Investment in Armoured Vehicle Capabilities Given Recent Developments in Eastern Europe, Should Remain a Critical Priority for Governments

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Defence IQ

03 Nov, 2015, 06:30 GMT

LONDON, November 3, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Defence IQ's 15th Annual International Armoured Vehicles conference held in January at Twickenham Stadium, UK reunited the armoured vehicles community to debate the capability, knowledge and project management challenges for the global community, as well as engage with their customers and supply chain to bring forward their modernisation and development agendas.

At the conference, the theme of Eastern Europe was reinforced in keynote addresses from Philip Dunne, Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology, British Government and Lt. Gen. Michael Williamson, Principal Military Deputy to the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology, US DoD.

Philip Dunne also highlighted that "in an age when we face a kaleidoscope of threats...our armed forces will continually be called upon. The imperative to maintain a battle fleet of vehicles is as complicated as ever." This was supported by his exclusive announcement of a £30 million contract with General Dynamics Land Systems Europe for the maintenance and support of the Mastiff and Ridgeback armoured vehicles.

Another highlight of this year's conference was a G5 industry panel debate of C-level participants from some of the prime OEMs in the sector including Nexter Systems, Textron Systems, BAE Systems Hägglunds, Milspray and Ruag. The panel discussed a range of topics, such as what the current trends are in design and how these will translate in future programmes, the use of hybrid drives and current guidance from Armies and governments on requirements.  

Along with high-level political and military keynotes, the conference also invited academic and technical leaders to present their research to better understand what progress is being made in the field and what we can expect in the future. Professor Bryn James, Head of Armour and Protection Science at DSTL, revealed that despite manufacturers and end-users always wanting "unobtainium," he's confident that advanced technologies are now being more and more readily available. "We're no longer asking for the impossible" and that it is "feasible in the next two or three years will see something on electric armour and active protection." The technologies have been in R&D for many years but could now be nearing operational use. He also stressed the importance of robustness and armour and the need to repair it in-theatre. Morgan Advanced Materials also presented on its recent ballistic advances and IBD Deisenroth Engineering discussed some of its cutting edge research, which included the early-stage development of graphene armour. DSM Dyneema gave a comprehensive outline of its much-admired polyethylene armour and its future plans.

Other esteemed guests at International Armoured Vehicles 2015 included:

  • Major General Robert Talbot-Rice, Head of Armoured Vehicle Programmes, DE&S
  • Brig. Gen. Charles Beaudouin, Director Technical Section, French Army
  • Lt. Col. Piotr Kosinski, Senior Specialist Land Forces Inspectorate, Polish Armed Forces General Command
  • Brig. Gen. Harold Lucho Avendano, Evaluator Technical Committee (CETO), Peruvian Army
  • Col. German Schell O'Kuinghttons, Chilean Army
  • Maj. Gen. Payenda Mohammad Nazim, Inspector General, Afghan MoD
  • Brig. Gen. Enam Nazar, Commander of the Armoured Mobile Strike Force, Afghan National Army

We would also like to congratulate the winners of our International Armoured Vehicles XV Awards, judged by our industry media partners:

  • Textron Systems COMMANDO®  for Best Vehicle Platform
  • Morgan CAMAC® for Personnel Protection Technology
  • Microflown AVISA's Threat Identifier for Most Innovative International Product

Media contact: Nishkala Thiru, +44(0)20-7368-9725, Nishkala.Thiru@iqpc.co.uk or visit http://www.internationalarmouredvehicles.com.

If you would like information about our 2016 conference (25-28 January 2016, London), please email Nishkala Thiru at Nishkala.Thiru@iqpc.co.uk.