Why was there no proper competition for the British Army’s Mobile Fires Platform?
The UK Defence Equipment & Support organisation normally holds international competitions for its major land systems programmes to provide best value for its customer, the British Army.
Recent examples include the Challenger 2 MBT Life Extension Programme, won by what is now RBSL, and the Warrior Capability Sustainment Programme which went to Lockheed Martin UK but was subsequently cancelled, leaving yet another gap in the UK’s land capability... Continues below
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Above: The RCH 155 offering is based on the Boxer 8x8 Multi-Role Armoured Vehicle, of which 623 have already been ordered for the British Army. (Photo: KNDS Germany)
For some years the UK has been working on the Mobile Fires Platform (MFP) as the replacement for the AS90 155mm/52cal self-propelled (SP) artillery system of which 179 were built with final deliveries in 1995.
Since then, the AS90 fleet size has been gradually reduced and a batch of 32, including 12 non-runners as spares, has been passed to Ukraine which left a capability gap in the Royal Artillery’s indirect firepower.
This was partly plugged by the rapid acquisition of 14 BAE Systems Bofors Archer 155mm/52cal 6x6 artillery SP systems under a Swedish-UK government-to-government agreement.
These Archers have now been delivered to the Royal School of Artillery in Larkhill, Wiltshire, and are sufficient for two batteries each of six guns plus two for training.
A number of contractors were potential MFP bidders including BAE Systems Bofors with the Archer, Elbit with its ATMOS, KNDS Germany with the Remote Controlled Howitzer 155 (RCH 155), KNDS France with the Caesar 6x6 and Hanwha with the K9 Thunder.
All of these are fitted with a 155mm/52cal ordnance that meets the NATO Joint Ballistic Memorandum of Understanding.
The original requirement was for 116 MFPs which was to be a complete system including not only the gun platform but also a suite of ammunition, training and resupply equipment.
Team Archer and Team Thunder were both working to establish a UK production/integration capability for the MFP as part of the British government’s Land Industrial Capability initiative.
Team Thunder’s offering included the latest K9A2 with a clear growth path for the future as well as UK content of at least 50%. The K9 is being adopted by an increasing number of countries, especially in Europe.
One industry source was ‘very disappointed not to have a proper MFP competition’ under which the different systems could be put through proper tests including battlefield days.
The lack of such a competition and handing the contract to the RCH 155 could well be down to the fact that the process would take too long, and the selected Boxer 8x8 chassis is already in production in the UK, as is the base mission module. The British Army has 623 Boxers currently under contract.
Above: The Hanwha K9 Thunder is described as the world’s best-selling tracked SP system. This is the latest K9A2 during firing tests. (Photo: Hanwha Aerospace)
The first customer for the RCH 155 is Ukraine which is taking delivery of 18 from KNDS’s Kassel production line while the German Army is expected to procure as many as 200 systems.
The UK has had little success in fielding new artillery systems as the AS90 Extended Range Ordnance/Modular Charge System (ERO/MCS) was cancelled, as was procurement of the German SMArt 155mm DM702 top attack munition, 155mm Lightweight Mobile Artillery Weapon System (Gun) and Light Mobile Artillery Weapon System (Rocket).
Hopefully the RCH 155 in its MFP guise will not meet the same fate.
Other articles in this newsletter:
Six of the best – why the 6x6 APC is enjoying a renaissance
Will Paramount’s Mbombe 6 APC be built in Ukraine?
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