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Production of the British Army’s new Jackal 3 high mobility transporter has officially begun in the United Kingdom.
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British defence and nuclear engineering services company Babcock and compatriot military vehicle manufacturer SC Group (Supacat) have announced production of 70 new vehicles planned to be completed this year.
The first 62 vehicles will be built at a manufacturing facility in Devonport, while the remaining eight will be built in Dunkeswell.
“As an SME based in south-west England, it is an enormous privilege to have our product selected yet again by the British Army,” according to Supacat chief executive officer Nick Ames.
“The Jackal 3 is the product of 25 years of specific development and 45 years of corporate development.
“Every member of our staff takes enormous pride in the quality of the product that provides our soldiers with a leading-edge, battle-proven platform that they can rely on.
“That pride in quality also led us to our production partner for this project, Babcock.
“Our teams have worked, together with the MOD, tirelessly to a challenging timescale and with enabling technology, to support this procurement and we will continue to do so into the future to provide world-class product to the British Army.”
Babcock, Supacat, the British Army and the Ministry of Defence, Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) team will cooperate on the project, which is one of the first contracts under the UK’s Land Industrial Strategy.
“At this time of global instability, the significance to the British Army of delivering the HMT Jackal 3 vehicle should not be understated,” according to Babcock chief executive officer David Lockwood.
“These Jackals will help keep the UK safe, whilst our technologically advanced production facility will support social value and economic prosperity in the region for years to come.”
The Jackal 3 vehicles reportedly come equipped with armour and blast protection, as well as off-road suspension and cross-country equipment.
Major General Darren Crook CBE, Director for the Land Equipment Operating Centre, said the collaboration between Supacat and Babcock is expected to deliver modern fighting vehicles for the British Armed Forces and its allies.
The collaboration will also develop and maintain key land defence engineering skills in a much-valued part of the south-west of England, he said.
“It is tangible evidence of the British Army’s Land Industrial Strategy and our purpose for Defence: ‘to protect the nation and help it prosper’.”
