WIREDGOV

Super digger ordered for Royal Engineers

MINISTRY OF DEFENCE News Release (064/2009) issued by COI News Distribution Service on 27 March 2009

A new fleet of 60 armoured earthmoving tracked engineer vehicles which will give the Royal Engineers a powerful and versatile route-clearing and earth moving capability will be built at BAE Systems Newcastle factory under a £300 Million contract.

The Royal Engineers are getting 60 air-portable TERRIER( vehicles which will become one of the most important engineering tools in their inventory. TERRIER(r) will support infantry by removing obstacles and opening routes, providing vital assistance on operations including peace-keeping and humanitarian missions.

Minister for Defence Equipment and Support, Quentin Davies, said:

"TERRIER(r) will be a hugely powerful and versatile machine like a cross between an armoured vehicle, an excavator and a loader - and I am pleased to confirm this order for our highly skilled Royal Engineers.

"Designed in Leicester and integrated by BAE Systems in Newcastle, the order is also good news for British industry as over 90 percent of the manufacture will be supported by companies from across the country demonstrating the great level of skills and workmanship we have in the UK".

TERRIER(r) weighs in at 30-tonnes and has a crew of two who sit in a 'state of the art' compartment. The vehicle's armoured chassis will allow it to safely operate in a combat environment, and when required, it can be operated remotely.

As a powerful tracked vehicle TERRIER(r) will be able to negotiate almost any terrain, and its earth-moving bucket and side-mounted excavator arm will make short work of digging and obstacle clearance tasks. The bucket can be quickly replaced with a surface mine clearance device which, when combined with a route marking system, can be used to clear routes of surface laid munitions

Based on recent operational experience MoD has made changes to the vehicle design to provide additional protection against mine attacks and vehicles will be equipped with extra armour to equip them for service on operations.

Construction work will begin on the production line at BAES' Newcastle site in 2010 supported by its sub contractors who span the breadth of the UK. They are due to enter service in 2013.

Note to editors

1. TERRIER(r) is a tracked, armoured, engineer vehicle that can be equipped to carry out a variety of military tasks. The bucket at the front and side mounted excavator arm enable the 2-man crew to carry out a variety of digging and carrying operations predominantly to clear routes for other vehicles and deny routes to opposition forces.

2. Its quick-hitch mechanism means the bucket can be rapidly dropped and replaced with other front mounted equipment including a device for clearing mines from road surfaces. Similarly the vehicle is designed to fit different tools to the side excavator arm enabling it to be used to dig holes, lift objects, drill into the ground or shatter concrete.

3. TERRIER(r) can also tow the 18 tonne fully loaded engineer trailer and deploy fascines (pipe bundle for filling ditches) and trackway (rolled metallic sheet to create temporary road surfaces) to assist other vehicles in moving around the battlefield.

4. The vehicle's environmental control system allows the crew to work comfortably in all conditions from desert to arctic, and thermal imaging cameras permit both day and night operation.

5. Most tasks can also be conducted by remote control from over 1 km away with onboard camera systems providing the operator a close up view. The vehicle is equipped with advanced diagnostic analysis software enabling the crew to keep the vehicle working to its optimum capacity.

6. The combination of transmission, suspension and track, provide impressive agility allowing TERRIER(r) to keep up with both Warrior and Challenger whilst the vehicle's armoured hull and General Purpose Machine Gun provide protection to the crew.

7. Despite being over 8metres long and 30 tonnes in weight TERRIER(r) can still be transported in either the C17 Globemaster or the future Airbus A400M military transport aircraft.

( TERRIER is a registered trademark of the Secretary of State for Defence