German BV206 vehicle rolling off a landing craft on the shores of Malangen North East of Storsteinnes. C Company of 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment (2 PARA) are deployed on Exercise JOINT VIKING in Bardufoss, northern Norway. Credit: UK Crown Copyright.

The UK Ministry of Defence requires a supplier of components to support its prime contractor, Babcock Land Defence, with repairing various littoral vehicles for the Royal Marines.

Under the framework agreement lasting three years, with an option for two more, the service contract value is anticipated to cost £4.5m ($5.82m). Work is due to begin on 6 January 2025 and end on 5 January 2027.

The successful supplier will provide Babcock with resources to remanufacture the amphibious service’s Beach Recovery Vehicles (BRV), Bandvagn 206 (BV206) carriers and Viking units. This range of fast, armoured and amphibious all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) enable the Royal Marines to operate in some of the harshest environments on the planet, from desert regions to the Arctic.

Known as the “Hippo,” the BRV is based on the German Leopard 1A5 tank, but with modficiations. The turret is replaced by a superstructure and a nose block has been added to push landing craft off beaches.

The BV206 is regularly used in High North conditions, where the tracked vehicle can carry up to 17 people at once, provides good traction on any surface and has an adaptable trailer unit.

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Likewise, the Viking is capable of operating anywhere in the world in temperatures between -46 degrees celsisus and +49 degrees. Fitted with a more powerful engine, Viking is larger and faster than the BV206S and has greater load capacity.

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Pictured is a Viking (BvS10) Whiteshod driver training course being conducted near Bardufoss. Royal Marines have deployed to the frozen Arctic for many years, to conduct their annual cold weather training. Credit: UK Crown Copyright.

Timeline for Royal Marine ATVs

The decision to repair and remanufacture the littoral ATVs will expand the ageing fleet, while the MoD also continues to procure 60 new Future ATVs (FATVs) from 2025.

FATVs are an evolution of the current Vikings with better amphibious swimming capability and lift capacity with models for troop transport, logistics (which can carry six tonnes of equipment), medical evacuation, recovery, and command and control. These uprated Vikings will be in service until 2058.

This acquisition was made in December 2022, and it was originally intended to replace the Royal Marines’ ageing vehicles which have been in active service for up to 20 years in most cases.

However, the refurbishment timeline of the existing fleet – extending their service time beyond 2027 – indicates that the repaired vehicles are not an interim solution, but a longer-term expansion.

This framework agreement may account for the recent depletion of the marines’ inventory. This contract was publicised on 2 July, after the former Defence Secretary, Grant Shapps, donated 20 Viking vehicles from the Army inventory, as well as 65% of its Offshore Raiding Craft fleet, to Ukraine in December 2023.