The Ministry of Defense has announced that it has signed a £150m contract with Stockport-based company KNDS UK to deliver the General Support Bridge. This is expected to create around 300 jobs in the North West.
KNDS UK is a joint venture between Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Nexter, specializing in the manufacture of military bridge systems and tasked with delivering these new structures based on the dry support bridge design.
Designed to extend up to 46 meters and able to withstand the weight of the British Army’s future tank, the Challenger 3, these bridges are intended to cross both wet and dry gaps. Masu. Its purpose is to enhance the Army’s operational mobility and facilitate the safe movement of critical supplies, including personnel, equipment, and humanitarian supplies, across a variety of terrain.
The contract marks the transition from the BR90 ABLE system to a new setup that promises interoperability with bridge systems of NATO allies.
Minister of Defense Acquisition James Cartledge said of the contract:This is a great example of this Government delivering on its Land and Industry Strategy to invest in British industry and provide world-class bridging capabilities to the Armed Forces.”
The contract, part of Project TYRO, aims to enhance the mobility of the British Army’s armored brigade combat teams in diverse terrain. Mark Bunyan, Head of Defense Equipment and Fire Support, Infrastructure and Maneuver Support Portfolio, emphasized the critical role of military bridges in operational success, saying:Bridging military equipment is the foundation of operational success and is essential to ensuring the safest and quickest movement of personnel across the battlefield.”
The TYRO general support bridge system will be one of the most advanced and rapidly deployable military bridges in the world and will be installed on the Rheinmetall MAN military vehicle (RMMV) HX2 tactical truck.
