UK Military Bridge manufacturer, WFEL, is to supply a number of its Dry Support Bridges (DSB) to the Philippine Army under the Horizon 2 phase of the revised AFP Modernisation Programme.

The DSB systems can be deployed in around 90 minutes to provide temporary infrastructure and will be supplied with pedestrian walkways, for use in Disaster Relief operational situations, as well as other military scenarios. The Philippine Army, having a choice of launch vehicle chassis for its bridges, opted for the Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles (RMMV) 45m 10 x 10 systems.

Intended for use by the Philippine Combat Engineers, the Dry Support Bridges will be manufactured at WFEL's production facility in Stockport, UK; delivery will begin during 2023.

An Integrated Logistics Support package is also included in the contract for this new Combat Engineering Equipment, ensuring back-up and support from WFEL's Technical Engineering Teams and giving confidence to the Combat Engineers of continued through-life support and spares availability.

Ian Anderton, WFEL's Managing Director, commented, "We warmly welcome the Philippine Army into our ever-growing user base of DSB Military Bridging Systems. We are proud of the fact that the Dry Support Bridge is the world's most technically advanced, rapidly deployable military bridge of its type and has proven its worth in both Combat and Disaster Relief situations time after time.

"By adopting the Dry Support Bridge, the Philippine Army is ensuring it has the future capability to quickly manoeuvre across wet and dry gaps in complex, physical terrain, including man-made gaps, ravines and rivers, as efficiently as possible and under the widest possible operational scenarios."

With a 120 tonnes Military Load Classification, the Dry Support Bridge was initially designed and developed by WFEL for the US Army. Offering full interoperability with any other DSB bridging system, it has been adopted by various countries worldwide, including USA, Turkey and Australia. Switzerland has also acquired a number of Dry Support Bridges and is known to have extensively deployed the DSB as temporary infrastructure following flooding and other natural disasters.

This increasing worldwide user-base provides an off-the-shelf, low risk military bridging solution. The DSB is currently being evaluated by UK MoD as a replacement for their BR90 bridging systems.

Another historic moment in the UK MoD's Boxer Programme has taken place, with the very first delivery of machined component parts for the Mechanised Infantry Vehicles being delivered to WFEL's Stockport manufacturing facility.

WFEL's Boxer Warehouse and Quality teams received this first delivery from Lancashire-based BCW Manufacturing Group, who have been selected as a nominated sub-contractor from an initial group of over 20 qualifying companies. BCW have demonstrated compliance with the strict Quality and Engineering capability criteria required as part of WFEL's world-class Supplier Approval Procedures. This process included a First Article Inspection which was completed satisfactorily prior to delivery.

WFEL's Managing Director, Ian Anderton, commented, "I am extremely pleased with the roll-out of our UK supply chain for the Boxer vehicles for our British Army customer. This £2.3bn programme is delivering economic benefits not just for WFEL but for many other companies around the UK, particularly in the North of England. This first delivery from BCW is another historic moment as we ramp up to begin the first-ever production of these Mechanised Infantry Vehicles in the UK."

Nick Eary, Business Development Director, ANSUKA Group (BCW's parent company) added, "We are both delighted and proud to be part of the team contributing to the delivery of the new Boxer vehicles for the British Army. We have already built a strong relationship with WFEL's Procurement Team, who know we can be relied on for this and potential future deliveries of specialist parts. It was particularly pleasing to be able to deliver the goods two weeks ahead of the requested delivery date."

UK Minister for Defence Procurement, Jeremy Quin, has visited WFEL to formally open the new Boxer Armoured Vehicle Production Facility, in advance of first-stage production commencement. This new facility in Stockport will play a significant role in the manufacture of the Boxer, the British Army’s latest armoured vehicle.

During his visit, the Minister saw first-hand the newly built production line and met with WFEL personnel who will be working directly on the state-of-the art vehicles. He also met with WFEL Apprentices and heard about the latest developments in the roll-out of the UK supply chain for the Boxer programme.

Speaking at the event, Minister Quin said: “Our Boxer programme is playing a significant role in boosting prosperity, supporting skills, protecting over 1,000 jobs across the North West, North East, West Midlands, central Scotland, Wales and throughout the UK wider supply chain.

“This new production line is creating 120 new jobs at WFEL, further cementing our investment in UK innovation and expertise.”

The Minister also had the opportunity to see a live demonstration of the latest Boxer variant - the Boxer Bridge-layer - which incorporates bridge sections manufactured by WFEL personnel in Stockport.

Ian Anderton, WFEL's Managing Director, commented, "We were honoured that the UK Defence Minister was able to visit us, to see the progress already made in this significant, new, armoured vehicle programme for the British Army. In spite of the restrictions caused by the COVID pandemic, our teams have succeeded in keeping us on schedule and we are now poised to begin production. We look forward to delivering the first vehicles to the Army in due course".

A number of significant supply chain contract awards for the UK Boxer Programme have recently been announced by WFEL, including agreements with Horstman and David Brown Santasalo.

WFEL continues its recruitment campaign for the Boxer Programme, offering long-term employment opportunities in a variety of roles across the new manufacturing site.

The UK decided to re-join the Boxer programme in 2018 and since then has committed £2.3bn to deliver over 500 vehicles to the British Army. They will be made up of four variants: Infantry Carrier, Specialist Carrier, Command Vehicle and Ambulance.

WFEL and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) are delighted to announce their agreement with one of the world’s leading power transmission companies, Huddersfield-based David Brown Santasalo (DBS), for the supply of Powerpack blocks for the UK BOXER Mechanised Infantry Vehicles. On behalf of WFEL and KMW, David Brown Santasalo will assemble around 250 Powerpack blocks (transmission, engine and cooling systems), beginning delivery in Autumn 2022 and covering a 10-year period of supply.

As part of KMW's extensive UK Boxer Technology Transfer Programme, this particular contract will sustain and create at least 20 jobs in the North of England at David Brown Santasalo and its wider supply chain, whilst further contributing to the UK's sovereign industrial defence capabilities.  DBS is internationally recognised as one of the most innovative suppliers of bespoke land and marine power transmission systems. The £30 million order will ensure that the fully assembled and tested Powerpack units are delivered to WFEL’s new, dedicated, state-of-the-art BOXER MIV production facility in Stockport, where they will be integrated into the BOXER vehicles.

Steve Watson, DBS Global Defence Director and Managing Director UK said, “Through the development of this key partnership with KMW and WFEL, we are delighted to continue to contribute to the UK economy and our local community through job retention and creation of new roles. We relish the opportunity to continue to strengthen our local team.”

The Boxer vehicles are being provided to the UK MoD as part of the £2.3bn contract placed with the ARTEC consortium in November 2019.

Ian Anderton, WFEL Managing Director, commented, "As we head closer towards the first ever manufacture of BOXER vehicles here in the UK, we are delighted to welcome DBS to our UK supply chain, a company which has undergone rigorous supplier selection criteria, as part of our wider programme of manufacturing readiness for this vital new capability for the British Army's Strike Brigade."

The David Brown Santasalo contract is one of the first tranche of UK supply chain contracts to be awarded for the BOXER MIV programme and will help support economic growth and level-up regional economic opportunity. The MIV programme aims to support and enhance the UK supply chain, including SMEs. It will also ensure that the UK retains the skills and expertise to support the BOXER vehicles throughout their operational life.

UK Boxer MIV Programme:

KMW and WFEL UK Supply Chain Expands with Further Significant Contract Award

KMW and WFEL are pleased to announce a further sub-contract has been awarded for the UK Boxer Mechanised Infantry Vehicle Programme. Horstman UK will supply over 250 angular gear boxes and control units for the British Army’s Boxer Mechanised Infantry Vehicle programme.

Following rigorous supply chain evaluation, Horstman was selected to ensure best value and lowest risk to the Boxer programme.

This £12 million contract award means that another significant transfer of technology to the UK will be undertaken from Horstman's parent company, RENK, which has made all production Angle Drive Gearboxes for the Boxer vehicles to date. In close collaboration with KMW and WFEL, RENK will ensure all required technical support and investment into Horstman, to ensure that identical Boxer gearbox products are built in the UK at Horstman’s premises in Bath, following identical processes and procedures. The gearboxes will then be supplied to WFEL's new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility for assembly into the new Boxer vehicles being produced in Stockport.

Based in Bath, UK, Horstman is already well known for its armoured vehicle suspension systems and this Boxer contract re-kindles a significant history in producing gearboxes for battle tank turrets, tactical 4x4’s and combat engineering vehicles.

Having successfully supplied suspension systems for German Puma Infantry Fighting Vehicles, Horstman has already established relationships with KMW's Engineering and Delivery teams and this sub-contract for the UK Boxer gearbox programme will create or sustain up to 20 skilled roles across Horstman and its wider UK supply chain. Horstman will further expand its Inspection, Assembly, Test and Paint Teams based in Bath.

The Boxer MIV programme aims to source 60% by value of the contract from within the UK, protecting sovereign engineering and manufacturing skills and ensuring that the vehicles remain supported through their 30-year operational life.

Just like WFEL, Horstman UK counts amongst its employees a number of ex-military personnel, well versed and experienced in working with the British Army and industry alike and involvement in this UK Boxer Programme continues a long heritage of providing combat mobility solutions in support of British and allied forces.

The withdrawal of a second contender to supply both Armoured and Tactical Bridging Systems for the British Army's TYRO project, means that UK military bridge designer and manufacturer WFEL is now the sole bidder. Project TYRO aims to provide UK Heavy Forces with Close Support Bridge (CSB) and General Support Bridge (GSB) capabilities for the British Army's Royal Engineers (RE) to cross wet and dry gaps, both on the battlefield and in emergency and disaster relief situations.

The TYRO requirements are for Close Support Bridges (CSB) to be deployed, launched and recovered from armoured vehicles (AVLB) and a wheeled launcher (WVLB) and for the General Support Bridges (GSB) to be self-deployed, providing MLC 100 (Tracked) capability in order to support unrestricted crossing by UK Heavy Forces.

The Assessment Phase (AP) of Project TYRO has already been successfully completed by WFEL, with the Invitation to Negotiate (ITN) being issued in September 2020. Negotiations for the Demonstration & Manufacture phase will now commence in the summer of 2021.

The bridging solutions offered by WFEL include the DSB Dry Support Bridge - which can be fully deployed by only eight people and a single launch vehicle in under 90 minutes - for the GSB requirement; to meet the CSB requirement, WFEL offers KMW’s LEGUAN Bridge. The LEGUAN's fully automatic, horizontal bridge-laying capability provides increased stealth with a low silhouette during a five-minute bridge launch and will be adapted to be launched and recovered from the MoD’s already in-service TITAN armoured bridge launchers and a new wheeled bridge launcher.

The TYRO Assessment Phase saw WFEL carrying out comprehensive stress and fatigue testing, to verify MLC ratings and life expectancy of the different bridge types and also allowing WFEL to incorporate future Bridge Fatigue Management Systems.

WFEL and KMW extensively demonstrated the capabilities of their mobile bridging systems against MoD user requirements, with particular emphasis on the systems’ load carrying capability and overall durability.

WFEL's Dry Support Bridge is one of the world’s most technically advanced, rapidly deployable military bridges of its type. Over 150 systems have already been supplied to the US, Australian, Swiss and Turkish armed forces. Having also been used as temporary infrastructure in Iraq and Afghanistan, the bridge has been designed and proven for use in both Military and Disaster Relief situations by loads of up to 120 tonnes. This significant installed base of equipment ensures that WFEL's DSB customers have a high level of confidence in continued through-life support and spares availability.

The DSB launch vehicle is available on the user’s choice of chassis and its adoption by the Australian Defence Force onto Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles (RMMV) 10 x 10 fully armoured chassis, has further strengthened the DSB’s market dominance, enhancing the system’s compatibility with UK MOD’s current fleet of RMMV vehicles, including HX77 variant, which is already capable of carrying WFEL’s bridge system without modification.

A key requirement for military equipment is interoperability; WFEL's precision engineering manufacturing techniques ensure that any DSB bridge module is compatible with any other DSB bridge module, independent of the chassis used for the bridge launcher, allowing swapping and sharing of resources during NATO and other joint exercises worldwide.

Already selected by 19 armed forces, KMW's LEGUAN bridge system is outstanding in terms of modularity, interoperability and load-carrying capacity and is well suited to meet the UK’s CSB requirement. Beyond its core ability to launch a bridge under any condition within minutes, the LEGUAN system provides additional features to enhance its tactical value, including night vision systems, laser range finder, auxiliary power unit and crew compartment cooling system. The LEGUAN can be used in Military or Disaster Relief operations and, for both MLC80 and MLC100 bridge types at either 26m or 14m length, a life cycle monitor system, and a civilian-use kit - consisting of centre cover plates and handrails - is available. To date, KMW has supplied almost 250 tracked LEGUAN systems, 45 wheeled LEGUAN systems and almost 500 bridges plus 5 ferry and floating kits to some 19 users, with many of these being NATO members.

ARTEC consortium member, KMW, has concluded a further contractual agreement with WFEL for the production over ten years of Boxer Vehicle Drive Module fabricated hulls - together with a further contract for the Assembly, Integration and Test (AIT) of approximately half of the 500 vehicles to be supplied to the British Army, under the £2.3bn contract signed with ARTEC at the end of 2019.

This is another significant milestone for the UK Boxer MIV Programme and for the UK’s military vehicle capability, with the advent of manufacturing a new class of armoured vehicles here in the UK.

This next phase of the Boxer MIV programme also embeds within WFEL welding practices specific to the manufacture of armoured steel hulls for highly protected vehicles, further developing a key skill for the UK Military Land sector. WFEL is already accredited to International Welding Standards TL2350-0003 and ISO 9606-1 and a number of WFEL personnel have, for many months, been seconded to Germany to learn the intricate details of this specialist skill, under the expert tuition of KMW’s experienced technicians. On successful completion of their rigorous training, these personnel will play a crucial part in the production of the Boxer Vehicles in North West England.

The signing of these contracts now allows further mobilisation of WFEL’s UK supply chain, including placement of firm orders to procure a variety of the machined and fabricated sub-assemblies necessary for manufacture of the Boxer hulls.

Following extensive Technology Transfer programmes and close collaborations with the ARTEC consortium, WFEL continues to develop a robust UK supply chain with technically capable suppliers. Detailed discussions with UK fabrication and machining SMEs are now going ahead for the provision of specific Boxer Drive Module hull assembly components. This further development of WFEL’s supply chain is expected to both sustain and create jobs around the UK.

Additionally, WFEL will further ramp-up its recruitment of yet more specialist Operational and Fabrication personnel. WFEL expects to create around 120 new long-term jobs at its Stockport site, supporting the UK defence industry and the UK economy.

Ian Anderton, WFEL’s Managing Director, commented, “The Boxer vehicles are amongst the most advanced armoured vehicles in the world and WFEL’s new state-of-the-art Boxer production hall, currently nearing completion, will be one of the most advanced military vehicle manufacturing facilities of its type. We have already contracted with a number of UK suppliers for the construction, site infrastructure and security facilities for this new production facility. “The signing of these latest contracts with KMW means that WFEL can confidently move forward to implement the next stages of the UK Boxer manufacturing programme. In doing so, we are offering a significant number of long-term career opportunities for highly skilled personnel to work on producing these advanced military vehicles, which will provide key defence capabilities for the British Army as part of its Strike Brigade. We look forward to engaging with yet more supply chain partners as we move another step closer to the first of these uniquely modular military vehicles rolling off our production lines and being delivered to the British Army.”

WFEL has received a new contract from the UK’s Ministry of Defence for the supply of 17 Sets of its MGB Medium Girder Bridges. This follows a review of the MoD’s modular gap crossing capabilities, which aimed to draw together existing in-service capabilities into a single coherent capability.

These 17 new MGB bridging sets can be configured in several different ways to provide flexibility to the Commander on the ground. Configurations include concurrent deployment of both a 31-metre Double-Storey and a 5-bay Single-Storey version. The bridging systems will be deployed by the Royal Engineers and are available for use in both Military Operations and Emergency Disaster Relief scenarios.

The contract, worth more than £46 million, will not only provide continuing employment for 50 direct WFEL production-related personnel but is likely to create an additional 15 to 20 skilled and production support jobs.

It’s also estimated that it will secure a further 100 jobs in the supply chain in the North of England and Scotland.

With over 500 systems already supplied to militaries around the world, the MGB is a modular military bridging system, providing interoperability with any other MGB of any age and is already adopted by many NATO members. MGBs were deployed jointly by U.S. Marines and U.S. Navy Seabees in Norway during Exercise Trident Juncture 2018, in one of the largest NATO exercises of recent times.

UK Minister for Defence Procurement, Jeremy Quin MP, said:

“This £46 million contract of new military bridges not only secures jobs within Stockport, but also supports a significant number of jobs in the wider UK supply chain. These bridges provide our Armed Forces with vital capabilities in both Military and Disaster Relief operations.”

Maj Tom Exelby, of the Royal Engineers, said:

“The MGB will provide light-weight medium gap capability to Very High Readiness forces and will form a significant element of the STRIKE Brigade’s manoeuvre support capability. MGB was chosen for its versatility and deployability to meet the challenges of the future integrated operating concept.”

The MGB contract will be fulfilled by Dec 2025, with the first two bridging sets delivered to the UK MoD by Dec 2021.

In 2018, the Australian Defence Force also took delivery of several new MGBs, under its Land 155 programme, replacing those previously in service for over 30 years. The ADF chose double-storey, link-reinforced Medium Girder Bridge variants, spanning up to 49 meters, supplemented by additional portable Pier and Span equipment, allowing bridges of up to 76 meters to be constructed. MGB Walkways were also supplied, ensuring the bridges could be used in any civil emergency or disaster relief situation. Land 155 also saw delivery to the ADF of WFEL’s 46-metre 120 MLC DSB Dry Support Bridges, which can be launched by just 8 personnel within 90 minutes. The DSB allows a level of inter-operability with an ever-growing user base, proven in the field as temporary infrastructure in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Story courtesy of The Korea Bizwire

South Korean Army Installs Temporary Bridge for Remote Mountain Village Suffering from Flood Damage

A military-purpose bridge, typically installed temporarily to replace a broken bridge during wartime or to help troops cross a river, has been installed in a remote mountain village in Gangwon Province.

About 70 soldiers from the Engineer Brigade under the Republic of Korea Army 3rd Corps installed the Medium Girder Bridge (MGB) on the river in Inje County in Gangwon Province on Wednesday.

The installation of the MGB came after the village’s existing bridge - that linked it with the outside across the river - collapsed due to heavy rainfall.

As river’s water levels rose sharply starting from August 5th, some of the upper deck slabs on the existing bridge collapsed, bringing all vehicle traffic to a halt.

After the bridge collapsed, about 50 residents of the village, mostly elderly people, were isolated for about a week.

Although the hot pepper and corn shipping season kicked off, residents couldn’t sell the agricultural crops that they had cultivated with all their hearts. The village’s livestock farms also suffered since there was no way to bring in livestock feed.

Against this backdrop, the Army’s MGB emerged as a solution to address such problems.

Some officials from the army unit located in the neighbourhood of the village presented the idea of using an MGB after looking around the collapsed Yangji Bridge.

The MGB can withstand several tens of tons of weight such as tanks, armoured vehicles, war supplies and troops.

It took just three hours to install the MGB on the river. This is because the army unit has been trained to install it without any equipment based on the assumption of a wartime situation.

The MGB installed by the army unit will be used until the collapsed bridge is repaired or a provisional bridge is installed by the provincial government.

(Photos courtesy of Yonhap)

Military bridging supplier, WFEL, has been awarded the coveted Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) Silver Award, which acknowledges employers who have signed up to the Armed Forces Covenant and provided exceptional support to the armed forces community and defence by going above and beyond their Covenant pledges.

To achieve a Silver Award, employers need to have achieved the Bronze Award level and to have shown flexibility towards the annual training commitments and deployment of Reservists, whilst also supporting the employment of cadet force adult volunteers, service leavers, and military spouses and partners.

Ian Anderton, Managing Director of WFEL, said, “We are absolutely delighted to receive this Silver Award. Our decision to sign the Armed Forces Covenant was a visible and very real demonstration of our continuing commitment to supporting the Armed Forces. We recognise that employing military trained personnel is highly beneficial to our business and we value the skills and qualities that veterans, reservists or ex-military personnel bring to the company.We are committed to continuing to employ and support individuals with an Armed Forces background and are very proud to uphold our Armed Forces Covenant.”

WFEL counts amongst its employees a number of Reservists and Veterans and supports activities on behalf of the armed forces community. WFEL signed up to the Armed Forces Covenant in late 2018, and subsequently received the Bronze Award in 2019.

WFEL’s support of Reservists - by offering the flexibility needed to plan and fulfil their annual training and mobilisation commitments - came to the fore recently during the COVID-19 crisis when a number of North West Reservists were on standby for deployment to provide support to the NHS.

The Employer Recognition Award scheme recognises the different levels of commitment provided by employers and allows the Ministry of Defence to publicly thank and honour those organisations for their support. Launched in 2014 by the Prime Minister, the prestigious initiative was created to recognise and reward UK employers for their support and commitment to Defence.

Johnny Mercer, Minister for Defence People and Veterans, said, “I am grateful for the positive attitude and flexible policies organisations have adopted towards the defence community, which is testament to the fantastic contribution our serving personnel, veterans and their families can make to any organisation.”