The Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency (Forsvarsmateriell) has signed a contract with US vehicle specialist Miller Industries Towing Equipment (MITE) for the supply of seven armoured recovery vehicles (ARVs), with an option for a further two, the agency announced on 26 June 2023.
The total value of the contract is just under NOK 50 M (EUR 4.3 M), with the vehicles expected to be delivered from 2027.
The contracted ARVs are intended for the towing and recovery of vehicles weighing from 5 to 25 tons. This would typically be lightly armoured tracked or wheeled vehicles, such as the M113 tracked armoured personnel carrier (APC) or the wheeled Dingo 2 protected patrol vehicle, both of which are in Norwegian service.
MITE will produce and deliver the vehicles by developing and integrating a recovery module with the Armoured Combat Support Vehicle (ACSV) multirole tracked platform developed by Flensburger Fahrzeugbau (FFG) in Germany. This platform has been selected by Norway as a partial replacement for the M113 and as an alternative to continued upgrading of the older platform.
The development of the ACSV began in 2012 as a private venture by FFG, based on the company’s extensive experience with upgrading tracked platforms. Initially known as the Protected Mission Module Carrier, the final production version was renamed the ACSV. The vehicle was designed from the outset as a multi-purpose platform, with the rear of the vehicle forming a ‘cargo bed’ for various interchangeable mission modules, and is also compatible with standard 10 ft (3.048 m) ISO containers. This allows the ACSV to serve, for example, as a logistic transport vehicle, APC, air defence vehicle, ambulance or, as in the case of Norway, an ARV.
The basic ACSV platform has a maximum weight of 26 tons, including an 8-ton payload, and is powered by a 460 kW multi-fuel engine that, combined with vibration-dampening rubber tracks, gives it a top speed of 74 km/h. However, no technical details have been released at this stage for the Norwegian ARV variant.
Thomas Lauge Nielsen
