Australia: technology transfer for AMV35 8x8 armored vehicle.

BAE Systems and Patria have selected RUAG Australia to produce the advanced high-level protection for their Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle (CRV), the AMV35, and RUAG Switzerland will transfer the technology to RUAG Australia to enable this to happen. The agreement substantially boosts Australia’s capability in the area of advanced protection solutions and means ballistic armour for the AMV35 8x8 combat vehicle will be manufactured in Australia by Australians.

A Patria AMV35 combat reconnaissance vehicle drives onto the heavy vehicle deck of the Royal Australian Navy amphibious ship HMAS Canberra during a series of trials at Fleet Base East in Sydney on 6 December 2016 (Picture source: Australian army) 

BAE Systems is teaming up with RUAG to offer its 8x8 AMV35 Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle (CRV) to Australian forces who want to equip 225 new-generation reconnaissance and combat vehicles (CRVs for combat reconnaissance vehicles). If the bid from BAE Systems Australia is selected by Canberra, RUAG will provide the outer armor of the future Australian vehicle. The call for tenders for phase 2 of the Land 400 program puts the British in competition with the Germans at Rheinmetall, and in the field of communication we can say that the advantage is at BAE.

Through its Australian subsidiary, BAE promises to build 225 units in the state of Victoria. Several Australian state ministers also went to RUAG Australia headquarters on February 20 to support the partnership between the two European manufacturers. The Germans promise to build the same number of their Boxer, in the state of Queensland.

RUAG Australia Managing Director John Yeager said the Land 400 project would create potential for future export opportunities. If the AMV35 is selected by Australia, RUAG's subsidiary will be able to offer its technology, developed and produced in Australia, to the forces of the country, as well as to foreign customers, thus offering economic benefits to the State. from Victoria. Yeager rightly pointed out that the armor was developed by the parent company, RUAG Defense Switzerland, and that it already equipped other Western armies.

The parent company will transfer to Australia the know-how necessary to master the armored technology, which would be a first for the country's defense industry.

Last week, BAE Systems announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of Melbourne, offering its students the opportunity to complete internships and apprenticeship training at BAE Systems' Research and Development Center. Fishermans Bend.
A final Victoria government campaign was also launched for BAE Systems' bid, with the Labor Party even putting up billboards across Canberra to defend the defense industry in the region. Under the project, valued at $5 Bn (EUR 4 Bn), 2,000 jobs should be created.

French manufacturers also want their share of the Land 400 cake: Safran and MBDA joined forces in November 2017 to offer the MMP (medium-range missile / anti-tank) technology to the winner of Phase 2
The ballistic armor selected for the AMV35 is a multi-material protection system that is combat-tested and mission-proven. The AMV35 is an 8x8 combat reconnaissance vehicle jointly developed by the Defence Companies Patria and BAE Systems. These companies have submitted a bid for the Australian Army’s Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle (CRV) program, 225 vehicles in seven role variants based on a combat proven vehicle platform and weapon system.