UK land systems provider Supacat has secured a GBP 90 M contract to supply 70 of its High Mobility Transporter (HMT) 400 vehicles to the British Army, the company announced on 23 February 2023.
These initial 70 vehicles are due to be delivered to the British Army by the end of Financial Year 2023/24, although there is an option for up to 240 vehicles to be manufactured in total should operational requirements demand.
While the first 70 vehicles will be an iteration of Supacat’s HMT 400 4×4, the vehicles can easily be extended to a 6×6 variant by modifying their hamper, a company spokesperson told ESD on 23 February.
Powered by a Cummins 6.7-litre, six-cylinder diesel developing 182 hp and providing a torque of 700 Nm, the HMT 400 4×4 has a gross vehicle weight (GVW) of 9 tonnes, while the 6×6 variant has a GVW of 12 tonnes, with the two versions’ payloads being 1.8 tonnes and 3.8 tonnes respectively. The vehicle has a maximum speed of 120 km/h and a maximum road range with its 230-litre-capacity internal fuel tanks of 1,000 km. Featuring independent air suspension with adjustable ride height, HMT vehicles offer what Supacat claims is “superior payload capacity with exceptional off-road performance and operational transportability”.
Supacat HMT-based vehicles were first brought into service under urgent operational requirements (UORs) to provide British forces in Afghanistan with offroad patrol and fire-support vehicles with increased performance compared to their Land Rover-based predecessors. Jackal 4×4 HMT variants made their in-theatre debut in April 2008, followed by upgraded Jackal 2 and Coyote 6×6 variants from July 2009.
Despite initially being purchase under UORs, these vehicles were subsequently integrated into the British Army’s permanent tactical vehicle fleet.
Peter Felstead
