@thinkdefence I have a soft spot for Fastrac, as I do for the original Defender, and the classic Mini. But like those other two technical issues are not uncommon and they suffer badly with rust.
As much as I like to buy British, when it came to spending my own cash I chose Unimog over Fastrac
@UnimportantO It’s not the volume that becomes the issue, it’s the mass
If the MoD requires 3500kg vehicles for general purpose use then there simply isn’t enough payload in any van for the kit you describe.
A trailer is an excellent tool for increasing the total payload of the vehicle train
@UnimportantO The vehicle has the option to tow a trailer, including the Penman GS. It’s not mandatory, and it’s no greater burden than the existing fleet.
The issue is the weight of the trailer and the licensing restrictions, not the vehicle
@UnimportantO@thinkdefence Any 3500kg GVW vehicle towing a trailer over 750kg requires a B+E. The in service Penman GS trailer (pictured) is 1750kg gross. The current Land Rover + Penman trailer requires B+E.
Fortunately every B license now comes with B+E, so this is a total non-issue
@SteveVanquish@thinkdefence Jockey is fitted in that shot (and all the others that day), it’s just folded, because that’s how you stow them. The doors clear the jockey wheel stowed or upright
@thinkdefence@MugfordSimon How wide can it be? Bodywork looks to be the same width as the front axle/tyres, so it will only be ~1.8m wide. Side steps might be the issue I guess
Looks short enough to be based on the LC71, in which case should easily get two in a CH47
@UnimportantO@Babcockplc Power and cabling is provided, as well as mounts for the antennas and transceivers themselves. We can’t do much more with customer kit without the customer
@AndrewBrandish1@UnimportantO@Babcockplc That render is actually of the MWB load out which was developed for an overseas customer project. It was a heck of challenge to fit everything in! Access to the entire load without the need to unload was what drove the gull wing doors in sides of the load space of MWB
@UnimportantO@Babcockplc In terms of kit stowage a lot of thought has gone into the vehicle to generate additional storage volume, access to the existing load space, and where the CES is located for ease of access
@UnimportantO@Babcockplc Unfortunately there are no suitable base vehicles manufactured in the UK, and so whatever replaces the Land Rover Wolf in MoD service will be built overseas. Babcock is adding significant UK content in the military conversion of the civilian base vehicle, around 70% by value
@thinkdefence@defencewithac I once set a Land Cruiser on fire.
Years later, in a totally unrelated event, I set another Land Cruiser on fire. And a very nice new jacket
@RobWright_@TotherChris Are you getting mixed up between the KNDS Dingo and KNDS ACLV? The former is based on the Daimler Truck FGA (Unimog derived) chassis, but ACLV doesn’t surely? It’s way too low, and the hubs look wrong from unimog