I am not an arms salesman; so I am not trying to push the advantages of any made in Singapore platform for the ADF.
I wonder how many parts are common to both the Terrex CRV and the Bionix IFV.
Other than the battle management system, the two vehicle families have very little in common in terms of commonality of parts. The hull of the Terrex a more modern 8x8 design, built to tight tolerances with a five-axis machine that is by design swim capable (and powered by a Caterpillar C-9 engine); whereas the Bionix is a fording only IFV, with preparation (and powered by a Detroit Diesel 6V 92TA).
Singapore's Minister of Defence has recently announced that the SAF's fleet of armoured vehicles will double in the next 10 years. The Singapore Army in 2030 will certainly be more mobile. The number of units that will operate on wheel or track platforms will almost double by 2024. Singapore will need to stock parts for these vehicles (as part of the planning process); and commonality of parts with the SAF will reduce down time for the ADF's vehicle fleet, in terms of availability of parts stocked. See the quote below taken from the Feb 2014 issue of
Asian Military Review for more details:
"Singapore has assumed near-independence in terms of armoured-vehicle production specifically through ST Kinetics (STK). Introduced in 1999 the Bionix Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) appears in several variants: the Bionix 40/50 has a one-man cupola with a 40 millimetre (1.6 inch) automatic grenade launcher and .50-cal machine gun; Bionix 25 with 25mm (one-inch) ATK M242 cannon in a two-man turret; and Bionix II with 30mm (1.2-in) ATK Mk44 Bushmaster II cannon. An estimated 720 Bionix vehicles are in service. The Singapore Army also has Bionix recovery, bridge-laying and mine-clearing variants.
The STK Terrex eight-wheel-drive vehicle reached FOC in mid-2011, with production beginning via a contract for 135 vehicles to equip three infantry battalions. By early 2013, the initial order had been fulfilled and another contract was believed to have been placed. The 24-tonne Terrex is fully amphibious, and the Infantry Carrier Vehicle (ICV) variant is armed with an EOS R-600 Remote Weapon Station (RWS). A gunshot detection system is mounted on some vehicles, and the Terrex is fitted with a high-tech Battlefield Management System (BMS) from ST Electronics. Additionally, the Command, Control and Information System (CCIS) synchronises dismounted infantry troops fitted with the Advanced Combat Man System (ACMS) to higher headquarters. Singapore has other Terrex types planned: Anti-Tank Guided Missile (using the Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Spike missile); Command, Medical; Pioneer (with obstacle-clearing blade and gap-crossing Heavy Short Trackway Bridge); Reconnaissance, Surveillance and Target Acquisition (RSTA); and STrike OberveR Mission (STORM) for artillery observers. The Terrex was one of four shortlisted vehicles in the US Marine Corps Marine Personnel Carrier (MPC) requirement before the project was frozen in 2013.
Singapore also owns some of the region’s most capable tanks. Taking advantage of a German sell-off, Singapore procured 96 Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) Leopard 2A4 Main Battle Tanks (MBT), 30 of which were spare-parts donors. They were immediately put through an upgrade programme engineered by IBD Deisenroth Engineering. The resulting Leopard 2SG is fitted with IBD’s Evolution suite that boasts fourth-generation Advanced Modular Armour Protection (AMAP), plus steel slat armour installed on the hull, turret rear and flanks. An Active Protection System (APS) from ADS Gesellschaft of Germany is likely to equip the vehicles but has not been seen publicly to date. Singapore has also inducted Leopard 2 Armoured Recovery Vehicles, Armoured Vehicle-Launched Bridges and Armoured Engineering Vehicles. It is believed Singapore desires a new light tank to replace its retired AMX-13 fleet too.
In late 2009 the army took delivery of the first of 18 Lockheed Martin High-Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS). These truck-mounted 227mm (nine inch) rocket systems with 70km (44 mile) range became operational with the 23rd Battalion in September 2011. In November, Singapore requested the sale of 88 Guided Multiple-Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) pods and associated rockets from Lockheed Martin. Meanwhile, STK is conducting feasibility studies on a 155mm (6.1 inch) Advanced Mobile Gun System based on an eight-wheel-drive chassis. The conceptual 28-tonne vehicle offers improved mobility compared to STK-produced tracked Primus self-propelled and Pegasus towed howitzers."
If the Primus replacement vehicle works out, it would be quite an interesting vehicle.
