Non-Subscriber Extract
GDUK says its FRES UV offering is based 'exclusively on European design'
By Keri Smith
12 September 2007
General Dynamics UK (GDUK) has said that it would be able to leverage an "ITAR [US International Traffic in Arms Regulations]-free solution" for the UK's Future Rapid Effect System (FRES) with its "offer based exclusively on European design".
Speaking at DSEi in London on 11 September, GDUK's Vice President of Ground Systems Steve Rowbotham added: "We want to be an integrator, ideally for our own vehicle, but not exclusively."
In early June, the UK Ministry of Defence announced that it had shortlisted GDUK's Piranha V, Nexter's VBCI (Vehicule Blinde de Combat) and the ARTEC consortium (Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, Rheinmetall Landsysteme and Stork) Boxer vehicles to take part in a series of Utility Vehicle (UV) mobility trials - previously known as the 'Trials of Truth' - from July to September 2007.
GDUK is also bidding for the Vehicle Integrator role on the programme, as well as forming part of the bidding team - 'Fusion' - for the System of Systems Integrator (SOSI) role alongside BAE Systems and MBDA. The team is led by Italian group Finmeccanica.