The SCOUT Specialist Vehicle (SCOUT SV) provides a step-change in the Armoured Fighting Vehicle capability being delivered to the British Army.

The SCOUT SV programme includes six variants: Scout Reconnaissance, Protected Mobility Reconnaissance Support (PMRS), Command and Control, Engineering Reconnaissance, Repair, and Recovery. Each SCOUT SV platform variant will be a highly-agile, tracked, medium-weight armoured fighting vehicle, providing British troops with state-of-the-art best-in-class protection.

SCOUT SV vehicles are developed upon a highly-adaptable and capable Common Base Platform, maximising commonality in mobility, electronic architecture and survivability that ensures the British Army has a family of world-class platforms.

Each SCOUT SV platform variant has extensive capabilities, including acoustic detectors, a laser warning system, a local situational awareness system, an electronic countermeasure system, a route marking system, an advanced electronic architecture and a high performance power pack.

The SCOUT SV family of vehicles has growth inherently built in. With an upper design limit of 42 tonnes of driveline capability, scalable and open electronic architecture and a modular armour system, it has enormous potential to combat future threats and incorporate new technology throughout the lifespan of the platform.

As a result, SCOUT SV provides the kind of growth capability that the user will need to face the uncertain challenges of Future Force 2020 and beyond. SCOUT SV will replace the less capable CVR(T), providing broad utility throughout the balanced Army 2020 force across all operations.

General Dynamics UK was awarded £3.5 billion to deliver 589 SCOUT SV platforms to the British Army on 3 September 2014.

The SCOUT Reconnaissance variant will be the medium weight core of the British Army's deployable Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) capability. It enables the soldier to be at the point of collection of accurate all-weather commander information within a network-enabled digitised platform.

It provides commanders with a survivable and capable Ground Mounted Manned Reconnaissance (GMMR) platform, which gives them the flexibility to perform a range of roles across the spectrum of conflict.

The SCOUT Reconnaissance variant's primary role is to provide accurate and timely information to support decision making at all levels. It integrates a range of leading edge technologies to provide an optimised survivable, lethal and agile ISTAR platform.

The panoramic Primary Sight provides advanced all-weather imaging technology capability, which allows the SCOUT reconnaissance variant to find, engage and target at far greater ranges than the current UK Ministry of Defence core legacy platforms.

A sophisticated, neatly packaged Electronic Architecture makes it the first fully-digitised land platform that is able to seamlessly integrate both current and future open system ISTAR and communication products.

Enhanced and modular survivability technologies ensure it will survive both current and future threats. Lethality is provided by the 40mm cannon integrated into a revolutionary, user-defined, fightable turret. Where the operation dictates, a fully stabilised Remote Weapons Station can be fitted to the turret instead of the Primary Sight.

• The SCOUT SV programme passed its first major design point, the Preliminary Design Review (PDR), in December 2012. PDR is where the preliminary design of the SCOUT SV family of vehicles is reviewed along with a review of the overall system maturity, risks and mitigations to confirm delivery planning en route to Main Gate

• The Common Base Platform Critical Design Review (CDR) was completed in late 2013

• The overall PMRS variant CDR for the PMRS variant was completed in June 2014

• A rolling programme of CDR's for all variants will take place throughout 2014 and 2015

• The Mobile Test Rig (MTR) - the precursor to a prototype SV - has been put through an extensive series of trials. These included cold weather and Operational and Tactical (O&T) mobility trials, as well as Accelerated Life Testing (ALT). It has been providing significant chassis and driveline de-risking since June 2012

• First pre-production prototype, a PMRS variant was unveiled at DVD 2014

• General Dynamics UK was awarded £3.5 billion to deliver 589 SCOUT SV platforms to the British Army on 3 September 2014