More specialized armoured vehicles for Afstan

Deal finalized for Cougars and Buffaloes (via Spotlight on Military News and International Affairs).

Cougar:



Buffalo:




A post from May this year:

More minesweepers (Buffaloes, Cougars and Huskies) planned for Afstan

Babbler's Update: Sharon Hobson at Jane's discusses the close combat vehicle (CCV), and a multifunctional tactical armoured patrol vehicle (TAPV) programs at DND - although the link may be subscription only...

And so may this one, which discusses the impending LAVIII fleet upgrade. LGen Leslie's comments made me chuckle:

"Those young men and women are driving LAVs like there's no tomorrow," said Lieutenant-General Andrew Leslie, chief of the land staff. "And they're putting far more kilometres on them than even the most wildly optimistic staff planners thought when we bought them. Plus they're carrying thousands of pounds of additional armour and the terrain is kind of unpleasant. On top of that, the foe occasionally takes a crack at us."

On a serious note, the discussion of the turretless LAV-RWS (Remote Weapon Station) is of interest:

"The turret was designed for a specific purpose," said Lt Gen Leslie. "Back when it was first designed, we didn't actually anticipate wearing full body armour protective vests, ballistic goggles, helmets, inside a relatively confined space in the turret and we had not yet digitised our army. We are one of the most digitally advanced armies in the world, but it takes up space in the vehicle and we have to have power outlets and display screens and we're running out of room in that little turret. How many soldiers have we had killed or injured inside the turret? Do I want all the LAVs of the future to have turrets or do I want a certain number of them with remote weapon stations, which saves weight that you can then put on the side to give you more protection."

Fascinating stuff.

Upperdate: Fixed the first link, which contains the answer to Mark's question in comments:

Under a separate programme, the army will acquire a TAPV for a number of patrolling and reconnaissance roles, including replacing the Coyote. The army is using the RG-31 in Afghanistan but finds that it lacks mobility, so is looking for a highly-protected vehicle with cross-country capability on a par with the LAV III or a small tracked vehicle. Although the army is aiming for a wheeled vehicle, it is still doing the options analysis.

The Coyote reconnaissance vehicle is coming to the end of its operational life, and needs to be replaced "because we don't think it has the scope for an upgrade", said Lt Col Gagne. He said the army would dispose of the platform, but upgrade the Coyote's surveillance system and fit it on the reconnaissance variant of the TAPV.

Thanks to Ms. Hobson for pointing out my linkage error.