The ceremony was attended by Minister for Defence Procurement, Jeremy Quin MP, British Army Director Programmes, Major General Simon Hamilton and colleagues from DE&S, Army HQ, RBSL and Pearson Engineering.
The group received an update on the Challenger 3 programme and addressed members of the Pearson Engineering workforce at the historic Newcastle site, before cutting the first piece of steel for the Challenger 3 turret structures using a water-jet cutter.
The Challenger 3 subcontract, alongside other current land programmes, is a valuable investment in the north east of England and will sustain 285 skilled roles at Armstrong Works as well as prompt a £4 million investment in its machining capability.
The contract will help Pearson Engineering to recruit several new technical roles across project management, engineering and design, as well as 20 apprentices under an expanded STEM outreach programme.
Brig Nick Cowey, Challenger 3 Senior Responsible Owner, said:
“I’m really excited at this key milestone in the Challenger 3 programme being achieved on schedule. The turret fabrication being conducted here by Pearson Engineering is crucial for the delivery of a fully digitised turret, ensuring that our modernised Main Battle Tank is the most lethal in Europe.”
Dr Marco Noeding, Managing Director for RBSL, said:
“Today’s announcement marks the latest in a series of UK supplier contracts awarded by RBSL for Challenger 3, ensuring the programme benefits from the best of British engineering and manufacturing whilst also sustaining valuable skills across the country. The steel cutting ceremony in particular has been an excellent opportunity to commemorate a special milestone alongside our customer and new partner. Welcome to the team, Pearson Engineering.”
Craig Priday, Managing Director for Pearson Engineering, said:
“This important contract for Pearson Engineering, delivered together with our sister company Responsive Engineering, demonstrates our success in bringing armoured vehicle manufacturing back to the North East. Alongside our strong export business, this multi-year project utilises the world class capabilities of our team at Armstrong Works, and allows us to further invest in skills, jobs and the local economy. It has been a real pleasure to welcome key stakeholders here today for the steel cutting ceremony and we look forward to working with RBSL as the programme progresses.”
Our battle proven minefield breaching products provide armoured vehicles with the capability to defeat anti-tank mines. Whether intended for deliberate breaching or to support ‘freedom of manoeuvre’ for fighting vehicles, our blast-resistant ploughs give Commanders the option to move unimpeded and in doing so, maintain a battlefield advantage.
Our earth loading capability delivers a powerful digging and carrying ability, enabling armoured vehicles to transport materials, clear obstacles, dig and fill trenches and to assist in construction tasks. Our loaders can be provided with varying degrees of function and therefore complexity to support different mission sets.
Our interrogation capability is rooted in providing additional capability for Counter-IED and Route Proving operations. To supplement physical detection from ground engaging roller systems, our interrogation arm can be used to further understand the nature of threats and to identify where risks may be present outside of the path of the roller.
Our obstacle and earth moving products include general purpose and multi-purpose dozer blades, designed specifically to meet the needs of different mission sets. Our blades are designed to be tough, robust and lightweight, enabling a wide range of obstacle and earth moving activities whilst minimising the impact on the vehicle’s mobility.
Typically used alongside Pearson Engineering’s Route Opening Mine Plough, Surface Clearance Device or Route Proving rollers, our highly configurable obstacle marking systems support battlefield mobility by quickly and reliably marking safe lanes and the edge of hazardous areas.
Our excavation capability is designed to support combat engineer operations such as digging, demolishing, removing obstacles and filling trenches to support Area Access and Area Denial.
Our approach is often described as a ‘Swiss Army Knife’ in that host vehicles can be adapted to take on various combat engineering roles, or to overcome challenges to mobility. Integration of our products with the vehicle is made via a Pearson Engineering Direct Fit Interface or Pearson Engineering Quick Connect. The most suitable integration method depends on the mission requirements and vehicle capabilities. Our engineers will work closely with end-users and vehicle manufacturers to define the most appropriate route to minimise the impact on the vehicle and to maximise operational capability. Decisions are often based on hydraulic and electrical availability as well as the required role of the vehicle. Our integration kits are used to fit products that are designed to enhance armoured vehicle agility, tactical flexibility and adaptability. They are designed to be configurable and to deliver ‘freedom of manoeuvre’ to operations.
Our recovery capability includes a range of dedicated and multi-purpose blades which are primarily designed to support the recovery of other vehicles and for moving of heavy obstacles. A powerful ground-engaging blade sinks into the earth to hold a vehicle static, acting as the force against which the obstacle can be pulled. The same blade can be articulated to provide some obstacle and earth moving capability.
Surface laid mines represent a rising threat as Armed Forces turn their attention to near peer conflict. Our solutions, each designed to support the missions of dedicated combat engineer vehicles or fighting vehicles, provide a comprehensive detect and displace capability to support deliberate clearance or self-extraction in the face of air delivered scatterable mines.
Our highly configurable rollers have saved countless lives, limbs and assets on operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and have succeeded in ensuring ‘freedom of manoeuvre’ for soldiers around the world. Provided as either a full-width ‘route proving’ variant to actively check routes for the presence of Improvised Explosive Devices, or as a track-width ‘self-protection’ variant, our rollers are designed specifically to meet the needs of wide-ranging operational requirements. Our continued Research & Development and our approach to customisation provides confidence to those who use them.
Like all of Pearson Engineering’s products, our assault gap crossing solutions are designed to be modular, to be interchangeable with other mobility and counter-mobility equipment and to support ‘freedom of manoeuvre’ on the battlefield. In a time when units are tasked to ‘march divided and fight united’, independent manoeuvre support is key.
Our range of Mine Clearance platforms and tools provide Armed Forces and other organisations with scalable solutions for mine clearance, explosive ordnance disposal and the defeat of improvised explosive devices. Our platforms and their tools can also be used to create mobility challenges for adversaries. Proven around the world, these mine clearance platforms and their tools are designed specifically to meet the needs of different operational contexts from large area clearance to support logistics and peace keeping operations through to clearance in complex terrain.