[Fluffy Bunny]

To replace the lovely land rovers!

It reminds me a lot of the US Army RHINO or STRYKER, a hybrid or the two perhaps & then cut in half?

Looks damn good anyways imho !cool

The Army has unveiled its new £200,000 all-terrain vehicle, tailor-made for the hostile terrain of Helmand in Southern Afghanistan.

Senior officers say the vehicle will greatly enhance the fighting capability of their soldiers, and will save lives.


Taking the fight to Taliban: click to enlarge


Armed with a mix of machine guns and an automatic grenade launcher, and with a range of more than 500 miles, the vehicle will be used to hunt down and destroy the Taliban during long range surveillance and reconnaissance operations.

Its crew of three will be able to call in air strikes using onboard communications equipment. The new all-terrain vehicle has a 5.9 litre engine capable of 80mph on roads and 40mph across the Helmand desert.

It has revolutionary air suspension which allows for a comfortable ride even over the roughest of terrain and helps the gunners to hit their targets while on the move.

...

The vehicle and crew are protected against mines by reinforced armour plating but the military says its best defence is its manoeuvrability and speed.

First to use the vehicle on operations will be the Pathfinders, from 16 Air Assault Brigade, due to begin arriving in Helmand soon. The 202 vehicles purchased were made by Babcock Marine, a British engineering company, which also makes ships. Working with the Army, the company procured the vehicle in seven months.

[Arkan]

That thing is the shit !!

Wish i had one for my daily commute.

[Mr.Buttocks]

Looks like a deathtrap to my expert military eye.

[geRV]

So its even more open and exposes people more than the landrover did? gg.

[Fluffy Bunny]

Aye, that's what I thought, but I guess they're sacrificing armour for speed & manoeuvrability. There's hardly any frontal armour for the driver & nothing at the side. I'd at least want something to stop small arms...

[ninty]

I think their mostly concerned with IED's. So if it's well protected underneath then they may be ok. But then perhaps the Taliban will change tactics and light up a machine gun position when their traveling. I mean, their not stupid. Their going to expose the weaknesses of the vehicles the troops are using. And if this one has no side armour, then an MG or RPG can do some damage.

I guess this vehicle is mission specific. So it may not be on too many roads with IED's rather going off road in unconventional areas, not in a convoy. So i'm sure they've tailor made it to suit their needs.