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| Afghanistan |
| Brits to Remove Vector Vehicle from Afghan Ops |
| 2009-05-03 |
| LONDON - Britain is to withdraw the recently purchased Vector armored vehicle from operations in Afghanistan after admitting it is too vulnerable as roadside bombs get bigger. The MoD bought nearly 200 of the protected patrol vehicles for units in Afghanistan and Iraq, rushing the first ones into service in early 2007 to replace Snatch Land Rovers in which several British troops had been killed by roadside bombs. An MoD spokesman confirmed the intention to withdraw the vehicle in a May 1 statement. "Since its introduction to theater, the evolving threat from larger improvised explosive devices on operations has led to a requirement for more medium and heavy capability vehicles to withstand these devices," the spokesman said. "Following the delivery of Mastiff 2, Ridgback and vehicles from the protected mobility package announced [by the MoD] in October 2008, we intend to withdraw Vector from operations in Afghanistan. This will be a phased withdrawal and will not lead to any capability gap." Sources said many of the six-wheel-drive Vectors are already sitting in vehicle parks, unused by troops who have moved to the more heavily protected Force Protection Cougar vehicle, known in British Army service as the Mastiff. Vector has attracted increasing criticism in the media for its vulnerability to roadside bombs. The vehicle has also suffered unreliable front hubs and other technical problems. BAE Systems fixed that problem at its own expense. Defence Secretary John Hutton called the Vector the least successful of the armored vehicles purchased by the MoD under the urgent operational requirements procurement process. "Mistakes were probably made there," he told the parliamentary Defence Committee here April 28. BAE, which acquired Vector builder Pinzgauer as part of a wider purchase of Armor Holding in the U.S., still has to deliver about 20 vehicles it is assembling at its Newcastle factory in northeastern England. BAE said it would "continue to support the Vector vehicles in British Army service." |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #2 Jeebus, wid such cool names like MASTIFF + RIDGBACK, how could it go wrong??? |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2009-05-03 19:24 |
| #1 Pinzgauer? I want one. I drove one when I was visiting Colorado. Now that i live here, I may go get one. http://www.coldwarremarketing.com/ |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2009-05-03 16:31 |