Production of the much-anticipated Jackal 3 military vehicle has officially been launched for the British Army.

Created by Babcock International Group and Supacat, 70 High Mobility Transporter Jackal 3s will be produced for the military by the summer of this year.

“At this time of global instability, the significance to the British Army of delivering the HMT Jackal 3 vehicle should not be understated,” said Babcock CEO David Lockwood.

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The project is one of the first contracts to deliver on the UK’s Land Industrial Strategy.

Major General Darren Crook CBE, the director of the Land Equipment Operating Centre at DE&S said: “This Supacat and Babcock collaboration will deliver modern fighting vehicles for the British Armed Forces and our allies, whilst developing and maintaining key land defence engineering skills in a much-valued part of the south-west of England.

“It is tangible evidence of the British Army’s Land Industrial Strategy and our purpose for Defence: to protect the nation and help it prosper.”

Sixty-two of the Jackal 3 vehicles will be produced at Babcock’s Devonport site, while the remaining eight will be made at Supacat’s manufacturing facilities in Dunkeswell.

In tribute to both the British Army and the Royal Navy, the new Southwest production facility has been named The Raglan Building in recognition of the nearby Raglan Barracks, which supported British soldiers on their way to overseas operations in the 1800s.

The Jackal is often used by cavalry regiments such as the Yeomanry and is equipped with armour and blast protection underneath the vehicle. It is also well-equipped for cross-country capabilities.

However, the Jackal 3 will replace its earlier counterpart with a new suspension system for better off-road performance. It also has more space for payload delivery and is less detectable.

Nick Ames, the CEO of Supacat said: “As an SME based in south-west England, it is an enormous privilege to have our product selected yet again by the British Army.

“The Jackal 3 is the product of 25 years of specific development and 45 years of corporate development.

“Every member of our staff takes enormous pride in the quality of the product that provides our soldiers with a leading-edge battle-proven platform that they can rely on.

“That pride in quality also led us to our production partner for this project, Babcock.

“Our teams have worked, together with the MOD, tirelessly to a challenging timescale and with enabling technology, to support this procurement and we will continue to do so into the future to provide world-class product to the British Army.”