LAND FORCES

Cummins on a mission at premier Asia Pacific defence expo

Cummins’ first involvement in Land Forces, the Asia Pacific region’s premier land defence exposition, was a great success, with important discussions held with existing and prospective defence industry customers.

Land Forces 2022 had a truly international flavour, featuring 810 exhibitors from 25 nations and attracting 20,000 attendees across the three-day event in Brisbane, Australia. One of Cummins’ largest OEM marine customers globally, Australian company Birdon, was high profile at Land Forces 2022. Birdon CEO Jamie Bruce revealed that the 800th Cummins QSB6.7 engine had been delivered to Birdon for the bridge erection boats it is building for the US Army. The company has also taken delivery of the first of 234 Cummins QSC8.3 engines for US Coast Guard motor lifeboats which it is upgrading under a service life extension program. In big news straight after Land Forces, it was announced that Birdon, in a new contract valued at US$1.187 billion, will design and build 27 Waterways Commerce Cutters for the US Coast Guard. Birdon is proposing that each vessel be equipped with five Cummins engines – twin QSK19 propulsion engines, twin X15-DM packaged auxiliaries and one emergency QSB7 generator set. One of Cummins’ most successful ever combat engines, the V903, which has powered America’s Bradley Fighting Vehicle since the early 1980s, was the centre of attention for Cummins at the expo, while an X15 and a B6.7 also attracted much interest.

Nathan Usher, Manager of Defence Business for Cummins Asia Pacific, said: “The latest V903 configurations, such as the new

760 hp rating, will spearhead a push by Cummins for greater involvement in defence business in the Asia Pacific region. “A misconception in the region’s defence community is that Cummins only supplies engines to the US Army which definitely isn’t the case. The V903 is a prime candidate for heavy combat vehicle applications where high power-to-weight ratio and compactness due to limited installation space are key criteria.” While it wasn’t on display, Cummins’ Advanced Combat Engine (ACE) – currently under development – was a key talking point in that it will be an important part of Cummins Asia Pacific’s defence push into the future. A four-cylinder, two-stroke, 1000 hp opposed-piston diesel engine displacing 14.3 litres, ACE provides leap-ahead capabilities not currently available: a 50% increase in power density, a 20% reduction in heat rejection, and 13% improved fuel efficiency when compared with today’s best-in-class combat engine. Cummins Asia Pacific’s Defence Account Manager Sam Jones said the company is “collaborating with strategic defence OEMs” in Australia and other countries in South East and North East Asia. Australia is particularly important with the Army implementing its most substantial period of recapitalisation and optimisation since World War II.