Australian Defence Force to buy 1,000 more Rheinmetall trucks under Land 121 project extension
Rheinmetall will deliver more than 1,000 new logistics trucks to the Australian Defence Forces after the announcement that Australia will extend its land fleet modernization program, the company said.
The ADF will purchase 1,044 additional new-generation medium and heavy trucks, as well as 872 modules and 812 trailers, worth Au$1.4 billion ($1.03 billion), Minister for Defence Industry Christopher Pyne announced on Wednesday, July 25.
Land 121 Phase 5B is an extension of the current LAND 121 Phase 3B project, Rheinmetall said in a press release. Australia acquired 2,536 protected and unprotected military logistics trucks and 3,858 modules from Rheinmetall under the program, and is set to replace its Land Rover fleet with 1,110 Hawkei under a $1.3 billion contract with Thales Australia as part of phase 4.
Deliveries will start in 2019 and continue to 2024.
Pyne said the trucks will be used for a broad range of military contingencies, “from resupplying combat operations to supporting the ADF’s assistance to Australian and regional communities after natural disasters such as floods, fires and cyclones.”
The trucks will be delivered by Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles Australia, which is partnering with Australian companies, including Varley, Holmwood Highgate and ECLIPS to supply the modules and trailers.
In March, Payne announced that Rheinmetall’s Boxer 8×8 Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle won a $5.3 billion Land 400 Phase 2 Project contract, an acquisition that is the largest ever for the Australian Army. The vehicles will carry Israeli-designed Spike LR2 anti-tank guided missiles, Major General David Coghlan, head of Land Systems Division, said later in the month.
Project Land 121 is a multi-phase project providing the ADF with current-generation, high-capability field vehicles, modules and trailers to replace military vehicle fleets that have been in service since the early 1980s.
When completed, Land 121 will deliver around 7,500 protected and unprotected vehicles providing battlefield mobility and logistics support.
