It was at last year's DSE International Exhibition (see Aquilavictrix LPPV: Orcelot v SupaCat) that the mittens came off in the contest between Force Protection's Ocelot and Supacat's SPV400 to win the contract for the Light Protected Patrol Vehicle (LPPV) that will replace the Army's much criticised Snatch Land Rover. The two contenders have been undergoing engineering and operational trials at test facilities at Millbrook and Aldershot and a decision on the winner is expected by August with a military in-service date the following year. Funds will be provided through the Urgent Operational Requirements process.
Back in Spetember 2009 the MoD was saying that they were initially looking to place orders for 400 vehicles. Needless to say, Gordon Brown has now halved that. Continuing his 12 year jihad against the Armed Forces, the prime minister has taken another swipe of his axe to the Army's funding and announced that now only 200 would be ordered.
Funnily enough and with true labour spin, he tried to make his announcement sound as if he was promising 200 extra vehicles rather than what he was really doing which was to provide 200 fewer! The hypocrisy and duplicity of this man is unbelievable!
Brown's announcement comes in the wake of the barrage of criticism that he and his fellow ministers received at the inquiry into the deaths of the four soldiers killed when their poorly protected Snatch Land Rover was hit by an IED. This decision of Brown's to actually halve the number of Snatch vehicles being replaced, is therefore particularly callous and sinister coming as it does at this time.
DefenseNews: 2 Vehicles Vie for U.K. Army LPPV Award
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