Final Jackal 3 vehicle rolls off Babcock production line for British Army

Babcock has completed production of the final Jackal 3 vehicle for the British Army, marking a major milestone in the delivery programme with Supacat.

The final vehicle has rolled off the production line at Babcock’s Devonport facility in Plymouth, completing a programme that has delivered 123 Jackal 3 and Jackal 3 Extenda vehicles.

The last vehicle produced was Supacat’s six-wheeled Jackal 3 Extenda variant, which will now undergo testing before joining the British Army’s operational fleet.

The Jackal 3 family provides the Army with a high-mobility weapons platform designed for reconnaissance, patrol and logistics roles. The programme also highlights collaboration between Babcock and Supacat, bringing together Babcock’s defence production and support expertise with Supacat’s specialist vehicle design capability.

British Army receives Jackal 3 fleet

Louise Atkinson, chief executive, land and mission systems at Babcock, said: “The British Army needs a highly practical weapons platform with exemplary off-road performance, and with Supacat’s Jackal 3, we’ve delivered a fleet of vehicles that meets this requirement.

“To have reached this milestone demonstrates Babcock’s commitment and expertise in delivering high-quality military vehicles to the armed forces.”

She added that the programme required close collaboration across the companies and thanked those involved in its delivery.

Phil Applegarth, director and head of Supacat, said the programme showed what could be achieved through strong collaboration between UK defence companies.

He said: “By combining Babcock’s extensive expertise in defence support and production with our own innovative design capabilities and agile approach, we have delivered together the latest Jackal variants to the British Army.”

UK defence industry collaboration

Major General Lizzie Faithfull-Davies, director land environment, National Armaments – Materiel, said completion of the Jackal 3 Extenda build programme built on the earlier delivery of 70 Jackal 3 vehicles.

She said the enhanced capability reflected the Army’s need for adaptable mobility on operations and praised the responsiveness and engineering expertise of Babcock and Supacat.

Defence Minister Lord Coaker said the vehicles, built in Devonport, would give UK forces “one of the most capable high-mobility platforms available”.

He added that the Defence Investment Plan reconfirmed the importance of land vehicles to the Armed Forces and said the programme demonstrated how collaboration between British industry and defence could support local industry and growth.