The Dutch defense ministry has awarded Dutch manufacturer Defenture a contract for the delivery of 41 Vector light tactical vehicles to the army’s 11LMB Airborne Mobile Brigade.
Signed on December 19, the contract will see the company deliver the first vehicles in autumn 2023, while the first batch of vehicles is to be handed over by mid 2024.
Referred to as Defenture GRF by the company, the vehicles have also been delivered to other branches of the Dutch military.
By awarding the contract to Defenture, the defense ministry is filling the gap after withdrawing from the 12kN AASLT program in 2021.
Until a new vehicle is procured by the Netherlands and Germany as part of their joint airborne vehicles project, the Vector will serve as an interim solution.
For almost 10 years, Defenture has been developing and assembling light tactical vehicles. The company originated from the fulfilled assignment of providing 50 vehicles for the Dutch Commando Corps (KCT), which resulted in an extended order of 76 GRF/Vector vehicles.
Furthermore, the Dutch defense procurement agency has commissioned Defenture to develop and produce around 300 military diesel-driven quads, the Scorpion, for Dutch armed forces units like KCT and 11LMB.
The Vectors can be transported by helicopter and can serve as a base vehicle. They will be used to support the special operations forces in the so-called special operation forces ground enabling task which lies with 11LMB.
“For years, Defenture has invested in the creation of a new benchmark in the light tactical market segment. Our vehicles are contributing more and more to global security and freedom. With the platforms we guarantee that the troops that protect us carry out their missions in safety and can return from the most extreme circumstances. That’s our mission with which we make the impossible possible day by day,” Defenture’s CEO Henk van der Scheer said.
