Testing Times for the Defence Industry

Julian Bryan, head of Special Projects and Vehicle Group at Millbrook, argues that despite the need for cutbacks in the defence sector, Military Vehicle testing needs to be maintained at all costs.

“Defence cuts have been a painful dose of medicine that almost every area of the military has had to take in the last few months. From procurement to front line deployment, no-one has been exempt from significant cutbacks. However, while measureable financial savings have become a prime short-term objective for many engineering teams in the defence sector, cutting out the vital testing stages within vehicle development would be a false economy.

While the relatively significant cost of testing is sure to catch the eye of the accountant’s red pen, this key element of the new product development process is a central part of world-class vehicle design and manufacture. It is also the crucial element of the complex production process that helps maintain the UK’s competitive advantage. Time and time again, it has been proven that our specialist vehicle manufacturing sector, termed OEM in the automotive world, represents the best in class.

The recent successful development of the Light Protected Patrol Vehicle (LPPV) by Force Protection Europe is a case in point, showing how intelligent new product development can deliver vehicles that are fit for purpose, while meeting the stringent commercial demands of military sourcing in the century’s second decade.

The first new vehicles are expected to be available to troops for training in 2011. The LPPV has been designed to provide unprecedented levels of blast protection for a vehicle of its size, and will be able to carry a crew of up to six people. It will add to the wide array of protected vehicles already being used on operations in Afghanistan, including Mastiff and Ridgback.

Such a new generation of agile, but highly protected vehicles, are at the forefront of new technology that cannot be put into the field of operations until they have been rigorously tested. This specialist type of testing – that includes subjecting the vehicles to explosive devices, extremes of weather and harsh environmental conditions, is where testing within the new product development phase really adds value.

And it’s not just about the UK having the appropriate environments in which to test vehicles before they are commissioned, it’s about the skills our engineering teams have to call on when interpreting results of various scenarios.

While it may appear to be a sensible cost cutting measure to scale back on vehicle test expenditure, this move could also erode the UK’s vital engineering skills base in this area. Without the facilities and know-how to undertake bespoke test scenarios, our country’s ability to produce robust, high performance and fit for purpose in-field vehicles will be compromised”.