Australia Declares Initial Operating Capability for Rheinmetall Military Vehicles

The Commonwealth of Australia has declared Initial Operating Capability (IOC) for the equipment delivered by Rheinmetall under the LAND 121 phase 3B program.

“Deliveries of more than 2500 Rheinmetall MAN high mobility logistics vehicles to the Australian Defence Force have achieved a major new milestone with the Commonwealth of Australia declaring Initial Operating Capability (IOC) status for the LAND 121 Phase 3B program,” Rheinmetall said in a statement Tuesday.

The Land 121 Phase 3B contract commenced in April 2016 with a four year program focused on the delivery of a fleet of 2536 vehicles in multiple configurations to form the logistics backbone of the Australian Defence Force. Deliveries to Australian Army facilities around Australia are expected to be completed by April 2020 under the Land 121 Phase 3B program schedule.

The vehicles included under the Land 121 Phase 3B program and delivered to the Australian Army to date include the variants: Heavy Integrated Load Handling (HX-77), Heavy Tipper (HX-77), Medium Tipper (40-M), Tractor (HX-81), Heavy Recovery (45M), Medium-weight Tray with Crane (40M) and Medium-weight Tray (40M).

Australian industry capability (AIC) is a critical part of the Land 121 Phase 3B program, particularly during the integration and delivery of the vehicles to the Australian Army.

“This commitment to AIC will be underscored during the next phase of the program - Land 121 Phase 3B/5B - which will see Rheinmetall deliver a further 1044 vehicles and 872 modules, as well as on-going support to the capability to ensure it meets operational requirements, working alongside its growing network of Australian industry partners,” the company said.