Australian Army seeks light vehicles for its littoral ambitions

MELBOURNE, Australia — As Australia’s military adjusts to recommendations contained in last year’s Strategic Defence Review, there is a demand for lighter vehicles better suited operations in coastal areas.

First out of the gate in what could be a shopping spree for such rides was manufacturer Polaris, announcing earlier in September that the company had won a contract for DAGOR light vehicles.

The A$22 million (US$14.6 million) deal entails “several variants in support of joint missions worldwide,” with an undisclosed quantity to be delivered within two years, Polaris said in a statement.

These DAGOR variants cover tactical transport, expeditionary reconnaissance and cargo missions. Australian Army special forces are the likely recipient of these diesel-powered vehicles.

Michael Cannell, a sales and operations manager at Polaris Australia, told Defense News of increased regional interest in all-terrain vehicles in the past two years.

Cannell said: “We’re proud to provide this capability for Australian personnel. The DAGOR all-terrain vehicle will allow teams to move faster, carry more and significantly reduce combat fatigue by navigating complex terrain otherwise covered on foot.”

At Land Forces 2024 in Melbourne, held Sept. 11-13, Polaris also exhibited an MRZR-A vehicle, a bare-bones, ultra-light ride that comes in variants with seats for two or four occupants, according to the company’s website.

Brigadier Doug Pashley, commander of the Australian Army’s Darwin-based 1st Brigade, told Defense News about the formation’s metamorphosis from a mechanized, heavy brigade. “As part of our transition to a littoral brigade, we’re experimenting with a lot of mobility options,” he said.

That includes Supacat HMT Extenda vehicles ordinarily utilized by special forces, since “they’re probably a bit more regionally relevant than some of the heavier stuff that we’ve had in the past year,” Pashley said.

The brigade is also toying with lighter vehicles like the Polaris MRZR. “We’re really lucky we can draw lessons from other forces that have been leading the way in terms of developing littoral capabilities, both the U.S. Marine Corps and the Royal Marines,” Pashley explained. “Both have procured some light mobility vehicles, so we’re keen to leverage lessons from them.”

Polaris is not the only company seeking to cash in on changing Australian and regional requirements. Also at Land Forces 2024, local company Bale Defence debuted its RTV6 rough terrain vehicle.

This six-wheeled RTV6 joins existing RTV2 and RTV4 4x4 vehicles in its range. Bale Defence delivered 19 two-seater RTVs to the Australian Army in 2014-15, and special forces later ordered dozens of upgraded RTV2s for US$6.2 million in 2021.

Martyn Jones, Chief Operating Officer at Bale Defence, lauded the RTV6′s 1.5-ton payload capacity. Such vehicles are ideal for carrying remote-controlled weapon stations, surveillance systems and counter-drone systems, he said.

Supacat was also at Land Forces 2024, unveiling its Medium Utility Vehicle (MUV) based on a Toyota Hilux platform. Both 4x4 and 6x6 configurations are available, the MUV being the fruit of collaboration between Supacat’s British and Australian arms.

Matthew Grech, a sales executive at Supacat, told Defense News the MUV’s target clientele is special operations forces, but other applications include troop carriers, weapons carrier and utility tasks.

Gordon Arthur is an Asia correspondent for Defense News. After a 20-year stint working in Hong Kong, he now resides in New Zealand. He has attended military exercises and defense exhibitions in about 20 countries around the Asia-Pacific region.

澳大利亚墨尔本——随着澳大利亚军方根据去年战略国防评估中的建议进行调整，对更适合沿海地区作战的轻型车辆的需求日益增长。

在可能由此引发的购车热潮中，率先行动的是制造商北极星公司，该公司在 9 月初宣布，其已赢得 DAGOR 轻型车辆的合同。

北极星公司在一份声明中表示，这项价值 2200 万澳元（1460 万美元）的交易包括“支持全球联合任务的几种型号”，具体数量未公开，将在两年内交付。

这些DAGOR衍生车型涵盖战术运输、远征侦察和货物运输任务。澳大利亚陆军特种部队很可能是这些柴油动力车辆的主要接收方。

北极星澳大利亚公司的销售和运营经理迈克尔·坎内尔告诉《防务新闻》，过去两年里，该地区对全地形车的兴趣日益浓厚。

坎内尔表示：“我们很自豪能为澳大利亚人员提供这种能力。DAGOR全地形车将使作战小组能够更快地行进，携带更多物资，并通过在原本需要徒步穿越的复杂地形中行驶，显著降低战斗疲劳。”

在 9 月 11 日至 13 日于墨尔本举行的 2024 年陆军装备展上，北极星公司还展出了一款 MRZR-A 车辆，据该公司网站介绍，这是一款结构极其简单的超轻型车辆，有可容纳两名或四名乘客的版本。

驻扎在达尔文的澳大利亚陆军第一旅旅长道格·帕什利准将向《防务新闻》讲述了该旅从机械化重型旅转型为近岸旅的过程。“作为我们向近岸旅转型的一部分，我们正在试验多种机动方案，”他说。

帕什利说，​​这其中包括特种部队通常使用的 Supacat HMT Extenda 车辆，因为“它们可能比我们过去一年拥有的一些更重型的装备更具地域相关性”。

该旅还在考虑使用北极星MRZR等轻型车辆。“我们非常幸运，能够借鉴其他在发展近岸作战能力方面处于领先地位的部队的经验，比如美国海军陆战队和英国皇家海军陆战队，”帕什利解释说。“他们都采购了一些轻型机动车辆，所以我们很希望能够借鉴他们的经验。”

北极星并非唯一一家试图从澳大利亚及地区不断变化的需求中获利的公司。同样在2024年陆军装备展上，本土公司贝尔防务(Bale Defence)也首次推出了其RTV6全地形车。

这款六轮RTV6加入了现有的RTV2和RTV4四驱车产品线。贝尔防务公司在2014-15年间向澳大利亚陆军交付了19辆双座RTV，特种部队随后在2021年以620万美元的价格订购了数十辆升级版RTV2。

贝尔防务公司首席运营官马丁·琼斯对RTV6的1.5吨有效载荷能力赞不绝口。他表示，这类车辆非常适合运载遥控武器站、监视系统和反无人机系统。

Supacat公司也参加了2024年陆军装备展，并发布了基于丰田Hilux平台打造的中型多用途车（MUV）。该车提供4x4和6x6两种驱动形式，是Supacat英国和澳大利亚分公司合作的成果。

Supacat 的销售主管 Matthew Grech 告诉《防务新闻》，MUV 的目标客户是特种作战部队，但其他应用包括运兵车、武器运输车和通用任务。

戈登·阿瑟是《防务新闻》的亚洲特派记者。在香港工作20年后，他现居新西兰。他曾到访亚太地区约20个国家，参加过军事演习和防务展览。