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30-657: The total FRES fleet was to be divided into two main parts, the Utility Variant (FRES UV) and the Specialist Variant (FRES SV). These types were broken down into families of vehicles: The Utility Variant comprises protected mobility, command and control, light armoured support, repair and recovery and medical. The Specialist Variant comprises RECCE Block 1 (Scout, armoured personnel carrier, repair, recovery and Common Base Platform) and RECCE Block 2 (Joint Fires Direction, Command Post and Engineer Recce). Despite long delays in

60-710: A few VBCIs to the British Army for testing. French military sources report that the British Army is interested in purchasing the vehicle. The French Ministry of Defense has indicated that the French Army may purchase the British Watchkeeper WK450 unmanned aerial vehicle if the British Army buys the VBCI. The British Army is testing the VBCI as part of the future utility vehicle programme, intended to start replacing

90-709: A new procurement team named Medium Armoured Tracks Team (MATT). The two programmes share the Common Cannon and Ammunition Programme, whereby a new 40mm Cannon from CTAI will be the main armament to both the upgraded Warriors and the new Specialist Vehicle. With the demise of the UV procurement, the supporting roles of SOSI and VI were no longer required, and were not pursued as part of the overall procurement scheme. FRES as an overarching programme effectively no longer exists, with future UV and SV projects being separate armored vehicle procurements. In February 2014, France agreed to lend

120-592: The ASCOD armoured fighting vehicle which was co-developed by another General Dynamics subsidiary, the Spanish-based Santa Bárbara Sistemas . A total of 589 vehicles were to be produced in six variants, including turreted Ajax armoured reconnaissance variants, Ares armoured personnel carrier variants, Athena command and control variants, Argus engineer reconnaissance variants, Atlas recovery variants and Apollo repair variants. Manufacturing and assembly of

150-588: The FRES SOSI contract was awarded to a joint team of Thales and Boeing. The SOSI team was contracted to act as an independent, honest broker between industry and the MoD to co-ordinate the procurement of more than 3,000 vehicles which were expected to be acquired under FRES. Six main elements of the SOSI role were: programme management; systems of systems engineering and integration; alliance development and management; development of

180-740: The Ministry of Defence decided to restructure the programme. The utility vehicle programme was scheduled to restart towards the end of 2010. The UK MoD's Defence Equipment and Support agency focused its attention on the tracked variants of the FRES programme, most notably the Specialist Vehicle. The FRES Integrated Project Team, based at MoD Abbey Wood, disbanded, and the SV was joined with the Warrior Capability Sustainment Programme (WCSP) in

210-524: The MoD invited BAE Systems and General Dynamics UK to help it develop new reconnaissance vehicles for the British Army as part of the FRES Scout Vehicles programme. In March 2010, the MoD awarded General Dynamics UK a development contract to build the SCOUT SV. BAE Systems fought to reverse the decision by announcing it would move manufacturing from Sweden to its Newcastle factory. The £500M contract for

240-505: The MoD's SOSI competence; through-life capability management; and through-life technology management. The SOSI role was scrapped when the programme was restructured following the failure to progress with the UV procurement. The first family of vehicles, known as the Utility Vehicles (UV) were expected to enter service in the 2010s. FRES UV was to have replaced the Army's Saxon wheeled APC ,

270-638: The UK Ministry of Defence to deliver Bowman , a communications system for the British Armed Forces, beating competing bids from Thales and TRW . The work was carried out at a newly opened UK headquarters in Oakdale , South Wales , and under the new name of General Dynamics UK Limited, having previously been known as CDC Systems UK Limited. The Bowman system was to equip some 20,000 vehicles, 149 naval vessels, 350 aircraft and 100,000 service personnel. It

300-929: The company has produced the General Dynamics Ajax armoured fighting vehicle, the Ocelot light protected patrol vehicle and the Bowman communications system. It is one of the UK's leading defence companies and a key supplier to the UK Ministry of Defence . The company was originally founded as Computing Devices, part of the General Dynamics Information Systems and Technology group, in 1962. In 1997, General Dynamics acquired Computing Devices Ltd which had been based in Hastings , East Sussex , since 1974. The company

330-422: The contracted specification". In March 2022, the UK government asked Clive Sheldon KC to conduct a review into the failings and lessons to be learnt from the procurement of the armoured vehicles. The problems found by Clive Sheldon KC were numerous such as problems with: scheduling; technical issues; safety issues; implementation of a huge and complex contract; and the management of contractual disputes. The cost of

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360-657: The current fleet of protected mobility vehicles by 2022. FRES UV has now been renamed as the Mechanised Infantry Vehicle programme. The Specialist Vehicles (SV) procurement will provide a range of vehicles including reconnaissance, engineering and battlefield medical variants, based on a tracked chassis. The CV90 , offered by BAE Systems , and the ASCOD SV , offered by General Dynamics UK , were put forward as potential reconnaissance vehicles. In November 2008, they were awarded assessment-phase contracts . In July 2009,

390-516: The delivery of Foxhound to the British Army and continues marketing the product. In 2016, the UK Ministry of Defence awarded an Assessment Phase contract for its Challenger 2 Life Extension Project (LEP) to Team Challenger 2, a consortium of companies led by BAE Systems which included General Dynamics Land Systems - UK. The company's Merthyr Tydfil facility was to be used to bring the Challenger 2 up to Mark 2 standard. In 2017, General Dynamics UK

420-495: The delivery of the Ajax armoured vehicles, with a report by David King, Director Health, Safety and Environmental Protection in the Ministry of Defence finding failings in the handling of health and safety concerns raised during vehicle trials, and also in the acquisition system of the MOD more generally. David King went on to conclude that the vehicles were "not fit for purpose and does not meet

450-762: The demonstration phase of 7 prototype vehicles was announced in July 2010. Trials were expected to start in 2013. The PMRS version of Scout was revealed during the 2014 exhibition. In September 2014, the British Ministry of Defence will sign a £3.5 billion (US $ 5.8 billion) deal with General Dynamics UK for 589 Scout SV platforms. These will include Reconnaissance and Strike variants, Joint Fire Control variants, Ground Based Surveillance variants, Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) variants, Command and Control (C2) variants, Formation Reconnaissance Overwatch variants, Engineer Reconnaissance variants, Recovery and Repair variants. The Scout SV

480-642: The first 100 vehicles took place in Spain using steel supplied from Sweden, something the British government argued was not a major loss for British industry as the work for the remaining 489 vehicles was to be carried out in the United Kingdom. Subsequently, in 2016, General Dynamics UK opened an assembly, integration and testing facility for Ajax at a former forklift truck factory in Merthyr Tydfil , Wales , where work on

510-400: The level of protection the Army need. In FRES UV it was envisaged that a further role, that of the "vehicle integrator", would be required to ensure that the vehicles are customised to meet British Army requirements and be supported and upgraded through their life. A number of companies positioned for this role, including BAE Systems and General Dynamics. When the programme was restructured this

540-591: The procurement is estimated to be £5.5 billion and in January 2023, it was reported that General Dynamics had missed the deadline to file its statement of accounts. General Dynamics UK Limited comprises two business units: General Dynamics Land Systems - UK and General Dynamics Mission Systems - UK. General Dynamics UK has eight sites in a total of six locations in the United Kingdom: Mowag Piranha V Too Many Requests If you report this error to

570-542: The procurement process, exacerbated by a budget shortfall at the MoD, the FRES programme is moving ahead with the award of the Specialist Vehicle contract to General Dynamics UK for the ASCOD AFV tracked vehicle in March 2010. Due to the complexity of the FRES programme, a "System of Systems" Integrator (SOSI) was appointed to assist the MoD in the selection of the vehicles and cross-vehicle electronic architecture. In October 2007,

600-629: The project in 2003, stating that the Boxer did not fulfill requirements. The British Ministry of Defence decided to pursue a replacement, with a specification that it could be airlifted by Airbus A400M and smaller C-130 Hercules transport aircraft . The new "Future Rapid Effect System" project was established in May 2004, with an assessment period of two years. Since then, the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory has been researching electric armour , with

630-455: The remaining 489 vehicles was to take place. The first variant of the Ajax family, the Ares, was delivered to the British Army in July 2020. In 2011, General Dynamics acquired Force Protection Inc and its UK-based subsidiary Force Protection Europe which had developed the Ocelot light protected vehicle, otherwise known as Foxhound in the British Army . General Dynamics UK subsequently oversaw

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660-452: The standard off-the-shelf version of any of these vehicles: They are designs which are currently in development to provide new models within existing families of vehicles. I am sure you agree that it would make no sense to invent a new vehicle from scratch. The designs we will look at in the trials this summer take proven vehicles, and evolve them to the next level to have the capacity, mobility, ability to upgrade through life, and, above all,

690-523: The tracked FV432 , and some of the CVR(T) vehicle family. The design is planned to follow the philosophy of "medium weight" forces that balance ease of transportability ("light") with armour ("heavy"). In 1999, Germany and United Kingdom began development of the Boxer Multi Role Armoured Vehicle , which was intended to assume different roles via switchable modules. The UK withdrew from

720-455: The view of ultimately integrating it into the FRES design. Plans for FRES vehicles to be carried by C-130 were dropped for being unworkable. In June 2007, the then Minister of State for Defence Equipment and Support , Lord Drayson , announced that three vehicles had been selected for trials to determine the utility vehicle design for FRES UV. These were: In a defence briefing on 14 June 2007, Lord Drayson made it clear that FRES UV would not be

750-416: Was awarded a £330 million contract to supply the UK Ministry of Defence with tactical communication and information systems as part of its Morpheus programme . Following the awarding of a contract to supply the British Army with armoured fighting vehicles in 2010 as part of its Future Rapid Effect System, there has been a number of failures to deliver the contract as promised. A particular challenge has been

780-671: Was later renamed as Ajax. General Dynamics UK General Dynamics UK is the British subsidiary of the American defence and security corporation General Dynamics . Founded in London in 1962, the company has grown to include eight sites across the United Kingdom , including in Bristol , Chippenham , Hastings , Merthyr Tydfil , Oakdale and Rotherham . Specialising in armoured fighting vehicles, avionic systems and tactical communications,

810-524: Was no longer envisaged as a separate role. The announcement of the winning design was initially planned for November 2007. The selection was announced in May 2008. The winning design provisionally selected for the FRES Utility Vehicle contract was the Mowag Piranha V , manufactured by General Dynamics. This decision had been expected, with speculation from February 2008 onwards that General Dynamics

840-596: Was responsible for supplying avionics to the Tornado GR1 , Harrier GR7 , Nimrod MR2 and Eurofighter Typhoon . These were praised for their effectiveness during both the Falklands War and Gulf War . More recently, the company provided avionics for the AgustaWestland AW101 Mk3 and Mk4 and AgustaWestland AW159 Wildcat helicopters. In 2001, Computing Devices Canada (CDC) won a £1.7 billion contract from

870-406: Was successfully delivered from March 2004. In 2010, General Dynamics UK was awarded a contract to supply the British Army with a family of armoured fighting vehicles to meet the requirements of its Future Rapid Effect System (FRES) programme. As prime contractor, the company's bid centered around the General Dynamics Ajax armoured fighting vehicle (previously known as Scout SV), a development of

900-530: Was the preferred contractor for the deal. However, as no production order was announced, various sources "feared that the FRES programme had fallen victim to the UK defence "budget crunch". This was borne out in December 2008, when General Dynamics' status as preferred contractor for the Utility Vehicle contract was rescinded. After General Dynamics had its preferred bidder status for UV withdrawn in December 2008,

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