Project Overview

LAND 106 was endorsed by Government in the 2000 Defence White Paper to provide a major upgrade of 350 of the Army�s in-service M113A1 vehicles. The upgrade will provide significant enhancements in protection, lethality and mobility whilst also providing improved supportability:

• Protection. Protection will be significantly enhanced with the addition of appliqu� armour and spall curtains as well as a number of changes designed to enhance the vehicle�s mine protection.
• Lethality. Lethality will be increased with the incorporation of a totally new electrically powered turret. The turret will be fitted with a quick-change barrel machine gun and a new day/night gun sight.
• Mobility. The upgrade includes a new engine, transmission, drive train and driver�s controls. To maximise the benefits of this new driveline the suspension, track and road wheels are also being replaced.
• Supportability. Improvements include new electrical and fuel systems, improved habitability and a range of new stowage layouts to meet the diverse requirements of the numerous user units.

At the completion of the upgrade each of the variants will be designated as either an M113AS3 or M113AS4. The designations AS3 and AS4 refer to the carrying capacity of the upgraded vehicles. The AS3 variants have five road wheel stations per side and a Recommended Gross Vehicle Mass (RGVM) of 15,000kg. The AS4 variants have been stretched by 666mm, with an additional road wheel station per side and a RGVM of 18,000kg.

There are seven variants of the M113AS being produced. These are Armoured Personnel Carrier (M113AS4 APC); Armoured Fitters (M113AS4 AF); Armoured Recovery Vehicle Light (M806AS4 ARVL); Armoured Ambulance (M113AS4 AA); Armoured Mortar (M125AS3 AM); Armoured Command Vehicle (M113AS4 ACV); and Armoured Logistic Vehicle (M113AS4 ALV).

The contract is structured in 3 stages to mitigate development risk for the Commonwealth:

• Stage 1 was the development and preliminary testing of two Demonstration vehicles.
• Stage 2 was the design, construction and testing of the first of the Initial Production Vehicles (IPV).
• Stage 3 is the design, construction and testing of the remaining Initial Production Vehicles and the delivery of 336 production standard vehicles.

The M113AS Family of Vehicles (FOV) will have greater firepower, protection and mobility than the existing M113A1 fleet.

• A powerful EURO III four-stroke DaimlerChrysler-MTU engine coupled to a six gear ZF automatic transmission will improve speed and mobility
• Yoke steering with true pivot turn and natural steering input in reverse
• Upgraded vehicles will have base level protection enhanced by external appliqu� armour and spall curtains for increased vehicle and crew protection
• A new Tenix designed and manufactured turret will provide a platform to ensure superior firepower
  • Day/night sight (including a unity vision periscope channel)
  • New electric powered turret drives with stabilisation as future growth capability
  • New M2 HB QCB 12.7mm machine gun
• Revised seating and stowage layouts in the M113AS4 APC(S) to provide improved habitability for the vehicle crew and passengers
• Hull reinforcement to improve mine blast protection

Tenix has chosen German company FFG as the major technology partner for the program.  Other key subcontractors and suppliers include Thales Optronics, Moog GmbH, SKF Australia, Bisalloy and a number of Australian SMEs.

• Manufacturer/Type MTU 6V 199 TE
• No. of Cylinders V6
• Power (Nett) 260kW @ 2000rpm
• Torque (Nett) 1730 Nm @ 1080rpm
• Capacity 11.95 litres

• Fording depth(unprepared) 1600 mm
• Turning Circle(normal vehicle moving) 14.0 metres
• Turning circle (vehicle stationary) Pivot turn
• Maximum gradient 60%
• Maximum side slope 30%
• Fuel consumption highway laden 69 litres per 100 km
• Speed maximum 67 km/hr

• Browning Type 12.7mm (0.50 inch) Calibre M2-Heavy Barrel, Quick Change Barrel Machine Gun7.62mm MAG 58 Coaxial Machine Gun, or

• 7.62mm MAG 58 GPMG
• Ready round storage: 250 x 12.7mm/600 x 7.62mm rounds

15 November 2007
FIRST AUSTRALIAN MULTI-ROLE HELICOPTERS (MRH002 & 3) ARRIVE IN AUSTRALIA

The Defence Materiel Organisation�s (DMO) AIR 9000 Program has achieved another significant Program milestone with the arrival of the first two Multi-Role Helicopters (MRH) in Australia. The helicopters arrived at the Australian Aerospace facility in Brisbane inside a leased Antonov aircraft last night.

The arrival of the aircraft was celebrated by a small ceremony at the Australian Aerospace facility involving Industry, DMO and Defence representatives.

The MRH90 aircraft will be returned to flying condition after the transit, and test flown by Australian Aerospace flight test crews in preparation for delivery to the Commonwealth.

The AIR 9000 MRH Program will provide the Australian Defence Force (ADF) with an additional squadron of troop lift helicopters and replace existing Black Hawk and Sea King helicopter fleets, for land and maritime operations, respectively. AIR 9000 is a multi-phased program to consolidate and reduce the number of helicopter fleets operated by the ADF.

The first four MRH90 aircraft were assembled at the Eurocopter facility in Marignane, France. The remaining 42 helicopters are being assembled in Brisbane by Australian Aerospace.