The Politics and DV Engineering working group analyses current political developments in the defence sector. It provides independent facts and interpretation from the technological knowledge and experience of engineers.
The Politics and DV Engineering working group has questions and comments on the DMP-A for the Future Littoral All Terrain Mobility Patrol Vehicles (FLATM PV) for the Marine Corps dated 14 June 2021.The comments were prepared based on publicly available information and defence technology knowledge and experience.
Download a PDF of this commentary and questions here.
The main comment of the working group is that Defence is trying to combine and multitude of diverse functional requirements into one type of vehicle. Defence has found that no existing vehicle meets the requirements. Yet it wants to try to procure Military Off The Shelf (MOTS) vehicles and modify them to still meet all the requirements. The working group is concerned about whether these modifications are technically feasible and operationally meaningful and also whether the cost of modification is really manageable. Buying off the shelf does not seem to be sufficient in this case. In addition, it is completely unclear what other functional and technical requirements the vehicle has to meet.
Furthermore, the DMP-A does not specify the planned technical and operational life. In view of the rapidly changing environmental requirements and the changes in availability of traditional fuels, such as petrol and diesel, expected in a few years, this does matter for the technology used in the vehicle.
More details and questions on international cooperation, alternative financing and evaluation after completion of the project can be found here.
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The Hague, 25 August 2021
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Disclaimer: The facts and opinions given are based on open sources and on the knowledge and experience of working group members.
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Photo: Ministry of Defence
