ianstone
08-15-2010, 10:22 AM
‘Urgent’ new troop carriers get to war zone 6 months late
By Christopher Leake (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=y&authornamef=Christopher+Leake)
Last updated at 1:14 PM on 15th August 2010
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A fleet of life-saving armoured vehicles is to be sent to Afghanistan nearly six months late because their armour was not thick enough to protect soldiers against roadside bombs.
Gordon Brown promised the much-needed Warthogs would be on frontline duty with the Royal Dragoon Guards in Helmand Province by April.
But the all-terrain vehicles failed blast tests. Nine were blown up at the Armoured Trials and Development Unit at Bovington in Dorset. Experts decided the troop carriers needed an extra two tons of armour.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/08/14/article-0-0ACB4F9A000005DC-447_468x332.jpg The MoD says the Warthogs are now 'operationally fit' and pass all tests required. The first of the vehicles will be in Afghanistan by September
The MoD says the Warthogs are now ‘operationally fit’ and pass all tests required. The first of the vehicles will be in Afghanistan by September.
The last Government ordered 115 Warthogs two years ago from Singapore Technologies Kinetics in a £150 million deal, part of an Urgent Operational Requirement, when Treasury money is secured for new threats.
They replace the much-criticised, lighter Viking vehicles, which are vulnerable to the Taliban’s improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
The 12-ton Viking Mark I vehicles are being withdrawn from service in Afghanistan after almost a quarter of the 108 there were blown up. A further 27 are too damaged to return to the front line.
Among nine British servicemen killed by bombs while in Vikings was Lieutenant Colonel Rupert Thorneloe, commanding officer of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards. He was the most senior British Army officer to die on the front line since the Falklands War.
More...
Army to use 'Dirty Harry' bullet against the Taliban (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1303207/Army-use-Dirty-Harry-bullet-Taliban.html)
Senior defence sources admit privately that Mr Brown should never have brought forward the Warthog deployment date because it was known the vehicles would require considerable modification for Afghanistan.
Gordon Brown promised the Warthogs would be in Helmand Province by April
With a 7.2-litre engine, the Warthogs can carry 12 soldiers and weighed 19 tons before the extra armour. Now the vehicles, which are supposed to be agile, weigh 21 tons. Such is the extra strain, say defence sources, gearboxes have burnt out in testing.
Shortly before the Election, Labour Defence Procurement Minister Quentin Davies, who kept a model Warthog in his MoD office, admitted the introduction of what he called the ‘armoured beast’ had suffered delays.
Military insiders say part of the problems result from the Warthog’s flat hull, which they say is less efficient at deflecting bomb blasts than a V-shape. An upgraded Viking Mark II with a V-shaped hull, bigger engine and heavier armour made by Britain’s BAE Systems failed to win the new contract against its Singapore rivals.
Yet the Royal Marines ordered 24 of them through the Navy budget. They are due to be in Afghanistan soon.
An MoD spokeswoman said last night: ‘The first troops to use Warthogs on operations have completed training. Hull shape is irrelevant as it has passed rigorous trials proving its ability to operate in demanding terrain and protect against threats in Afghanistan. The first Warthogs will be deployed in the next few months.’
A soldier from 21 Engineer Regiment was killed in the Sangin District of Helmand yesterday. Sapper Darren Foster, 20, from Whitehaven, Cumbria, died of gunshot wounds.
Another soldier, from the Queen’s Gurkha Engineers, also serving with 21 Engineer Regiment, was shot dead in a firefight in Nad-e Ali District, Helmand. The UK death toll in Afghanistan since 2001 is now 331.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1303219/Urgent-new-troop-carriers-war-zone-6-months-late.html#ixzz0wgUvTYJq
By Christopher Leake (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=y&authornamef=Christopher+Leake)
Last updated at 1:14 PM on 15th August 2010
Comments (6) (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1303219/Urgent-new-troop-carriers-war-zone-6-months-late.html#comments)
Add to My Stories (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1303219/Urgent-new-troop-carriers-war-zone-6-months-late.html)
A fleet of life-saving armoured vehicles is to be sent to Afghanistan nearly six months late because their armour was not thick enough to protect soldiers against roadside bombs.
Gordon Brown promised the much-needed Warthogs would be on frontline duty with the Royal Dragoon Guards in Helmand Province by April.
But the all-terrain vehicles failed blast tests. Nine were blown up at the Armoured Trials and Development Unit at Bovington in Dorset. Experts decided the troop carriers needed an extra two tons of armour.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/08/14/article-0-0ACB4F9A000005DC-447_468x332.jpg The MoD says the Warthogs are now 'operationally fit' and pass all tests required. The first of the vehicles will be in Afghanistan by September
The MoD says the Warthogs are now ‘operationally fit’ and pass all tests required. The first of the vehicles will be in Afghanistan by September.
The last Government ordered 115 Warthogs two years ago from Singapore Technologies Kinetics in a £150 million deal, part of an Urgent Operational Requirement, when Treasury money is secured for new threats.
They replace the much-criticised, lighter Viking vehicles, which are vulnerable to the Taliban’s improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
The 12-ton Viking Mark I vehicles are being withdrawn from service in Afghanistan after almost a quarter of the 108 there were blown up. A further 27 are too damaged to return to the front line.
Among nine British servicemen killed by bombs while in Vikings was Lieutenant Colonel Rupert Thorneloe, commanding officer of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards. He was the most senior British Army officer to die on the front line since the Falklands War.
More...
Army to use 'Dirty Harry' bullet against the Taliban (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1303207/Army-use-Dirty-Harry-bullet-Taliban.html)
Senior defence sources admit privately that Mr Brown should never have brought forward the Warthog deployment date because it was known the vehicles would require considerable modification for Afghanistan.
Gordon Brown promised the Warthogs would be in Helmand Province by April
With a 7.2-litre engine, the Warthogs can carry 12 soldiers and weighed 19 tons before the extra armour. Now the vehicles, which are supposed to be agile, weigh 21 tons. Such is the extra strain, say defence sources, gearboxes have burnt out in testing.
Shortly before the Election, Labour Defence Procurement Minister Quentin Davies, who kept a model Warthog in his MoD office, admitted the introduction of what he called the ‘armoured beast’ had suffered delays.
Military insiders say part of the problems result from the Warthog’s flat hull, which they say is less efficient at deflecting bomb blasts than a V-shape. An upgraded Viking Mark II with a V-shaped hull, bigger engine and heavier armour made by Britain’s BAE Systems failed to win the new contract against its Singapore rivals.
Yet the Royal Marines ordered 24 of them through the Navy budget. They are due to be in Afghanistan soon.
An MoD spokeswoman said last night: ‘The first troops to use Warthogs on operations have completed training. Hull shape is irrelevant as it has passed rigorous trials proving its ability to operate in demanding terrain and protect against threats in Afghanistan. The first Warthogs will be deployed in the next few months.’
A soldier from 21 Engineer Regiment was killed in the Sangin District of Helmand yesterday. Sapper Darren Foster, 20, from Whitehaven, Cumbria, died of gunshot wounds.
Another soldier, from the Queen’s Gurkha Engineers, also serving with 21 Engineer Regiment, was shot dead in a firefight in Nad-e Ali District, Helmand. The UK death toll in Afghanistan since 2001 is now 331.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1303219/Urgent-new-troop-carriers-war-zone-6-months-late.html#ixzz0wgUvTYJq