I may be right in saying and I think CH150 would back me up in saying theres no scope to replace DROPS at the moment, although the MAN SV EPLS looks like the most likely successor to the DROPS, the man is currently only UOR in herrick, there was also mention of an oshkosh replacement but since the man SV fleet is replacing most of the serving fleet, the man epls would make most sense!

The Treasury ruling is that if a capability is funded as a UOR and not brought into core then any requirement for the same capability within a 10 year period will not be authorised to be funded by the MOD. This would suggest that the EPLS will replace DROPS, unless we want to wait a decade or more for a replacement!

EPLS is not the replacement for DROPS, it's only a stop gap. No doubt it will be adopted though as we seem to have spent a little too much cash.

I am slightly out of the loop but when I was last in it the information I had was the EPLS was only a UOR and not due to replace DROPS in core.

The DROPS replacement is still programmed to take place and there are still options open. Although with current budgetary issues I am sure this will slip to the right. EPLS covers HERRICK nicely as a UOR and DROPS will have to plod on in core.

EPLS is not a guaranteed winner as the DROPS replacement. It would make sense in some respects for EPLS to be the DROPS replacement as it has commonality with the rest of the SV fleet; it is after-all just a 15T SV with a LHS on the back. It will also have been proven in theatre - but all of the UOR variants will be thrashed after HERRICK and will certainly need replacing anyway. However the other options may still offer a better choice, Osh-Kosh certainly produced a blinding piece of kit with the CST (I can't comment about HET but I haven't heard too much bad about it).

Originally Posted by Horridlittleman

I am slightly out of the loop but when I was last in it the information I had was the EPLS was only a UOR and not due to replace DROPS in core.

The DROPS replacement is still programmed to take place and there are still options open. Although with current budgetary issues I am sure this will slip to the right. EPLS covers HERRICK nicely as a UOR and DROPS will have to plod on in core.

EPLS is not a guaranteed winner as the DROPS replacement. It would make sense in some respects for EPLS to be the DROPS replacement as it has commonality with the rest of the SV fleet; it is after-all just a 15T SV with a LHS on the back. It will also have been proven in theatre - but all of the UOR variants will be thrashed after HERRICK and will certainly need replacing anyway. However the other options may still offer a better choice, Osh-Kosh certainly produced a blinding piece of kit with the CST (I can't comment about HET but I haven't heard too much bad about it).

See my above!

Originally Posted by Sangreal

Originally Posted by Horridlittleman

......my stuff............some repetition...........some added value.............

See my above!

Seen.

There seems to be some misconception that the MoD actually has money to spend on new stuff. We are skint and on the cusp of some big decisions.

OUVS is on hold (possibly permanently?). FRES is anybody’s guess varying from a whole new suit to re-modelled CVR(T), warrior, etc and the AVF 430 (Bulldog) series already nearly half a century old is being extended even further to cover the gap.

A hell of a lot of money has been spent on UOR vehicles in the recent past and as Sangreal has stated the MoD no longer has an open cheque book. The only real gap in the market at the moment is for some sort of LPPV

If I was a betting man I would put a few pennies on what we have now is what we will have for some time in the future (re-modelled and re-named maybe, however, fundamentally the same platforms).

It's possible that drops could be mounted on 3 axle close coupled trailer,with it's own power pack,or hydraulics from the towing vehicle.Such trailers could be drawn by brawny trucks,such as MAN 6x6,at least in Afghan.

Originally Posted by muhandis89

It's possible that drops could be mounted on 3 axle close coupled trailer,with it's own power pack,or hydraulics from the towing vehicle.Such trailers could be drawn by brawny trucks,such as MAN 6x6,at least in Afghan.

Nice idea but the last thing you want on a CLP is to be dragging a trailer and having to reverse quickly out of a contact.

Originally Posted by muhandis89

It's possible that drops could be mounted on 3 axle close coupled trailer,with it's own power pack,or hydraulics from the towing vehicle.Such trailers could be drawn by brawny trucks,such as MAN 6x6,at least in Afghan.

We have trailers for artics, that are fitted with side-loading DROPS equipment, I think we used it is Kosovo.