Defenture B.V. is a defence company based in

Tiel Tiel () is a municipality and a town in the middle of the Netherlands. The town is enclosed by the Waal river and the Linge river to the South and the North, and the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal to the East. Tiel comprises the population centres Kapel- ...

the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

that develops and produces specialist vehicles for military purposes. Defenture was established when it won the tender for the replacement of the Mercedes-Benz G280 CDI fleet of the

Royal Netherlands Army The Royal Netherlands Army ( nl, Koninklijke Landmacht) is the land branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. Though the Royal Netherlands Army was raised on 9 January 1814, its origins date back to 1572, when the was raised – making the Dutc ...

's special forces, the ''

Korps Commandotroepen The (KCT) ( en, Commando Corps) is the elite special forces unit of the Royal Netherlands Army. The KCT traces its origins to the Second World War with the founding of No. 2 (Dutch) Troop, and the founding of the during the Indonesian War of I ...

''.

History

In 2013, the Dutch Ministry of Defence launched a procurement program aimed at replacing the Mercedes-Benz G280 CDI fleet of the KCT. While experiences with the Mercedes-Benz vehicles in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

and

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...

were generally satisfactory, the vehicles lacked power, payload capacity and clearance deemed necessary for the SOF Mobility Concept. In addition to the engine and payload requirements, the replacement vehicles should be transportable in and under the CH-47 Chinook transport helicopters of the

Royal Netherlands Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = ''Parade March of the Royal Netherlands Air Force'' , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment ...

. Dutch entrepreneur Gerard Rond, who had extensive experience in the

rallying Rally is a wide-ranging form of motorsport with various competitive motoring elements such as speed tests (often called ''rally racing),'' navigation tests, or the ability to reach waypoints or a destination at a prescribed time or average speed. ...

branch, created the

consortium A consortium (plural: consortia) is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations or governments (or any combination of these entities) with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for ...

Defenture which incorporated (among others) VDL Groep and TenCate. The consortium developed the Groundforce (GRF) platform which became the basis of the ATTV (Air Transportable Tactical Vehicle, designated VECTOR by the

Netherlands Armed Forces The Netherlands Armed Forces ( nl, Nederlandse krijgsmacht) are the military services of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The core of the armed forces consists of the four service branches: the Royal Netherlands Navy (), the Royal Netherlands ...

. Consequently, Defenture submitted the bid and on 3 July 2013 it was announced that Defenture won the tender for a total of 50 vehicles with their VECTOR offer. Other bids included the

General Dynamics Flyer The Flyer Advanced Light Strike Vehicle platform has been developed by General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems (GD-OTS), in partnership with Flyer Defense LLC, for the U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) Ground Mobility Vehicle Program ...

. The

research and development Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in Europe as research and technological development (RTD), is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products, and improving existi ...

phase continued after the contract was awarded and involved close cooperation with the Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO) and the end-users. In 2014, the KCT received the first two prototypes which were subsequently subject to an extensive set of trials. Deliveries of serial production vehicles commenced in December 2017 at the production facilities located in

. In June 2018, the Ministry of Defence announced that Defenture was awarded the contract for an additional 25 vehicles, the complete order therefore amounting to 75 vehicles. Deliveries were completed in July 2020. On 6 August 2020, Defenture was awarded the contract for the development and production of 249

all-terrain vehicle An all-terrain vehicle (ATV), also known as a light utility vehicle (LUV), a quad bike, or simply a quad, as defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI); is a vehicle that travels on low-pressure tires, with a seat that is stra ...

s. The ATVs are based on Defenture's SCORPION 6.6 platform and are designated ''militaire dieselquad'' (MDQ). Deliveries are set to commence in 2023. In March 2021 it was announced that

Armasuisse The Federal Office for Defence Procurement (Armasuisse) is a federal agency of the Swiss Confederation. It is the procurement organization for armaments of Switzerland and is affiliated with the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection ...

, the procurement agency of the Swiss Armed Forces, had received a Defenture demonstrator vehicle based on the GRF platform under the name LAUF 20. The LAUF 20 demonstrator vehicle will be utilised to determine the optimal configuration for a follow-up order of 20 vehicles. In June 2021 the

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Commons ...

approved the budget for the development of a new special operations vehicle family based on Defenture's GRF platform. Budgets for an initial 49 vehicles have been approved, the total program requirements amount to 80 vehicles. Defenture will supply the

Bundeswehr The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...

with four prototypes for trials and configuration optimalisations.

Products

* Air Transportable Tactical Vehicle (ATTV): The ATTV is based on the Groundforce (GRF) 5.12 platform. The vehicle was developed in cooperation with the ''

'', under the designation VECTOR, 75 vehicles have thus far been delivered. * ''SCORPION 6.6'': The SCORPION 6.6 is a tactical diesel quad developed in cooperation with W-Tec B.V. The Netherlands Ministry of Defence ordered 249 SCORPION 6.6 vehicles, designated ''Militaire Diesel Quad'' (MDQ).

References

{{reflist Military vehicle manufacturers Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 2013 Defence companies of the Netherlands