The Ministry of Defence has today, Thursday 8 May 2008, announced the provisional selection of Piranha 5 as the preferred design for the Future Rapid Effect System (FRES) Utility Vehicle, the first of the Army's programme for a new force of battlefield armoured vehicles.
Piranha 5 is the first vehicle to be selected in the FRES family of vehicles
[Picture: General Dynamics (UK) Ltd]
Piranha 5, offered by General Dynamics (UK) Ltd, is the first vehicle to be selected in the FRES family of vehicles, an incremental programme to replace parts of the Army's Saxon, FV 430 and CVR(T) vehicle fleets and deliver a new medium weight capability.
FRES will be delivered in stages, the Utility Vehicles being introduced first and then the more complex Specialist Vehicles delivered in planned increments later on. It is intended that the total FRES capability will be delivered in five families of vehicles: Utility, Reconnaissance, Medium Armour, Manoeuvre Support and the Basic Capability Utility. FRES will be used widely to support the whole spectrum of military operations.
Baroness Ann Taylor, Minister for Defence Equipment and Support, said:
"The FRES vehicle programme will be a major investment in the future of our Armed Forces. I am pleased to announce the provisional selection of Piranha 5 as the preferred design for the FRES Utility Vehicle and I look forward to working with General Dynamics (UK) Ltd during the next stage of the FRES Utility Vehicle programme.
"FRES is a long term programme to be delivered in stages to meet the Army's needs over the next thirty years. Today marks an important milestone."
"The provisional selection of Piranha 5 as the FRES Utility Vehicle design heralds the start of a new era for the Army in terms of capability. It maintains the progress of the FRES programme which is at the heart of the British Army's equipment programme and is my highest priority after support to operations. This will form the backbone of the Army's future armoured vehicle requirements." General Sir Richard Dannatt, Chief of the General Staff
General Sir Richard Dannatt, Chief of the General Staff, added:
"The provisional selection of Piranha 5 as the FRES Utility Vehicle design heralds the start of a new era for the Army in terms of capability. It maintains the progress of the FRES programme which is at the heart of the British Army's equipment programme and is my highest priority after support to operations. This will form the backbone of the Army's future armoured vehicle requirements.
"Whilst our Protected Personnel Vehicles such as Mastiff are a very successful addition to meet specific operational requirements in both Iraq and Afghanistan, it is the FRES medium weight capability which will allow the Army to conduct a considerably wider range of operations in an uncertain and changing world. I am therefore delighted that we are maintaining progress on this vital programme."
The FRES programme will equip the UK Armed Forces with new medium weight armoured vehicles. The Utility Vehicle Design is one of a number of competitions being conducted as part of the competitive acquisition strategy for FRES. On 6 February 2008, the MOD announced that a Thales (UK) and Boeing team had been appointed for the System of Systems Integrator (SOSI) role. In addition, a competition to select an integrator for the Utility Vehicle is ongoing. Further competitions will select the designs for other variants.
The Army's FRES requirement continues to be informed by operational experience, where the threats to our forces are constantly evolving. This operational experience means that FRES specifications will be matched as closely as possible to the needs of our troops both today and in the future. This announcement signals the start of a risk reduction phase with the provisional selection of the preferred design for the FRES Utility Vehicle. http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/De...ityVehicle.htm
Fair winds......
Dauntless sons of Celtic sires
Whose souls the love of freedom fires,
Hark! ev'ry harp to war inspires
On Cader Idris side.
See the brave advancing,
See the brave advancing,
Each well-tried spear
Which Saxons fear,
In warlike splendour glancing.
Proud Harlech from her frowning tow'rs
Pours forth her never failing pow'rs.
Rouse, heroes, glory shall be ours,
March on, your country's pride!
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Why?, Stryker was an American appropriate name, (2 MOH recipients) everyone else just call's them Piranhas/LAV's
Fair winds......
Dauntless sons of Celtic sires
Whose souls the love of freedom fires,
Hark! ev'ry harp to war inspires
On Cader Idris side.
See the brave advancing,
See the brave advancing,
Each well-tried spear
Which Saxons fear,
In warlike splendour glancing.
Proud Harlech from her frowning tow'rs
Pours forth her never failing pow'rs.
Rouse, heroes, glory shall be ours,
March on, your country's pride!
Scoring disabled. You must be logged in to score posts.
Fair winds......
Dauntless sons of Celtic sires
Whose souls the love of freedom fires,
Hark! ev'ry harp to war inspires
On Cader Idris side.
See the brave advancing,
See the brave advancing,
Each well-tried spear
Which Saxons fear,
In warlike splendour glancing.
Proud Harlech from her frowning tow'rs
Pours forth her never failing pow'rs.
Rouse, heroes, glory shall be ours,
March on, your country's pride!
Scoring disabled. You must be logged in to score posts.
By andrew chuter
Published: 8 May 12:25 EDT (08:25 GMT)
LONDON - General Dynamics' Piranha 5 has emerged as the winner of the Ministry of Defence competition to equip the British Army with a new generation of protected mobility, communication and other utility vehicles as part of the Future Rapid Effects System (FRES) program.
Baroness Taylor, defense procurement minister, announced May 7 that the U.K. arm of General Dynamics had been provisionally selected as the preferred designer in Parliament.
She called it an "important milestone" in the program to deliver the medium-weight FRES capability to the British Army.
The company is set to undertake a government-funded risk-reduction phase on the Piranha 5. The vehicle is the latest version of the big-selling Piranha range of wheeled armored platforms.
Currently in development, it is larger, heavier and more electronically sophisticated than Piranha 4 and earlier models of the vehicle.
A spokesman for the MoD said the risk-reduction phase was "aimed at increasing confidence in the maturity of the vehicle design across performance, cost and time issues."
The spokesman said the work would be completed once the objectives and milestones on risk reduction had been achieved, declining to specify a date.
In a statement, General Dynamics said it was now entering negotiations with the MoD to determine the scope of the development work required.
Sandy Wilson, president and managing director of General Dynamics UK, said in a statement that the company had been undertaking development work "at our own initiative and we will work closely with the MoD to de-risk the program. At the same time, we will be continuing our strong bids for the utility vehicle integrator role and for the follow-on FRES specialist vehicles."
The MoD said the competition to select an integrator is ongoing. BAE Systems, Britain's leading armored vehicle builder, is among the rival bidders.
Initial operating capability of the utility variant is scheduled to be in service by 2012. However, doubts have emerged in recent months as to whether the program might suffer delays caused by a shortage of cash to fund MoD programs.
Gen. Sir Richard Dannatt, chief of the General Staff, said the selection of FRES "heralds the start of a new era for the army in terms of capability. It maintains the progress of the FRES program, which is at the heart of the British Army's equipment program and is my highest priority after support to operations."
The utility variant is the largest element of the FRES program. The current MoD plan is to deliver just over 2,000 utility variants out of a fleet of some 3,720 FRES vehicles. The other elements cover reconnaissance, medium armor, maneuver support and a basic capability utility vehicle.
Few industry executives expect the army to ever get the number of vehicles currently being talked about.
Nevertheless, on current figures, FRES will eventually account for more than 75 percent of the British armored vehicle force as the army swings toward a largely air-transportable, medium-weight capability.
This thing must be massive. I had a good look inside a Stryker for the first time the other day, and it was huge. With the bar armour/applique armour etc attached, it looked like a battleship parked on top of a clown car. It looked especiialy massive parked next to one of my PCs. The Piranha 5 is even bigger than the Stryker, which by my calculations would make it about the same size as Belgium. You could probably fit a whole platoon inside.
I want one, but I'll take mine with a turreted Mk44 cannon please.
- Sarge
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Lo there do I see my father.
Lo there do I see my mother.
Lo there do I see my brothers and my sisters.
Lo there do I see the line of my people back to the beginning.
Lo they do call to me;
they bid me take my place among them in the Halls of Valhalla,
where the brave may live forever.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
There were 481 occasions were Typhoons were cannibalised last year in the RAF to keep the rest of the fleet running... Jwcook <<<<<<<<<
This message has been edited by sampaix on May 9, 2008 9:37 AM
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Big figures again TROLL??? Typical lack of self estime.
No score for this post
May 9 2008, 9:48 AM
About your IQ???
BTW Your LIAR's Signature confirms the increasing gravity of your syndrome...
Lo there do I see my father.
Lo there do I see my mother.
Lo there do I see my brothers and my sisters.
Lo there do I see the line of my people back to the beginning.
Lo they do call to me;
they bid me take my place among them in the Halls of Valhalla,
where the brave may live forever.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
There were 481 occasions were Typhoons were cannibalised last year in the RAF to keep the rest of the fleet running... Jwcook <<<<<<<<<
This message has been edited by sampaix on May 9, 2008 9:49 AM
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Still CANT make sense of MoD programe launch stament?
P1SS takers. Only a great deal of ENVY and low estime get you to this low level of intellectual honnesty but HE we all know who you are.....
Lo there do I see my father.
Lo there do I see my mother.
Lo there do I see my brothers and my sisters.
Lo there do I see the line of my people back to the beginning.
Lo they do call to me;
they bid me take my place among them in the Halls of Valhalla,
where the brave may live forever.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
There were 481 occasions were Typhoons were cannibalised last year in the RAF to keep the rest of the fleet running... Jwcook <<<<<<<<<
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Just let it go will you and stop throwing your toys out of the pram because people don't agree with you. That's life, get over it. The sooner you learn this hard lesson in life the easier things will get for you!
As for intellectual dishonesty, posting pages and pages of worthless Dassault sales guff just to kill a thread sums you up in one.
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Quote:u_fokker
Just let it go will you and stop throwing your toys out of the pram because people don't agree with you.
NOT ME mate, this is the poor TROLL'S excuse, WITH REALITY.
Which is the TROLL'S no-go territory.
Quote:That's life, get over it. The sooner you learn this hard lesson in life the easier things will get for you!
You WISH, the lesson is YOU to learn, i'm MORE resillient than your group of tiny toons by a FAIR margin, you think you're off the hook and can keep desinforming people at wish???
Wrong daydream trolls!!!
Quote:As for intellectual dishonesty, posting pages and pages of worthless Dassault sales guff just to kill a thread sums you up in one.
Excuse ME: Dassault have little to do with that, you dont have the education and IQ level to comprehend the difference between NASA/ONERA docs and commercials it's YOUR problem, again troll, you mystake ME for one of yours and it's rather insulting.
This is a lethal mystake and READ; im' NOT finish with your superioricist manure, stories and exagerations, you tell the truth to people i'll leave you alone, you take the P!SS you're on my sight and can go complain to the MODS, pitty there is no bans for liars and flamers because you're top of the list....
Lo there do I see my father.
Lo there do I see my mother.
Lo there do I see my brothers and my sisters.
Lo there do I see the line of my people back to the beginning.
Lo they do call to me;
they bid me take my place among them in the Halls of Valhalla,
where the brave may live forever.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
There were 481 occasions were Typhoons were cannibalised last year in the RAF to keep the rest of the fleet running... Jwcook <<<<<<<<<
This message has been edited by sampaix on May 9, 2008 10:36 AM
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No, actually they tested the Piranha 4 Evolution, a cross breed developed by GD Mowag (Switzerland) and GD UK that should be indicative of the Piranha 5.
Europe's first true UCAV - first flight 2010
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You WISH, the lesson is YOU to learn, i'm MORE resillient than your group of tiny toons by a FAIR margin, you think you're off the hook and can keep desinforming people at wish???
Wrong daydream trolls!!!
Huh?
Excuse ME: Dassault have little to do with that, you dont have the education and IQ level to comprehend the difference between NASA/ONERA docs and commercials it's YOUR problem, again troll, you mystake ME for one of yours and it's rather insulting.
ROFLMAO Sampaix, do you remember the time you had a go at a British poster (Rob IIRC) about his "bad grammer", I'm not sure how I managed to stop laughing
The VBCI would be a great solution for UK and France.
Sarkozy promise a lot of exchange if UK choose it.
There should be plenty to co-operate on with the French CVF
"He lives in a world where concept is reality..."
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Current Topic - Piranha 5 confirmed as FRES Utility Vehicle
