On June 8, 2021, the Federal Office for Equipment, Information Technology and Use of the Bundeswehr took delivery of a system demonstrator HiMoLaP (High Mobile Land Platform), a highly mobile land platform for component tests. FFG Flensburger Fahrzeugbau Gesellschaft mbH (FFG) built the demonstrator on behalf of the Federal Office after the company developed solutions in a study - also commissioned by the Bundeswehr - to eliminate weak points in known articulated vehicle systems. The company also developed innovative ideas for the drive.
Articulated vehicles - the best-known examples are the BV 206 and the Bronco and their variants - consist of two segments with drive on two chains in each of the two segments. Steering takes place via an articulated joint that connects the vehicle segments. The main advantage of this type of vehicle, which can float, is its high off-road mobility with a smooth transition from solid ground to swampy ground to water.
The system demonstrator from FFG is equipped with a bionic articulated joint with roll damping, which enables “active cornering”. The roll damping reduces the risk of the rear vehicle rocking and thus significantly increases driving safety. For “active cornering”, the articulated joint pulls the front and rear parts together slightly when cornering, thereby reducing the effective chain contact area. This makes the steering more precise and reduces chain wear.
The standard diesel drive in the front car is supplemented by an electric drive in the rear car. The electric motor – used as a booster – can support overcoming critical situations with additional acceleration. It can also power the vehicle alone and enable quiet driving. The resulting reduced acoustic signature of the vehicle makes reconnaissance missions, for example, safer.
The goal of these solutions is to increase mobility.
The system demonstrator is intended to test a variety of innovative components and systems in order to gain important insights for future vehicle developments.
The defense technology department will now extensively and intensively test the HiMoLaP demonstrator in order to examine the suitability for everyday use of the proposed and installed solutions. A long-term test over several thousand kilometers in very different scenarios is planned.
The Bundeswehr is looking for a successor for the articulated BV206, which will reach the end of its service life in 2027. In a working group with Great Britain, the Netherlands and Sweden, the joint procurement of a Collaborative All-Terrain Vehicle (CATV) was agreed upon. The plan is for the vehicles to be produced by a main contractor and customized by national subcontractors. The first vehicles should be delivered for integrated verification from 2022. The replacement with series vehicles should begin in 2024.
It is doubtful whether this plan can be implemented in view of the testing of the system demonstrator that is now beginning and with a view to a new federal government after the federal elections in September and the lack of funds, even if the project initially costs “only” just under 280 million euros belongs to small procurement projects.
Gerhard Heiming
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