Mercedes-Benz G-Class (front) has secured
Land 121’s LLC vehicle segment and deliveries commence in 2011. Photo credit Mercedes Benz
the remaining bulk of the fleet, was to follow on from Phase 3a. It was expected that Phase 3b contractors would be the same as those for Phase 3a, although options for either ‘more of the same’, or a cheaper COTS (Commercial Off-The-Shelf) product (as opposed to the MOTS – Military Off-The-Shelf - solution anticipated for Phase 3a) remained. With the second pass approval of Land 121, Phases 3a and 3b ceased to exist as independent phases. Phase 3a became Phase 3, Phase 3b became Phase 5, and Land 121
Phase 4 emerged. With the second pass approval of Land 121 the total quantity required under the new standalone Phase 3 requirement increased to 2,090 vehicles, 1,506 of these armoured. An additional buy of Bushmaster Infantry Mobility Vehicles (IMVs) to fulfil an urgent need for protected troop transport was announced under Phase 3. The total value of Land 121 Phase 3 reached around AUD3.3 billion. Late-2007, BAE Systems (medium/ heavy), the now Mercedes-Benz Australia Pacific Pty Ltd (light), and
Haulmark Trailers Australia (trailers) were announced as preferred tenderers for Phase 3 of Land 121, the quoted value of which was USD2.65 billion. Land 121 Phase 3 was to acquire approximately 2,400 Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTVs) from BAE Systems* (around 1,300 of which were to be protected), 3,000 trailers of different sizes from Haulmark Trailers and 1,000 Mercedes-Benz G-Class (4x4) and (6x6) utility vehicles from Mercedes-Benz Australia Pacific.
* In May 2006 Stewart & Stevenson was acquired by Armor Holdings Inc. for $755 million, and in August 2007 Armor Holdings Inc. was acquired by BAE Systems for $4.5 billion.
In October 2008 it was disclosed
that Mercedes-Benz Australia Pacific had been awarded a contract worth AUD350 million for the delivery of 1,200 Mercedes-Benz G-Class. Six different configurations are involved, a (4x4) general-purpose station wagon; two (4x4) cargo variants; a (6x6) chassis-cab variant; a (6x6) dual cab variant; and a specialist surveillance and reconnaissance vehicle. Specific variants (ambulance and command post for example) will be fitted with specialist modules, these manufactured by G H Varley Pty Ltd. From November 2009 eleven prototype G-Class were delivered for compliance and accepting testing within Australia from February 2010.
MAN’s Land 121 MHC vehicle segment offering includes TG, HX and SX range vehicles. Photo credit MAN Military Vehicle Systems
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G4 DEFENCE
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