Remotely operable Terrier earthmovers ordered for Royal Engineers

A new fleet of 60 armoured earthmoving tracked engineer vehicles which will give the Royal Engineers a powerful and versatile route-clearing and earth moving capability will be built at BAE Systems Newcastle factory under a £300 Million contract.

A new fleet of 60 armoured earthmoving tracked engineer vehicles which will give the Royal Engineers a powerful and versatile route-clearing and earth moving capability will be built at BAE Systems Newcastle factory under a £300 Million contract.

The Royal Engineers are getting 60 air-portable Terrier vehicles, which will become one of the most important engineering tools in their inventory. Terrier will support infantry by removing obstacles and opening routes, providing vital assistance on operations including peace-keeping and humanitarian missions.

Minister for Defence Equipment and Support, Quentin Davies, said:

"Terrier will be a hugely powerful and versatile machine like a cross between an armoured vehicle, an excavator and a loader - and I am pleased to confirm this order for our highly skilled Royal Engineers.

"Designed in Leicester and integrated by BAE Systems in Newcastle, the order is also good news for British industry as over 90 percent of the manufacture will be supported by companies from across the country demonstrating the great level of skills and workmanship we have in the UK".

Terrier weighs in at 30-tonnes and has a crew of two who sit in a 'state of the art' compartment. The vehicle's armoured chassis will allow it to safely operate in a combat environment, and when required, it can be operated remotely.

As a powerful tracked vehicle Terrier will be able to negotiate almost any terrain, and its earth-moving bucket and side-mounted excavator arm will make short work of digging and obstacle clearance tasks. The bucket can be quickly replaced with a surface mine clearance device which, when combined with a route marking system, can be used to clear routes of surface laid munitions

Based on recent operational experience MoD has made changes to the vehicle design to provide additional protection against mine attacks and vehicles will be equipped with extra armour to equip them for service on operations.

Construction work will begin on the production line at BAES' Newcastle site in 2010 supported by its sub contractors who span the breadth of the UK. They are due to enter service in 2013.