Under the Land 155 Enhanced Gap Crossing Capability Project, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) has taken delivery of the first scheduled tranche of WFEL’s rapidly-deployable military bridges, including Dry Support Bridges and Medium Girder Bridges. This project milestone includes some of the first configurations of the Dry Support Bridge launching vehicle on a fully-armoured Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicle (RMMV) 45m 10 x 10 chassis.
The Dry Support Bridges (DSBs), capable of carrying over 120 tonnes, have been delivered following extensive trials at the UK’s Millbrook Proving Ground, to verify both off-road and on-road capability and in accordance with a series of demanding mandated Specifications, Audits and Project Reviews determined by the Australian Government. Also supplied for Land 155 are WFEL’s double-storey, link-reinforced Medium Girder Bridge systems (MGBs), which can span up to 49 metres and which will be supplemented by additional portable Pier and Span equipment, allowing bridges of up to 76 metres to be constructed.
As the bridges provide temporary infrastructure and will be used in the ADF’s Combat Support and Disaster Relief operations, both DSB and MGB bridging systems are being delivered complete with walkways, to allow the separation of vehicular traffic from pedestrians. WFEL’s comprehensive Integrated Logistics Support package is also being supplied, to cover through-life support for the bridges.
The adoption and acceptance of the latest variant of the DSB by Australia further helps to support WFEL’s position in respect of ‘Project Tyro’, the Assessment Phase program contract that it won to look at replacing the UK’s ageing BR90 systems nearing their end of service.