New bridges ordered for British Army
The DSB can be deployed by eight personnel to span a 46m gap in under 90 minutes. (Photo: WFEL)
The UK MoD has awarded a contract to provide replacements for the Royal Engineers' General Support Bridge systems as part of project Tyro.
The British Army will replace its BR90 ABLE bridging systems with KNDS UK (Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Nexter) mobile bridges based on the company’s Dry Support Bridge (DSB) design and mounted on Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicle (RMMV) HX2 tactical trucks.
The deal, worth £150 million (US$191 million), will provide bridges with a range of 46m and able to carry the weight of the army’s future tank, the Challenger 3. It will be able to cross both wet and dry gaps.
The new capability will be interoperable with other NATO partners’ bridge systems, meaning that resources can be shared between nations during joint exercises and deployments.
The procurement has been part of as part of Project Tyro which will provide a capability improvement for the British Army, facilitating the mobility of future Armoured Brigade Combat Teams and equipment across gaps in the terrain.
WFEL, now part of KNDS, was left as the last bidder in mid-2023. A DSB set consists of a launcher vehicle, six flat-track loads of bridge components and one flat-track load of launch beams.
The DSB has been sold to a number of other countries including Australia (RMMV 10x10), the Philippines (RMMV 10x10), Switzerland (Iveco Trakker 10x8) and Turkey (HEMTT).
More from Land Warfare
-
![Israel’s Elbit Systems riding high and reports almost a billion dollars in orders to close 2024]()
Israel’s Elbit Systems riding high and reports almost a billion dollars in orders to close 2024
Elbit Systems has signed another US$967 million in orders in the past three months after reporting its land revenues increased by 24% for 3Q2024 compared to 3Q 2023 thanks to increasing ammunition and munition sales in Israel.
-
![Italy signs $784 million deal for tactical and logistic trucks]()
Italy signs $784 million deal for tactical and logistic trucks
The contract is for the supply of a variety of military logistic platforms equipped with tactical cabins and based on the new range of IDV SMR6 trucks (Standard Military Range), which includes 4×4, 8×8 and 10x10 variants.
-
![Poland declares capability for Wisła medium-range air defence system]()
Poland declares capability for Wisła medium-range air defence system
Poland has been investing heavily in new defence equipment, including billions-of-dollars in air defence systems such as Narew and Wisła to provide multi-tier coverage, as well as in C2 systems such as IBCS.
-
![US sanctions fail to rattle India as it looks to Russian long-range radar]()
US sanctions fail to rattle India as it looks to Russian long-range radar
India has been navigating a strategic balancing act in its defence modernisation efforts as it considers deals with Russia and the US.
