The specialist vehicle manufacturer Iturri has put forward Gritstone for the British Army’s Light Mobility Vehicle programme, with an industrial team built around Stellantis, TVS Supply Chain Solutions and Sonovision, according to the company.
Gritstone is built on a mature vehicle platform instead of a new design, which the company argues removes the technical uncertainty, schedule pressure and cost growth that developmental programmes bring with them.
Iturri has supplied British defence and emergency service customers since 1998 and delivers vehicle programmes for defence and government customers across Europe, the Middle East and the Americas, including tactical mobility platforms for NATO and partner nations.
Johnny Hathaway-White, director of UK defence programmes at Iturri, said: “Gritstone represents far more than a vehicle family. It combines a proven and adaptable mobility platform with the experience of a company that has supported UK defence and emergency service customers since 1998 and delivered complex vehicle programmes for Defence, security and civil protection organisations around the world.
“By bringing together Iturri, Stellantis Pro One and Stellantis UK, TVS Supply Chain Solutions UK and Europe, and Sonovision UK, we have assembled a powerful, experienced and proven industrial team carefully calibrated for delivering reliable capability, sovereign UK support and long-term value for the British Armed Forces. Our focus is simple: proven mobility, British support and low-risk delivery.”
Stellantis Pro One and Stellantis UK provide automotive engineering, manufacturing and supply chain capability. TVS Supply Chain Solutions handles spares management, supply chain resilience and availability planning. Sonovision UK covers supportability and industrialisation, from tooling and manufacturing engineering to integrated product support, technical data, training and in-service support.
The company says the programme is designed to maximise British industrial participation through domestic engineering, integration, support and sustainment work, with the emphasis on fleet availability and lifecycle value as much as on the vehicle itself.
It’s really nice that foreign companies can allow us to “sustain’ our own vehicles in country and then call it British industrial participation.
Hopefully they do a grand unveiling like Ineos with a big Union Jack on the front of the car as it roles out of their French factory.