehicles were acquired under the Philippine Army's Combat Engineering Equipment Lot 6 - Vehicle Mounted Mine Detectors Acquisition Project under the Horizon 2 phase of the Revised AFP Modernization Program, It was done through a Philippines DND - United Kingdom MOD Government-to-Government (G2G) deal.
This vehicle is designated as a Bomb Search and Clearance Vehicle termed locally as a “Vehicle Mounted Mine Detector (VMMD)”. Following an MOU and Special Implementing Arrangement (SIA) signed at the Government level, the Bid was awarded on 5 January 2021 and the contract was signed in April 2021 for 4 x VMMDs, to be delivered in 2021/22. The VMMD, based on the Armtrac 100-350 Mk2, provides the capability to accommodate two operators within the armored cabin to operate a vegetation cutter on the rear robotic arm to clear high vegetation on roadsides and a detector on the front robotic arm to detect the IEDs together with a paint marker to indicate the position. A small excavator bucket, fitted to the rear robotic arm in place of the vegetation cutter, allows some excavation of earth for exposure of buried EO.
These vehicles are what MaxDefense Philippines mentioned as the new European-sourced asset that the Philippine Army received recently. These are literally tractors, based on the JCB Fastrac 8000 tractor, but up-armored and modified to conduct mine detection and clearing operations.
The Armtrac 100-350 Mk2 is a heavily modified and armored to STANAG 4569 Level 1, multipurpose C-IED/demining machine. It is built around the JCB Fastrac 8000 tractor. As such, many of the components and spare parts are obtainable worldwide. It can operate as a Route Proving and Clearance vehicle and a Bomb Search and Detection vehicle.
The Armtrac 100-350 Mk2 can be remotely controlled.
Philippine's Army Vehicle Mounted Mine Detector (VMMD) is based on the JCB Fastrac 8000 tractor (Picture source: MaxDefense Philippines)
Philippine's Army Vehicle Mounted Mine Detector (VMMD) is based on the JCB Fastrac 8000 tractor (Picture source: Armtrac)
