General Dynamics pitches updated ‘Foxhound’ for British Army needs

LONDON — General Dynamics UK is discussing with the British Army a possible further order for an updated version of its Foxhound protected patrol vehicle, the company has said.

An Mk 2 version of the ride, which could include a variant with a hybrid electric drive, is likely to be offered to the British Army for a requirement known as the land mobility pipeline.

The British acquired 400 Foxhounds in 2012 to equip infantry with a vehicle protected primarily against mine blasts in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Now the company is hoping to get the vehicle back in production with a refreshed version of the Foxhound meeting Army requirements under the land mobility pipeline – previously called the protected mobility pipeline.

“It’s relatively early days but we have described to them [the British Army] what we think the Mk2 would look like. It’s a fairly active conversation with them about the vehicle,” a company spokesman told Defense News. “We are still waiting to see precisely what the requirement is but we would like Foxhound to be a candidate.”

Answering questions in Parliament in June, procurement minister James Cartlidge said the land mobility program was currently in its concept phase.

“Subject to confirmation during the approvals process, it is anticipated that the program will seek to deliver four categories of platforms,” he said, with a general-support variant on the wish list alongside light, medium and heavy protected versions.

Ministry of Defence officials said last year that the program would be funded to the tune of £1 billion, or $1.2 billion, starting in 2025.

A key upgrade could be the fitting of a hybrid engine.

The General Dynamics spokesman said a hybrid-powered variant may not be the standard fit for Foxhound, but it could make up a portion of the fleet.

The company received a deal by the MoD in 2020 to undertake demonstrator work with the Army on an electric-drive Foxhound as part of its then protected mobility program.

“We have done prototype demonstrators with hybrid drive so its pretty mature,” said the spokesman.

Andrew Chuter is the United Kingdom correspondent for Defense News.

伦敦——通用动力英国公司表示，该公司正在与英国陆军讨论是否进一步订购其“猎狐犬”防护巡逻车的升级版。

该车的 Mk 2 版本（可能包括混合动力电动驱动版本）可能会提供给英国陆军，以满足其名为“陆地机动管道”的需求。

2012 年，英国采购了 400 辆猎狐车，为在阿富汗和伊拉克作战的步兵提供主要防雷爆炸的车辆。

现在，该公司希望通过改进 Foxhound 车型，使其重新投入生产，以满足陆军在陆地机动管道（以前称为受保护的机动管道）下的要求。

“现在还处于早期阶段，但我们已经向他们（英国陆军）描述了我们认为Mk2型战车的样子。我们与他们就这款战车进行了相当积极的沟通，”该公司发言人告诉《防务新闻》。“我们仍在等待具体的需求说明，但我们希望Foxhound能够成为候选方案之一。”

今年6月，采购部长詹姆斯·卡特里奇在议会回答问题时表示，陆地交通运输计划目前仍处于概念阶段。

“在审批过程中得到确认后，预计该计划将寻求提供四类平台，”他说道，除了轻度、中度和重度保护版本外，还希望推出通用支持版本。

英国国防部官员去年表示，该计划将从 2025 年开始获得 10 亿英镑（约合 12 亿美元）的资金。

一项关键升级可能是加装混合动力发动机。

通用动力公司发言人表示，混合动力版本可能不是 Foxhound 的标准配置，但可以构成机队的一部分。

2020 年，该公司与英国国防部达成协议，作为当时英国国防部防护机动计划的一部分，与陆军合作开展电动驱动的 Foxhound 装甲车的演示工作。

发言人表示：“我们已经制造出了混合动力驱动的原型演示车，所以这项技术已经相当成熟了。”

Andrew Chuter 是《防务新闻》的英国记者。