Lockheed Martin UK testing upgraded FV510 Warrior infantry fighting vehicle for British army.

Lockheed Martin UK is starting a series of tests on the FV510 Warrior infantry fighting vehicle update for the British Army. If the results of these trials are positive, the manufacturer will start negotiations with the Defence Equipment and Support arm of the ministry.

Upgraded FV510 Warrior infantry fighting vehicle (Picture source: Lockheed Martin UK)

The reliability trials are scheduled to run until July 2020 on this vehicle that has been in service since the late 1980s and which is a key component of the Army’s armored infantry 2026 program. The current Warrior is unable to fire on the move, and the aging 30mm Rarden cannon can only be loaded with three rounds at a time. The revised Warrior includes a new turret, a stabilized 40 mm cannon, a fire-on-the-move capability, improved armor, digital fire control, and other enhancements. Other variants of Warrior, like the command, observation and recovery vehicles, also will be upgraded.

The demonstration and manufacturing phases of the program were approved by the Ministry of Defence in 2011 at a cost of £1.3 billion. An in-service date (ISD) for the upgraded vehicle was set for March 2020, and the out-of-service date extended to beyond 2040.

Lockheed Martin’s Warrior production director, Richard Claydon, confirmed it remains unclear what the size and shape of the production order will look like when it arrives. Due to budget constraints, the number of vehicles to be upgraded has shrunk to around 265, maybe even less.