Luxembourg’s Defence Minister, François Bausch, has presented the plan for the procurement of 80 protected armoured Command, Liaison, Reconnaissance Vehicles (CLRV). Earlier, the governing council had approved the planned expenditure of €367M, which still has to be approved by parliament. The new vehicles are to replace the protected HUMMER and DINGO 2 vehicles in the 2024/2025 timeframe. The 42 HUMMERS have been in service since 1996 meaning the platform, radio and weapons are outdated while protection is inadequate. The 48 DINGO 2s have been in service since 2010 meaning the radio and weapon systems are obsolete.
The aim of the procurement project is uniform equipment at company level and closer alignment with Belgium in order to achieve advantages in deployment, training and logistics with interoperable and compatible equipment for the next 15 to 20 years. As Belgium equips its forces with vehicles from the French SCORPION programme, Luxembourg also wants to use the same platforms. The only vehicle that could be considered however is the GRIFFONmultipurpose vehicle, although it weighs more than twice as much as the vehicles to be replaced.
For the procurement, Luxembourg has called in the NATO Support and Procurement Agency. Within the given ceiling of €367M, about one-sixth (€61M) is earmarked for the procurement of the platforms, one-third (€122M) for the electronic equipment with radios, jammers, sensors and armament withabout half (€184M) for logistical support in operation.
Gerhard Heiming
