The future of mine blast protection may become reality in Fyn
Posted on 2015-04-23
Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and land mines have developed into one of the biggest threats facing allied land forces. In response, the development in protection systems for armored vehicles has picked up rapidly and TenCate Advanced Armour Danmark (Vissenbjerg, Fyn) has become one of the world’s leading providers of lightweight composite armor. It all started with an Industry Cooperation project in the 1990s and now the future of mine blast protection systems may be become reality in Fyn in cooperation with General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDELS).
When the Danish Army signed its first contract for armored vehicles from GDELS’s Swiss subsidiary MOWAG almost 20 years ago, TenCate (at that time Roulunds Fabrikker and later on Roshield) supplied protection components for the PIRANHA 3 armored vehicles delivered to the Danish Army. TenCate subsequently became a Tier 1 supplier for General Dynamics European Land Systems’ EAGLE, DURO and PIRANHA platforms and has remained a top supplier of GDELS ever since.
“TenCate started the development of composite based protection systems from scratch in the 1990s. Through our cooperation with Falck Schmidt Defence Systems we were introduced to General Dynamics European Land Systems, and the Industry Cooperation program worked as a catalyst and enabled us to develop technologies, which were highly effective and competitive on the global market”, says Peter Bertelsen, Managing Director of TenCate Active Protection.
In 2007 Roshield became a part of the Advanced Armour division of Dutch Textiles technology group Royal TenCate, a world leader in ballistic and blast protection solutions, and GDELS has remained a key business partner for TenCate Advanced Armour Danmark, integrating the Danish company in its global supply-chain and providing a steady revenue stream that has consolidated its position on the global market. TenCate in Denmark employs 40 highly skilled employees, which successfully deliver protection solutions to the global defence industry.
General Dynamics European Land Systems has satisfied on or ahead of schedule its Industry Cooperation obligations coming from our previous vehicle sales to Danish Defence, on schedule, and we have continued our cooperation and generated an additional 700 million kroner in revenue for Danish industry. We have done this because Danish industry has proven to be innovative and competitive, and TenCate is an excellent example of that”, says Jens Bauer, GDELS Senior Director International Business and Services responsible for Industrial Cooperation.
With regard to the acquisition of new Armored Personnel Carriers (APC) for the Danish Army, General Dynamics European Land Systems is prepared to take its Danish partnerships to the next level. GDELS has signed Industry Cooperation agreements with 40 Danish companies of all sizes and has already defined projects in excess of 3,7 billion kroner covering all of the technology areas defined in the Danish Government’s Defence Industry strategy.
Among these projects are GDELS-sponsored efforts to increase the efficiency of production processes of TenCate by introducing new automation technology at the factory of TenCate’s in Vissenbjerg and to commercialize the future of mine blast protection technology in Fyn. TenCate Active Protection has based on Danish patented technology developed the revolutionary Ten Cate ABDS™active blast countermeasure system which mitigates the effects of mines and IED blasts and is currently being tested by the US Army Research and Development, Engineering Command. And the TenCate ABDS™active blast countermeasure system may become reality in Fyn.
We are extremely excited about our cooperation with General Dynamics European Land Systems and the integration of the TenCate ABDS™active blast countermeasure system on GDELS’ EAGLE 5 platform. It will be the first time an active blast countermeasure system is certified on a major platform, and it constitutes an enormous market potential for TenCate. Together with GDELS we hope to bring this revolutionary technology to the market and increase the protection level for Danish and allied soldiers”, says Peter Bertelsen.
GDELS believes in partnership and keeps pursuing its innovative long-term industrial growth strategy which creates sustainable business and future export opportunities for our Danish Industry partners. That makes the real difference to a project specific blue print production model”, finally says Thomas Kauffmann, GDELS Vice President International Business & Services.
About GDELS
General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDELS) is a business unit of US based General Dynamics Corporation and conducts its business through European operating sites located in Spain, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Czech Republic. For the past 20 years GDELS has delivered hundreds of PIRANHA, EAGLE and DURO armored vehicles to the Danish Army. GDELS´s Industry Cooperation programs have generated almost 1,7 billion kroner of revenue for Danish industry out of which 700 million kroner have been generated on a purely commercial basis. Partnerships with and assistance from GDELS has enabled Danish industry to access General Dynamics global supply chain network and has created new technology development, export and employment opportunities. Long-term GDELS industry partners in Denmark include Falck Schmidt Defence Systems, Terma, Nissens and TenCate. GDELS is currently offering both tracked and wheeled platforms for Denmark’s APC-R Program: ASCOD and PIRANHA 5. For more information about GDELS visit www.gdels.com