General Dynamics European Land Systems-Steyr was recently able to land orders for new Pandur in Austria and the Czech Republic. In Prague, the company also sees good opportunities for its Ulan successor Ascod.
In recent years, General Dynamics General Dynamics European Land Systems-Steyr (GDELS-Steyr), the Austrian subsidiary of the US armaments group General Dynamics (GD), successfully finalized its restructuring and reorientation. Special emphasis was placed on retaining and further developing all the core competencies of a military vehicle manufacturer. With around 160 employees, the Vienna-Simmering site now focuses primarily on project management for new orders such as the 34 new Pandur 6×6 vehicles for the Austrian Armed Forces (Militär Aktuell reported). This order in particular has enabled the number of employees at the site to be increased. In addition to maintenance, repair, servicing and system support for the Ulan and Pandur vehicle families, product development and prototype construction in particular are being stepped up. While the first new Pandur 6×6 vehicles will be rolling towards the army in Germany next summer, GDELS-Steyr has been successful in the Czech Republic with a follow-up order for the Pandur 8×8. 107 units of the wheeled infantry fighting vehicle were manufactured in several variants for the Czech army in previous years, with production being transferred to a Czech industrial partner due to customer requirements. The current follow-up order now comprises 20 Pandur 8×8s, with the procurement of a further 70 units being discussed, which would bring the Czech Republic up to the originally planned quantity of 200 vehicles.
At the same time, GDELS-Steyr is also hoping to win an order for its Ulan successor, the Ascod. The government in Prague is planning to replace its existing fleet of BMP tracked armored vehicles with modern infantry fighting vehicles and, in addition to the joint Austrian-Spanish product – the Ascod was developed by GDELS-Steyr and the Spanish GDELS subsidiary Santa Bárbara Sistemas – is also considering the Puma from Krauss-Maffei Wegmannthe CV 90 from BAE Systems and the Rheinmetall-offspring Lynx into consideration. These candidates were already subjected to a short field test in the Czech Republic this summer, which was organized by the Czech Ministry of Defence to round off its feasibility study. GDELS has also presented the Ascod in the Czech Republic on several other occasions, including at the IDET arms fair in Brno and at the NATO Days in Ostrava in mid-September. At the latter, a version with Rafael Samson Mk II was on display, but due to the modularity of the vehicle, any weapon system from a manual 12.7 mm mount to 120 mm turrets can be integrated. The start of the delivery of the desired 209 vehicles in five variants is planned for 2019; the project volume including logistics, training, spare parts and co. amounts to 1.9 billion euros. The start of vehicle delivery is scheduled for 2019, with all vehicles to be handed over to the Czech army within the following five years. Looking ahead, GDELS has already entered into partnerships and strategic agreements with a number of Czech companies (including VOP CZ, Ray Service and Czechoslovak Group – CSG) in order to realize the highest possible added value in the Czech Republic. The Ascod is one of the most modern tracked vehicles in its class and is manufactured in six variants for the British Army. In 2011, GD was awarded the contract for the new modular platform in a tender process, and a total of 589 vehicles were ordered from GD as part of the “Ajax project”.
Here for further news from General Dynamics European Land Systems based in Madrid and here to further news from the Austrian division General Dynamics European Land Systems-Steyr, based in Vienna.
