The British Army TERRIER Engineer Vehicle

The British Army TERRIER Engineer Vehicle replaced the FV180 Combat Engineer Tractor (CET) when full delviery of all 60 vehicles was finished in December 2014.

Providing mobility support (obstacle and route clearance), counter-mobility (digging of anti-tank ditches and other obstacles) and survivability (digging of trenches and Armoured Fighting Vehicle slots) its the most modern Combat Engineer vehicle in the British Army.

Terrier is faster and more mobile and has more effective armour and mine protection than the old CET. Terrier is fitted with day and night vision systems and is air-portable.

Terrier is operated by a crew of two, or may be operated remotely in particularly hazardous environments. The vehicle can also tow a trailer carrying fascines, trackway and the Python minefield breaching system, clear scatterable mines, remove or enhance obstacles and establish routes while keeping pace with other armoured vehicles such as the Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank and the Warrior Infantry Fighting Vehicle.

Manufacture of the first TERRIER production hull began on 27 January 2010 at BAE’s famous Newcastle plant. The first TERRIER hull will be used in mine blast trials to demonstrate improved protection levels introduced by modifications resulting from experience gained on other vehicles during operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Assembly, integration and test of the first production vehicle is scheduled to commence in the first half of 2011.

Another important TERRIER development milestone was successfully completed in December 2009 after two demonstrator vehicles finished a comprehensive performance trial designed to demonstrate reliability growth. This two-month assessment consisted of a range of typical battlefield missions, including:

o Travelling 3300km, split between road, track and cross country going
o Excavating 135 pits for Warrior infantry fighting vehicles
o Digging 39 pits for AS 90 self-propelled howitzers
o Moving 15,500 tonnes of spoil
o Operating  the vehicles remotely via a remote control system and radio link
o Completing a range of route clearance and denial operations and placement of ditch-crossing fascines.

terrier
The British Army TERRIER Engineer Vehicle

BAE Systems TERRIER team leader Paul Dale explained, “Our goal with these trials is to provide the Ministry of Defence with confidence that TERRIER is on track to meet the exacting reliability levels prescribed for the vehicle.”

Following a detailed review of the trial results and subsequent reliability case report, the MoD has concluded that the trial has been successful and the programme should continue to the next phase of reliability growth, which is to demonstrate compliance with the full contractual reliability requirement.

TERRIER® programme BAE Systems Integrated System Technologies (Insyte) is a training simulator for British Army crews in driving, digging and maintenance of the TERRIER vehicle, providing a comprehensive, cost effective and environmentally friendly approach to training.

The BAE Systems solution is for three training systems: four mission crew trainers (simulated crew compartments on motion platforms), a remote control trainer and a classroom set of VoRTEX diagnostic emulator workstations. VoRTEX is a software suite that underpins the next generation of virtual reality trainers.