Warrior 2 Warrior Capability Sustainment Programme (WCSP) demonstration vehicle completed its unmanned live firing trials at the Five Tips Firing Range in Lulworth, Dorset, UK. During the unmanned firing trials, Warrior 2 demonstration vehicles covered more than 2,000 km and fired more than 150 rounds from the CT40 cased telescope weapon system. The completion of the unmanned firing trials means that it is now safe to move on to manned firing trials with the vehicle. The next step for the Warrior Capability Sustainment Programme (WCSP) programme is manned live fire and reliability growth trials. The UK Ministry of Defence awarded the development contract to LMUK in October 2011, with an option for production.
In the coming year, Warrior 2 is expected to enter into qualification and verification trials to show that the upgraded vehicles meet the formal UK Ministry of Defence requirements, and reliability growth trials to show that the vehicle can repeatedly perform its task without failure over long periods of time. Up to 380 Warriors (five variants) are included in WCSP, extending life of the vehicles up to the 2040s. The Warrior is an infantry fighting vehicle that has been in service with the British Army since 1988. It was designed to help defeat massed Soviet armoured formations and despite a successful service career the platform is in need of an upgrade. Lockheed Martin UK is the prime contractor for the upgrade, known as the Warrior Capability Sustainment Programme.
The Ministry of Defence has selected Lockheed Martin UK to lead a 642 million pounds ($1 billion) contract as part of the major 1 billion pounds ($1.6 billion) upgrade of the British Army’s Warrior Armoured Fighting Vehicle.Under the Warrior Capability Sustainment Programme (WCSP), Lockheed Martin UK will be responsible for upgrades and enhancements extending the vehicles’ service life to beyond 2040. WCSP will generate employment opportunities and support up to 600 jobs in the UK. Leading suppliers on Lockheed Martin’s Warrior Transformation Team (WTT) include Ultra Electronics; the Defence Support Group; SCISYS; Rheinmetall Defence; Curtiss Wright; Thales UK; Moog; Meggitt; CTA International; Westwire; TKE; MTL and Caterpillar UK.
The Warrior Capability Sustainment Programme (WCSP) is introducing major improvements to the British Army’s Warrior armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) The upgrade includes an innovative new turret designed and developed by Lockheed Martin UK (LMUK) in Ampthill, together with improvements across the platform. Enhancements include the addition of a fully stabilised 40mm CT40 cannon – enabling significantly greater fire-power and fire-on-the-move capability – as well as an improved sighting system and significantly better situational awareness. The new turret features a modular protection system allowing greater threat protection and a quick change of armour for specific threats. An upgraded environmental control system, and a decluttered, reorganised and increased crewspace, provides significantly greater comfort.
