Danish APC contest update.

via Shepard Media.

Ok.  I'm making the call in the Danish APC contest.  CV90 Armadillo by a mile, followed by the G5.

via Shepard Media.

The Danish Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organisation (DALO) has launched the trials for the project, which aims to purchase some 360 vehicles to replace the army's ageing M113-series tracked vehicle fleet.
More than 50% of the vehicle requirement is for APC and command post variants with the remaining quantity split between ambulance, engineer, recovery and mortar variants.
The shortlisted candidates consist of three tracked and two 8x8 wheeled vehicles.
They are the BAE Systems CV90 Armadillo, the FFG Protected Mission Module Carrier (PMMC) G5 and the General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDELS) Santa Barbara Sistemas ASCOD 1. The two wheeled vehicles are the Nexter Systems VBCI and the GDELS Piranha 5.
As the Danish requirement did not state either a wheeled or tracked solution, companies have been free to offer either although only GDELS has offered both a tracked and wheeled vehicle, giving the company a distinct advantage.
The evaluation trials started on 15 April and are planned to finish in September 2013. Some 375 demanding tests will be conducted on mobility, ergonomics, user requirements and technology assessments with Danish Army commanders and drivers having already been trained and allocated to the five contender vehicles. The tracked vehicles are all, unusually, fitted with rubber band tracks.
The BAE Systems CV90 Armadillo from Sweden, whilst not in-service, has considerable commonality with the current Danish Army infantry fighting vehicle, the BAE Systems CV9035, and the newest CV90 vehicles in neighbouring Norway.
BAE Systems spokesman, Peter Edwards, stated that a ‘tracked vehicle is the way to go’ and was confident of securing a suitable industrial partner in Denmark in due course.
The Piranha 5 from GDELS in Switzerland is the latest member of the Piranha family of vehicles spanning many generations and variants, but as yet has not secured its first launch customer. GDELS have already signed a teaming agreement with the Danish company Falck Schmidt Defence Systems but are ‘open to continue to partner with other companies to enhance the local content in Denmark’, Thomas Lattmann, spokesman for GDELS, told Shephard.
Also from GDELS, but from their Spanish business, is the in-service ASCOD 1. The British Army recently selected the more modern ASCOD 2 for their Specialist Vehicle programme and this was considered by GDELS for Denmark but according to their spokesman, Carlos Gil, ‘for the Danish requirement it is one step further (and) is not really required’.
This opens up questions about the UK’s selection of ASCOD 2 as the point of departure for its future armoured vehicle requirements, how they might differ from Demark and the progress that has been made as the tight production deadlines for the Danish competition mean that the trials vehicles must be almost production ready. As yet GDELS has yet to provide a really detailed picture of ASCOD 2s capabilities and how it differs from ASCOD 1, or how significantly the UK Scout SV will differ from these.
In a surprising admission to Shephard, the DALO Chief of the APC-Replacement Project Office, Col Karsten Kolding stated the more modern ASCOD 2 was not offered by GDELS and ‘I do not know the differences between ASCOD 1 and ASCOD 2’.

Somewhat embarrassingly, the old ASCOD 1 trial vehicle broke down during a media day at the trials this week and is believed to have broken down at least one more time since the trials began.
Analysts believe that Germany’s FFG will be one of the strongest candidates in the programme. The company is the most well established industrial contender in Denmark having a commercial relationship with DALO and Danish industry spanning 15 years. Their G5 vehicle is a major investment for the size of the company and so far they have built two prototypes and already tested the vehicles over 25,000km.
The Nexter Systems VBCI is the only contender in-production, in-service and in-combat, most recently in Mali with the French Army.
According to Nexter, the VBCI on trials in Denmark is ‘very close to the French Army version’ with the exception of the commander and driver stations, which are specific to Danish requirements. The French Army already field multiple variants of VBCI that closely match the Danish requirements.
The programme has contract negotiations being completed by the end of 2013 and contract award in mid-2014. The final contract will be split in two parts covering equipment acquisition and through-life support. The contract value was not revealed but is widely expected to be over $1 billion mark.
There has been considerable worldwide interest in the Danish competition as it evaluates both wheeled and tracked vehicles from some of the biggest names in the armoured vehicle industry.
The relative merits of wheeled versus tracked vehicle designs will be a central feature of the trials and those results will be closely watched and scrutinised. If a tracked solution is selected it will have rubber band track for the first time in a major heavy platform.

The repercussions for the eventual winner and losers will no doubt be felt in future competitions, including forthcoming programmes in the US, Canada and Poland.

Yeah, after reading Shepard's article I stand by my assessment.  BAE wins this one easy.  And after the trouble in the UK they'll be ready to bid accordingly.

What has me scratching my head is General Dynamics.  What are they thinking. This will probably go to a tracked vehicle and instead of sending an ASCOD 2 with a remote weapon system and perhaps enlarged cargo section, they're mailing it in and sending an ASCOD 1.  That's old tech and the Danish will not be amused.

The wheeled vehicles are interesting but I see no advantage for them and several disadvantages in this kind of contest.

We'll see soon though...and I could be wrong.