ICHANGE
There is much talk in defence about ‘modularity’; the ability to reconfigure or re-role equipment. Modularity has become a buzz-word, but in reality how re-configurable are today’s military vehicles? Davina White, G3 DEFENCE, talks to OVIK about their new creation, the CAMELEON IV440
The ease with which military vehicles can be reconfigured or re-rolled varies enormously from platform to platform. But in most cases, reconfiguration is time consuming, inefficient, costly and often produces less than satisfactory results.
General purpose or utility vehicles can (theoretically) be configured to perform a number of mission specific roles. In the most basic sense, vehicle configuration decisions (driven by mission profile) can be as simple as, for example, the choice between seats, stretchers or cargo space. Actual mission configuration of a particular platform can be either a relatively simple affair, e.g. unbolt seats and replace with stretchers, or remove doors and windscreen and create cool-looking patrol vehicle (normally followed promptly by – lose doors and windscreen forever and thus lose the ability to reverse role the equipment). Often however, reconfiguration or role configuration can be a more complex and costly affair; for example, turning a generic utility platform, such as a Land Rover, into an effective weapons platform. In instances where vehicles are re-roled at fourth line (by industry), their original broad utility tends to become narrowed and task specific. What’s more, where a vehicle’s design is so generic that it can be rapidly re-roled at first line by the vehicle
18 G3 DEFENCE
crew – the new mission configuration is likely to be temporary, rudimentary and probably sub optimal. This is to be expected, isn’t it? A vehicle can’t be all things to all missions. Or can it? The subject of vehicle ‘mission
role flexibility’ is one that has frustrated Jez Hermer, CEO OVIK Group, for years. ‘It always struck me that true flexibility in rapid mission re-roling of vehicles at the front line, according to commanders’ immediate requirements and mission profile is something which has never really been achieved with any degree of practicality or cost effectiveness. Commanders and troops have tended to end up with the proverbial ‘compromise’’, he said. As a former Royal Marine, cum engineer, cum entrepreneur, Hermer decided to begin the quest to design a truly mission flexible platform, one that could be re-roled across a wide range of combat, combat support and combat service support roles, in minutes, according to the mission requirements and by a single vehicle crewman in order to give commanders true force packaging
t’s a Beautiful Thing
The Daily 4x4 in its chassis-cab format is a pure COTS system – which OVIK militarises by adding extras such
as front fenders, roll cage, roof bars, light protectors and of course a
cab-mounted weapons system
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