Bullish Medium Armoured Vehicles: in the introduction to Armada International's 2006 Medium Armoured Vehicles supplement it was reported that three European members of Nato were set to select wheeled armoured fighting vehicles over the coming months. The honours were evenly divided.

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Bullish Medium Armoured Vehicles: in the introduction to Armada International's 2006 Medium Armoured Vehicles supplement it was reported that three European members of Nato were set to select wheeled armoured fighting vehicles over the coming months. The honours were evenly divided.

On 27 January 2006 the Belgian government announced it would acquire up to 242 Mowag 8 x 8 Piranha IIIC vehicles in a project worth over 500 million [euro]. Five months later the Czech Minister of Defence signed a 821 million [euro] contract with Steyr-Daimler-Puch Spezialfahrzeug for 199 8 x 8 Pandur IIs with an option for another 35. In October the Dutch government announced its intention to remain with the Artec Boxer programme and a joint Dutch-German production contract was signed just before Armada went to press. In both Belgium and the Czech Republic the selected wheeled vehicles will form the basis of those countries" armoured fighting vehicle fleets, while in the Netherlands the Boxer will support the army's new BAE Systems Hagglunds tracked CV9035s.

While some armies are switching to all-wheeled fleets for either doctrinal or economic reasons others are electing to maintain a mixed fleet. The Hellenic Army confirmed at Defendory in October its intention to buy up to 291 tracked infantry fighting vehicles worth up to 1.7 billion [euro] to operate in conjunction with its 353 Leopard 2A4 and 2A6 tanks. Competition is certain to be fierce for one of the few tracked vehicle requirements in Europe for the foreseeable future. The BAE Systems Hagglunds CV90, the Kurgan BMP-3, the PSM Puma and the Steyr-Daimler-Puch Ulan are all contenders. However, immediate priority is being given to the acquisition of 84 armoured personnel carriers for peacekeeping operations.

The real news in the field over the past twelve months has not been the long running, often spurious, debate about the relative merits of wheels and tracks, each have their place in modern military operations, but how the US-led 'Global War on Terror' is shaping requirements. Coalition vehicles designed for high intensity combat at long ranges are being attacked at short range, often in crowded urban environments by volleys of cheap rocket-propelled grenades and improvised explosive devices (IED). Vehicles which offer protection against such threats are being procured as urgent operational requirements by the British, Canadian, Dutch, US and other armies committed to that battle. The British Ministry of Defence, for example, announced on 24 July a vehicle package to provide better protection for its forces in Afghanistan and Iraq: the acquisition of 86 Force Protection Cougar H 6 x 6 personnel carriers, the purchase of another 66 Pinzgauer Vector 6 x 6 'Protected Patrol Vehicles' and the modernisation of a further 70 tracked FV430-series vehicles with a new powerpack and improved protection. This twin-track approach of providing enhanced protection for in-service vehicles and the acquisition of armoured vehicles built to provide a high level of protection against mines and IEDs is typical of the approach adopted by many countries.

In this supplement Armada will concentrate on both wheeled and tracked vehicles primarily in the 10 to 30-ton...

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