The development of this contract was a cumbersome process. Which is justified, as the contract value is substantial. But did it really have to take four years? Some observations are to be made here. At the start the RNLA was not familiar with a lot of these type of contracts. In addition, staff turnover was high and a lot of stakeholders were involved. At BSH side the contract development was also a search. As a producer they were looking for their role in the after-sales arena. That is a role to which they have improved and developed in that period. As a result this contract serves as a template for other contracts. That is why this long journey was worth all the effort.

Experience, however, learns that only signing contracts is not sufficient. The system availability of a complex combat vehicle is a “difficult animal”. One can add: faster LRU repairs, a lot of spares or increase maintenance capacity, still it remains to be seen whether system availability will increase. That is the phase where which we are in today: having the challenge to develop the optimal mix of interventions that will increase the system availability. This challenge requires an orchestrated approach requiring close cooperation between the RNLA and industry. The journey continues!