DMO, the Dutch Defense Ministry’s acquisition organization, has commissioned Defenture to deliver 41 light tactical vehicles.
The Defenture GRF vehicles will be supplied to the Airborne Mobile Brigade, an army unit. The contract is expected to open possibilities for the ministry to acquire additional vehicles over a longer period in the future.
The Dutch Commando Corps and the Airborne Mobile Brigade often operate together, making inter-operability of vital importance. According to Defenture, the contract also implies a reduction of operational costs, with use of the vehicles expected to greatly improve the Armed Forces’ effectivity and efficiency.
Defenture’s CEO, Henk van der Scheer, said: “For years Defenture has invested in the creation of a new benchmark in the light tactical market segment. Our vehicles are contributing more and more to global security and freedom. With the Defenture platforms we guarantee that the troops that protect us carry out their missions in safety and can return from the most extreme circumstances. That’s our mission with which we make the impossible possible day by day.”
The GRF vehicles have been in use now for several years and worldwide demand for the vehicles is said to have grown ever since. In addition, Defenture has two more platforms in its portfolio, the SCORPION and the MAMMOTH.
Furthermore, DMO also commissioned Defenture to develop and produce around 300 military diesel-driven quads, the SCORPION for Dutch armed forces units like KCT and 11 LMB. Defenture is also involved in the development of a bigger version of the GRF with a payload of 3500 kilos, named the MAMMOTH. This vehicle is being designed especially for the German Kommando Speziale Kräfte (KSK).
The Airborne Mobile Brigade is also going to be using the GRF vehicles after DMO and Defenture jointly signed a contract for up to 41 GRF vehicles. Following the cancellation of a contract in 2018, Germany and the Netherlands jointly decided to purchase the vehicles together through a German tender, with Defenture and the GRF platform one of the contenders in the procurement.
Defenture is expected to deliver the first vehicles to the Airborne Mobile Brigade in Autumn 2023 and expects to have delivered the first batch of 41 GRF vehicles by mid 2024.
