08 Jul 2009 | Ref. 162/2009
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BAE Systems Given Green Light for £500m Challenger Support Bid
London, United Kingdom - BAE Systems has been given the go-ahead to devise a more effective support regime for the Challenger tank which could cut costs by more than 10-per-cent.
If successful, the scheme could be extended to other BAE Systems’ armoured vehicles in service with the British Army under a programme called the Armoured Vehicle Support Transformation (AVST).
The UK Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) Investment Approvals Board gave approval recently for the company to submit its bid by the end of 2009 and a decision is scheduled for mid-2010. The deal would guarantee the MoD improved availability of spare parts and technical support such as vehicle configuration and obsolescence management.
The value of the contract could reach more than £500m over eight years. It would cover the whole Challenger-based fleet – the Titan and Trojan engineer tanks and the CRARRV recovery vehicle, as well as the Challenger main battle tank and the Driver Training Tank.
“If successful, we will be working with the Ministry of Defence, Defence Support Group and the industrial supply network to better integrate and plan the way we provide spares and technical support for the Challenger fleet,” explains Rob Pemberton, who leads the programme for BAE Systems Global Combat Systems.
Key to its success will be information technology. BAE Systems intends to introduce an integrated Health and Usage Monitoring System (HUMS) for the Challenger fleet to guide reliability improvement investments and deliver continuous improvement. It will also employ new systems to manage technical information and spares supply.
“We have already mapped, gathered and analysed data from the end-to-end supply chain giving us an unprecedented understanding of value and cost drivers,” says Pemberton. “This investment has helped us prioritise those activities that have the largest impact on improved vehicle availability and reduced through-life costs.”
In the initial phase of the work, BAE Systems is targeting over a dozen main areas for improvements, including needs-based maintenance; streamlining the base repair and overhaul process; a more structured approach to obsolescence management; and better provision of technical advice and guidance to field units on key sub-systems such as power packs and turret systems, often using HUMS-derived data.
The company has also started outlining potential readiness and sustainment improvements under phase two, largely centred on better integration of the Defence Lines of Development in fields such as user and trainer incentivisation; improved integration of materiel, manpower and facilities planning within the military supply chain; and better fleet management.
About BAE Systems
BAE Systems is the premier global defence, security and aerospace company delivering a full range of products and services for air, land and naval forces, as well as advanced electronics, security, information technology solutions and customer support services. With approximately 105,000 employees worldwide, BAE Systems' sales exceeded £18.5 billion (US $34.4 billion) in 2008.
For further information, please contact:
Mike Sweeney, BAE Systems
Mob: 0780 171 6452
mike.sweeney2@baesystems.com
John Neilson, BAE Systems
Tel: + 44 (0) 1252 384795 Mob: + 44 (0)7802 337704
john.neilson@baesystems.com
Issued by:
BAE Systems, Farnborough, Hampshire GU14 6YU, UK
Tel: +44 (0) 1252 384605 Fax: +44 (0) 1252 383947
24hr media hotline: + 44 (0) 7801 717739
www.baesystems.com
