SPECIAL REPORT: MILITARY VEHICLE RECOVERY SOLUTIONS
Resilience in Military Vehicle Recovery Marushka Dubova, Defence Correspondent
“If we don’t go out and recover that vehicle, then the Taliban will use those parts against us as an IED,” said Cpl. Brodie Savoie, the 1st Marine Logistics Group1
usually carries a crew of three soldiers from the Royal Electrical And Mechanical Engineers (REME).2 The CRARRV carries a main winch with a 50-tonne pull which can exert 98 tonnesforce using an included pulley and anchor point on the vehicle, plus a small pilot winch to aid in deploying the main cable. It also has an Atlas crane capable of lifting 6,500 kg for a distance of 4.9 m (this is sufficient to lift a Challenger 2 power pack).
Towed and then Transported for Repair in the UK no Longer Close up of Sepson compact hydraulic drive unit with motors, brake and manifold.
T
he role of the armoured recovery vehicle (ARV) in the battlefield is essential for ensuring readiness of armoured vehicles and in rescuing and repairing battle damaged, mine-damaged or broken-down armoured vehicles during combat. With the need to cut costs as well as maintain readiness for all the armoured vehicle fleet, dedicated recovery vehicles or ‘wreckers’ are a critical capability. ARVs are frequently built on the chassis of a main battle tank (MBT), but some are also constructed on the basis of other armoured fighting vehicles, mostly armoured personnel carriers (APCs). ARVs are often built on the basis of a vehicle in the same class as they are supposed to recover; a tank-based ARV is used to recover tanks, while an APC-based one recovers APCs, but does not have the power to tow a much heavier tank. The British ARV is the Challenger Armoured Repair and Recovery Vehicle (CRARRV), an armoured recovery vehicle based on the Challenger hull and designed to repair and recover damaged tanks on the battlefield. It has five seats but
Until the opening of a new facility in Camp Bastion, Afghanistan last year, the British vehicles that needed significant repair and maintenance in Afghanistan were transported back to the UK. But the economics and logistics of such an operation have resulted in the opening of a new Defence Support Group facility in Afghanistan. “In October 2009, the Defence Support Group (DSG) deployed 29 staff to Camp Bastion in Afghanistan as part of the Permanent Joint Headquarters’ (PJHQ) Equipment Sustainability System (ESS) programme. The programme removes the need for equipment rotation by conducting forward regeneration at the front line, which maximises equipment availability for operational commanders, minimises the time that vital equipment is away from critical operations and provides better value for defence.”3 This has been followed by an expanded new facility, a purpose-built workshop for the intheatre maintenance and repair of UK military vehicles, which was opened in February 2011 in Camp Bastion, Southern Afghanistan, by the then British Defence Secretary, Dr Liam Fox. Lieutenant Colonel Phil Croager, Project Officer based at the Permanent Joint Headquarters (PJHQ), said: “Front line equipment is worked extremely hard in tough conditions. This facility will allow us to bring vehicles in for deep maintenance, which will www.defenceindustryreports.com | 7