Upfront.
Get over it. You know I've been beating the drums about the need for a new Marine Corps troop transport (the MTVR is not and will not cut it and the AAV is getting long in the tooth) so a focus on the revived MPC is happening on these pages.
Which brings me to this. When Lockheed Martin responded to my query about them continuing to participate in the MPC contest, the response was a fiery yes and that Havoc 2.0 is a go.
Havoc 2.0?
Bravado or an inadvertent slip that the already formidable Patria AMV...already modified for Marine Corps use... was receiving even more tweaks?
After chewing on this for a bit, I've come to the conclusion that it was a slip and that Lockheed Martin is seeking to improve on the one area where they could be considered inferior to the BAE offering. Swimming. Below are two pics. One of the standard AMV and below that the Havoc.
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| Patria AMV undergoing swim tests in Finland 2002. |
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| Havoc undergoing sea test 2013. |
Considering the vehicles strengths...combat proven, excellent mobility, architecture designed for growth, IED protection and impressive load carriage/growth...the only thing missing is probably its rating in the swim test.
This is a guess but I fully expect the 2.0 to involve improvements to the vehicles swimming. What might that include? I haven't the foggiest but when I find out so will you.
They probably indeed work on better seagoing or rather seagoing at all. Classic Patria was design to swim but only thru rivers or lakes, calm waters. Even the calm sea near beach is a lot more demanding then even the most crazy river crossing.
ReplyDeleteyeah but i'm just wondering what they're doing. either someone was whispering in their ears or they ...somehow...kept working on this thing through sheer faith and are getting even more improvements on it over the standard model.
Deletelet me add that the Havoc is not the Patria AMV. its has the same lineage but in many respects its a much improved vehicle. have you looked at the weights and load capability?
Patria never stop the R&D of their product, they work on it all the time, change, improve, update. One of the most important part of that work is creation of highly modified chassis that can be offered to large number of customers. And Havoc is the Patria AMV in terms of basic chassis and design philosophy, even better Havoc is just a updated Polish "Rosomak". One of the part of deal with Polish army was that all the data, everything about what's was good and what was bad go to Patria. Every idea, every problem, just everything that Polish soldiers learn are taken to the Patria R&D department. That's a precious data, no, the priceless data that not many other company's can get. And then they integrate everything they know in to new incarnation of AMV, the Havoc. Also we can add they own new materials, stronger alloys ect. world is moving ahead and they know it.
DeleteThe only problem as you notice is that swimming case, maybe they will use some additional displacement packages that Poles show last year on arms fairs in Kielce for Rosomak.
Patria is also working on an upgraded AMV, they showed of the concept vehicle at DSEI 2013. I'm guessing this Havoc 2.0 also inlcudes those upgrades.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.patria.fi/en/news+and+events/news/the+future+generation+armoured+wheeled+vehicle+concept+launched+at+dsei+2013.html