Contract for British Army tank training awarded to Babcock International

By Medicine Hat News on February 14, 2024.

A global defence contractor has won the private contract to train British Army tank and repair crews in the United Kingdom.

Babcock International stated on Feb. 4 it has secured a seven-year contract, valued at 75 million pounds (about C$128 million) with the Ministry Defence that is revamping its armour operations.

Beginning in April, the company will develop and support training exercises at the Bovington and Lulworth training facility at Dorset in southwest England.

Heavy armour exercises at CFB Suffield, near Medicine Hat, were suspended in 2020 as travel was limited during the early COVID-19 pandemic, then shifted as the British Army reconfigured its fleet and upgraded a limited number of Challenger II heavy tanks to become Challenger III.

Training exercises since then have occurred in Eastern Europe with NATO allies and other countries as a signal of strength during the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Last fall, the News was first to report that about 100 positions at Suffield could be lost in a workforce adjustment as British Army Training Unit Suffield reduces operations while Canadian Defence officials examine potential new uses for the sprawling live-fire base.

Babcock will also develop and carry out training for crews on other light armoured vehicles Ajax and Boxer in the U.K.

In Canada, Babcock designs exercises for the Royal Canadian Navy and operates aerial forest fire fighting in Manitoba.