G3 Systems refurbs British Army’s TCDA
Image courtesy G3
G3 Systems has announced a rolling refurbishment programme, contracted by the UK MoD’s Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) agency, to extend the working life of their operationally proven and highly acclaimed Tactical Containerised Dog Accommodation (TCDA) for use by 1st Military Working Dogs (MWD) Regiment, based at St Georges Barracks, North Luffenham, Rutland.
The G3 Systems designed and manufactured TCDA capability was first delivered into service in 2008 as an Urgent Operational Requirement (UOR) to accommodate search dogs operating in the extreme conditions of Iraq and Afghanistan. As the Military Working Dog capability expanded, and with an ever-increasing IED threat in theatre, a further 12 TCDA systems were rapidly procured and delivered into service in 2011.
All the TCDA systems were initially permanently deployed in Afghanistan until they were returned to the UK in 2014 for use on future operations. On their return, the TCDA were refurbished by G3 Systems prior to their relocation for use at North Luffenham, by 1st MWD Regiment. Since then, the TCDA capability has remained in full operational use in the home base, deployed on various operations and are now maintained at readiness to deploy at short notice as required.
This year DE&S, under the Amphora contract, have engaged G3 Systems to complete a more extensive refurbishment and improvement programme for 22 TCDA units to further extend the life of this excellent capability. This demonstrates the robustness of the G3 Systems solution and the importance the Customer places on the quality and durability of the bespoke G3 Systems design. In addition to basic refurbishment and compliance work, this new programme of works includes the addition of a winterisation modification, to enhance the dog’s protection from the extremes of weather during winter months.
Nick Rose, Managing Director of G3 Systems said, “G3 Systems have a long history of providing high quality, robust and rapidly deployable containerised solutions to UK Defence, US DoD and UK Met Police and we are very proud of the fact that our work not only supports our troops (including working dogs) but also stands the test of time in the harshest of environments.”
