UK Special Forces vehicle designer and manufacturer, Supacat (part of SC Group), has today announced the recent delivery of the first production HMT Extenda vehicle to the Norwegian Armed Forces.
The handover took place at Supacat’s Devon facility on 30 May 2018.
Supacat signed a £23 million contract with The Norwegian Defence Material Agency (NDMA) to supply a new fleet of High Mobility Vehicles in May 2015. The award includes the provision of a comprehensive through-life support package. The first ‘pre-series’ vehicle was delivered in early 2017 followed by full fleet delivery taking place during 2018 and 2019.
The HMT Extenda is unique as it is convertible to a 4×4 or a 6×6 configuration by inserting or removing a self-contained third axle unit to meet different operational requirements. Like other HMT series platforms, such as the UK’s ‘Jackal’, the HMT Extenda can be supplied with optional mine blast and ballistic protection kits and with a variety of mission hampers, weapons, communications, ISTAR and force protection equipment to suit a wide range of operational roles.
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Major Arild Stangenes, NDMA Programme Manager said “the delivery of our first production vehicle is a major milestone in a long-term programme that has been ongoing since 2011. We are very pleased with the quality of our first production vehicle and with a product that fully meets the needs of our user.”
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Nick Ames, Chief Executive of SC Group, of which Supacat is a part, said “this project milestone is a great achievement for Supacat and for our Norwegian customer. I am proud of what the team has achieved in delivering a fantastic product and we are looking forward to following this first production delivery with the rest of the order.” He added, “yet again, the Supacat HMT has proven itself to be the vehicle of choice for specialist users across the globe.”