Warrior 2 was gifted to the Museum by Bovington’s Armoured Trials and Development Unit (ATDU) in a formal ceremony.
As custodians of the nation’s most significant collection of historic military vehicles, The Tank Museum received the Warrior 2 Infantry Fighting Vehicle as part of the Army’s covenant of support to education, local communities, and society.
Curator David Willey oversaw the formal handover of the vehicle, known as Demonstration Vehicle #04 (DV04), alongside a delegation from the Warrior Capability Sustainment Project based at Bovington’s ATDU.
David Willey, Curator at The Tank Museum, said: “It’s always good to see exciting vehicles entering the collection here at The Museum, but perhaps this is an occasion most would rather not have seen occur.
“An upgrade to the very successful Warrior IFV had been in discussion for decades. In 2004 a contract for a prototype new turret containing a 40mm Cased Telescoped Weapon System was awarded only to be canceled 20 years later.”
The project was canceled after significant consideration from the Government, Ministry of Defence (MOD), and British Army. They concluded that Armoured Infantry, infantry soldiers mounted on tracked armored vehicles, is no longer strategically aligned with the vision for how the British military’s Land Component will operate in future conflicts.
Captain Jared Bambridge at ATDU said, “I would like to extend my thanks to the Tank Museum for their generosity in hosting the event.
“And for providing such a fitting place for DV04 to go on sharing the story of the Infantry and of how technical and doctrinal development is an unending story.
“Thanks must also go to the soldiers of ATDU, the employees of LMUK and DE&S who have worked extremely hard to deliver such an impressive Infantry Fighting Vehicle.”
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The Tank Museum is grateful to accept this vehicle from the Ministry of Defence, and Warrior 2 will be stored in the Vehicle Conservation Centre (VCC) as part of The Tank Museum’s wider collection.
Visitors to The Museum can explore the Vehicle Conservation Centre during the summer holidays.