As I have commented many times, the UOR system itself has, with a small number of exceptions, been a great success, providing all manner of vehicles and equipment across all three services for use in Iraq and Afghanistan. Equally, we all know that the UOR system creates problems for the long term, generally they are not integrated into the fully [...]
Both FRES Specialist vehicle Scout and the new and improved Warrior MICV will be fitted with the CTAI 40mm cannon. There are a number of debates about this, does the cased telescoping ammunition offer enough of an advantage to justify the cost, will we ever field advanced natures, is the calibre too high when everyone else uses 25mm to 30mm [...]
When I was in the middle of writing the last post in the bridging series it struck me just how far the UK’s indigenous armoured vehicle industry has sunk and how little imagination we now seem to possess. The Titan bridgelayer, one based on an existing bridge and existing vehicle, has taken over ten years to bring into service, the [...]
From BFBS; Troops in Afghanistan are to get 100 Foxhound protected patrol vehicles as part of a £400 million package of measures to better protect British soldiers. The Defence Secretary Philip Hammond made the announcement today, also promising new Counter-Improvised Explosive Device technology. Foxhound is at the cutting edge of protected patrol vehicle technology, providing unprecedented levels of blast protection [...]
When we look at vehicles the Army categorises them three ways; A, B and C A vehicles are the combat vehicles such as Challenger 2 or SV Scout B vehicles are trucks and land rovers C vehicles are engineering plant like JCB’s It’s a very sensible classification system but does get a bit grey around the edges sometimes, like most [...]
In the last few years there has been a quiet revolution in the Ministry of Defence, the first of two key elements that have delivered Foxhound is a more realistic approach to trading off requirements against time and cost. I think Foxhound is a genuinely innovative vehicle that has the potential for great export success. If it lives up to [...]
In the run up to DSEi there have been a number of interesting technology announcements. One of which is BAe’s ‘Adaptiv’ system that can be fitted to vehicles, helicopters and ships for example A few questions… How much How much power does this use How easily is it damaged by both day to day usage and weapon effects How maintainable [...]
The headline is a shameless lift from a recent article in the Telegraph which describes how the 22 Tonne ST Kinetics Warthog vehicle is proving to be a big success in Afghanistan with intercepted radio chatter confirming it’s effectiveness Click the link and have a read, its a good article from Thomas Harding Has this anything to do with the [...]
Did you know the Artec Boxer, as well as all the usual optics, armours and weapons, is en suite? Neither did I until ISAF released a few photographs of the Boxer, about to start operations in Afghanistan (click the images to see more) How very civilised and the perfect antidote to the doom and gloom around today
Came across these photos on the web and it struck me that military forces the world over face the same old challenges, go some way to solving them, then promptly forget what they have learned until the next time to reinvent the wheel. Thought they were interesting! UPDATE: Some interesting links from Sven over at Defence and Freedom [...]
With enduring operations in a high threat IED environment we seem to have lost the enthusiasm for highly mobile vehicles. In the context of these operational environments it is entirely legitimate to use heavy protected patrol vehicles but some operations will demand ultra mobility, over extremely soft ground, high angles and even across water features. Mobility is also described by [...]
In the previous post I described the somewhat varied wheeled vehicle fleet and some background to some of the decision that have resulted in the current situation. It is also worth referring to the post on ISTAR vehicles for a listing of the weight and size break points because although they might be less relevant to logistics vehicles they are [...]
To say that the British Army wheeled vehicle fleet is somewhat lacking in coherence is rather an understatement. Various factors have conspired to create a wheeled fleet that at best is far too diverse and worse, a complete dog’s breakfast that is costing a fortune in support costs. This is not news of course, it is well recognised by all [...]
A guest post from Phil… As a follow-up to my post on the OUVS (Operational Utility Vehicle System) of September 2009 http://www.thinkdefence.co.uk/2009/09/ouvs-operational-utility-vehicle-system/ I think a round-up of what is happening in the arena of future army vehicles is now due. I will start be apologising, for the rather unstructured and rambling nature of this post. I started it with good [...]
Or maybe its a dream? Spotted these over at Circulotrubia, they seem to show a Warthog recovery in progress Any spotters know what the recovery vehicle is, uniforms and flag would suggest its not UK, maybe Canadian perhaps? If you look closely it also seems as if there were two vehicles stuck in water. Seem like a job well done [...]
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