A Supacat High Mobility Transporter (HMT) Extenda Mk 2 with a 105 mm gun on display at Eurosatory 2022. It is not known what armament the latest Babcock–Supacat Extenda Mk 3 will have. (Janes/Sonny Butterworth)
Babcock International Group (Babcock), in partnership with UK defence vehicle manufacturer Supacat, is to build 53 new extended-length Jackal 3 High Mobility Transporter (HMT) vehicles for the British Army.
Revealing the contract at the Defence Vehicle Demonstration (DVD) 2024 exhibition in Millbrook, United Kingdom, on 18 and 19 September, Babcock and Supacat said it was for a 6×6 ‘Extenda' variant known as the Jackal 3(E). The company said the additional axle enables greater load carrying while maintaining offroad performance and speeds of up to 120 km/h.
Supplied with an optional mine blast and ballistic protection kit, the HMT platform (called Jackal by the British Army) can be fitted with a variety of weapons; communications; intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR); and force protection equipment for various operational roles.
Supacat said it provides a range of configuration options at production and the flexibility to rerole the base platform throughout the lifetime of the vehicle with a variety of mission modules and protection levels. The HMT Extenda Mk 3 allows the user the choice of either a 4×4- or 6×6-wheel drive vehicle delivered by one platform in left- or right-hand drive.
Production on this order will start at Babcock's Devonport site in Plymouth and Supacat's facility in Dunkeswell, Devon, in early 2025, with delivery of the vehicles expected in early 2026.
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