After Mercedes-Benz sealed a deal to deliver 1200 G-Wagons to the Australian Army 12 months ago, the offroad vehicles have begun official testing, with deliveries to start in 2011.
The new fleet of 4WD vehicles have been specifically designed for the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and will replace the current 'tactical' vehicle fleet.
Different versions of the G-Wagon will be delivered to the ADF to fulfill various roles, including two-door and four-door station wagons and cab-chassis utilities in 4X4 configurations.
It is unclear what engines the Australian Army will run in its G-Wagon fleet but turbodiesel engines are a certainty with the 2.9-litre units used by other countries' armed forces a likely candidate. It's also possible the 221kW V8 and 350kW supercharged V8 engines could make a surprise entrant in a handful of models.
The 'Land 121' vehicles, as they're known internally, will also be delivered in specialised 6X6 (six-wheeler) models, with single- and dual-cab chassis layouts. A purpose-built 6X6 model has also been developed for surveillance and reconnaissance for northern Australian regions.
Engineering firm G.H Varley has been contracted by Mercedes-Benz to provide the various different transport modules for the ADF's G-Wagon, including command post, general cargo, personnel carriage and ambulance modules.
Taking delivery of 1200 ground vehicles makes the Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon deal one of the ADF's largest peace-time projects and will bring its tactical fleet up to date.
The Austrian-made Mercedes-Benz G-Wagons join a number of M-B vehicles in use by the ADF, including the massive Unimog and heavy-duty Actros 8X8 trucks.
The name G-Wagon comes from the vehicle's original name, 'geländewagen', which means cross-country vehicle. The G-Wagon won't be discontinued any time soon either, as Mercedes-Benz has confirmed that production of the vehicle will continue until at least 2025.
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at www.carsales.mobi