UK National Armaments Director Andy Start and his counterpart, German National Armaments Director Vice Admiral Carsten Stawitzki, signed a “Letter of Intent” re-affirming the two nations’ commitment to ongoing bilateral cooperation for two key military bridging projects: the Wide Wet Gap Crossing (WWGC), also known as Project TRITON, and General Support Bridge (GSB).
The current Wide Wet Gap Crossing capability is currently jointly delivered by the two nations through a bi-national bridging battalion based in Minden, Germany. “Tank pioneer battalion 130” turned into a binational formation on 1st October 2021 with the integration within the battalion of the 23rd Amphibious Engineering Squadron of the Royal Engineers.
The battalion concentrates the GDELS M3 amphibious rigs employed by both Countries, a strategic capability that ensures the quick crossing of wide rivers. TRITON is about replacing the current in-service M3s, which were already collaboratively procured through DE-UK cooperation in the 1990s.
The procurement is handled through OCCAR, which notes “The WWGC system will comprise self-driving Amphibious Rigs with the capability to build Floating Bridges over bodies of water and will provide capability which exceeds that offered by the current in-service M3 variant, allowing the crossing of heavier material, to include the heaviest Main Battle Tanks of today alongside those in the future pipeline”.
The OCCAR expects contract award to happen later this year, with a value of up to €1 billion for “in excess of 1,000m of bridging capability” which would work out at around 86 M3-equivalent systems. German sources suggest a split of 60 and 30 systems respectively for Germany and UK and also suggest that the most modern incarnation of the M3 will be used. Sweden has only recently acquired new production M3s, becoming the 3rd NATO user of this system which claims to be the fastest wide wet gap crossing capability available. Also in 2024, South Korea started receiving its own “KM3”, an M3 produced locally by Hanwha Aerospace thanks to a licence agreement with General Dynamics Land Systems.
As for the General Support Bridge, under Project TYRO the UK has begun replacing the BR90 ABLE bridging sets with the Dry Support Bridge by WFEL (now a KNDS company). The signing of an agreement enlarged to cover GSB confirms that Germany intends to order a number of sets of its own.
A Dry Support Bridge in TYRO configuration uses a MAN 45M 10x10 truck configured for semi-automatic bridge launch with a powerful boom that is deployed across the gap to heft the bridge itself into position. 2 or more other trucks carry the sections of bridge to be assembled and deployed thanks to the boom. Just 8 soldiers can bridge a 46 meters gap in 90 minutes with a single launcher truck. The bridge is classed for Military Load Class 120, allowing even the heaviest armour to comfortably cross, even carried on a trailer.
The GSB sets are produced by WFEL at its plant in Stockport, UK. The Dry Support Bridge system has already been exported to the US, Swiss, Australian, Turkish and Philippine Armies.
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