A new turret test rig (TTR), which will simulate field testing of the turrets used on the British Army’s FRES Scout and Warrior upgrade programmes, is being developed by BAE Systems.

The TTR is designed to reduce cost, risk and timescales of the two programmes by subjecting them to “shake, rattle and roll” tests under extremes of temperature.

The £4.5m ($6.9m) test rig will be able to take a turret through its 20-year life-span in 12-18 months.

The TTR has been derived from BAE’s mission equipment vibration table (MEVT), which was built for the US Army’s FCS programme.

BAE Systems modelling and analysis manager Vince Whelan said the TTR would replace a large proportion of field trials with testing under tightly controlled conditions.

“We will be able to begin these trials much earlier in the development process so that field trials become a matter of verification rather than investigation,” he said.

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“We will also be able to test and iron out any snags in suppliers’ equipment earlier.”

The test rig facility will be installed alongside the systems integration facility that is already being heavily used for work on FRES and the Warrior upgrade.

The new facility for the FRES and Warrior upgrade programmes is expected to be commissioned in September 2010.