SV programme


The ASCOD SV is a low-risk route to giving the British Army the capability it needs


Summer 2011


Issue 13 Dynamics 7


The perfect platform


The MoD’s selection of ASCOD SV for the Specialist Vehicle programme means that the British Army will benefit from the most capable platform available today – and in the future


We live in a world in which military assets have to prove their worth more than ever before. Budgets are limited and forces are stretched. So it’s critical that our soldiers are equipped with the best equipment that will support them in their difficult tasks, and which has the capacity to grow and develop, providing essential capabilities well into the future. And that’s what General Dynamics UK has been contracted to do with a critical armoured vehicle programme.


The £500 million contract from the MoD tasks General Dynamics UK with delivering the demonstration phase of the Specialist Vehicle (SV) programme – part of a major armoured vehicle programme formerly known as the Future Rapid Effects System (FRES). The contract covers seven prototypes of the Scout SV and supporting variants, all of which will be built on the ASCOD SV Common Base Platform (CBP). General Dynamics UK will also supply associated training equipment.


Low-risk route


The ASCOD SV is a low-risk route to giving the British Army the capability it needs. It’s a modified military off the shelf (MMOTS) solution, building on experience and technologies developed throughout the highly successful life of earlier ASCOD variants already in service with NATO allies – Spain’s Pizarro and Austria’s Ulan platforms.


In these guises, ASCOD has already proven itself to


be a highly flexible platform, able to adapt to many roles (including most of the roles envisaged in the Scout SV programme) and with the capacity to accommodate future growth and technological developments. This remains the case with ASCOD SV – indeed, those characteristics were crucial to its selection. The adaptability and growth potential also make the platform attractive to other customers, opening up serious export potential.


Compared with the Army’s current equipment – chiefly


the Scimitar and CVRT family – the SV will offer improved protection against a wide variety of threats, including IEDs, greater firepower, improved situational awareness and enhanced mobility.


Best protection


“The MoD chose General Dynamics UK’s ASCOD SV because it guaranteed the best protection for British troops, the best value for money for the British taxpayer, the best deal for the UK industrial base, the best integrated solution, and the best growth potential for the British Army to combat future threats throughout the 30-year lifespan of the vehicle,” says Dr Sandy Wilson, president and managing director of General Dynamics UK.


“I am particularly proud that this vehicle has been


designed in Britain by British engineers and will provide jobs for British workers, as well as saving the lives of British military personnel wherever they may be in the world over the next 30 or so years,” he adds.


Trusted to deliver


SV programme


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