On Tuesday 6 October, at 14.30, the Defence Committee will hold
its first evidence session in its inquiry
into Armoured Fighting Vehicles (AFVs). The session will
discuss the progress being made in delivering current AFV
programmes, the lessons learned from the last two decades of AFV
procurement, the current status of the Challenger 2 upgrade
programme, the viability of the UK AFV industry and future
developments in AFV technology. Witnesses include: Francis Tusa,
Nicholas Drummond, Peter Hardisty, Carew Wilks and Lee Fellows.
The first panel will hear from Francis Tusa and Nicholas
Drummond. Francis Tusa is an experienced defence journalist,
having worked for RUSI and with media outlets such as the Times,
the BBC and CNN, and as a regular contributor to Sky News.
Nicholas Drummond is a former British Army officer and now works
as a strategic consultant serving the Defence Industry with
clients in the EU and USA. Mr Drummond currently acts as an
advisor to Krauss Maffei Wegmann (KMW) which is a shareholder in
the Joint Venture (ARTEC) that is under contract to supply Boxer
armoured vehicles to meet the Army’s Mechanised Infantry Vehicle
requirement.
The second panel will include Peter Hardisty, Carew Wilks and Lee
Fellows. Peter Hardisty is currently the Managing Director for
the Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land (RBSL) joint venture business.
He was the Managing Director of Rheinmetall Defence UK and
Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles UK, two of the UK subsidiaries
of Rheinmetall, a large German defence firm. Carew Wilks is Vice
President of General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS), having working
in both infrastructure and equipment acquisition roles; as
Director of Army Infrastructure in Army HQ and finally as
Director Land Equipment in DE&S, with responsibility for the
acquisition and support of all the Army’s equipment. Lee Fellows
was appointed Vice President and Managing Director of the LMUK
Ampthill business in 2020.
Tuesday 6 October, 14.30:
Panel 1
- Francis Tusa - Editor, Defence Analysis
- Nicholas Drummond – Director, AURA Consulting
Panel 2
- Peter Hardisty – Managing Director, Rheinmetall BAE Systems
Land (RBSL)
- Carew Wilks – Vice President, General Dynamics Land Systems
(GDLS)
- Lee Fellows – Vice President and Managing Director, Lockheed
Martin UK Ampthill (LMUK)
