The largest single tender for military equipment has been issued by the Department of Defence for 40 armoured personnel carriers for the Army. The tender, which could cost more than £40 million, will provide the Army with its first proper mobile infantry fighting capacity.
Armoured personnel carriers are used in battle to transport infantry troops safely to frontline positions. The vehicles are widely used in areas of conflict, like Bosnia, to protect peace-keeping troops from mines and machinegun fire.
Requests for tenders have been sent to arms companies in 15 countries including South Africa, the US, Britain, France and Israel. The specifications seek a vehicle which can withstand heavy machine-gun fire and provide protection against blast and fragmentation anti-personnel mines.
The six-wheel vehicle should be able to travel even if it lost one of its wheels. It is also to have a central tyre inflation system so the soldiers inside need not dismount into dangerous conditions if one of the tyres is burst by gunfire or mines.
It is also to be armed with a turret-mounted machine-gun or cannon with thermal imaging, night-firing capability. The Army has also specified that it should have a nuclear, biological and chemical protection system and on-board global position system.
The tender has been made possible by savings made from the reduction in size of the Defence Forces, through voluntary early retirements, from 13,000 to 11,500. The Government had promised that savings from this scheme would be ploughed back into acquiring equipment.
There had been fears among the military that the huge payment of military hearing compensation would affect its chances of acquiring new equipment but the Government has stuck to its promise not to impose those costs on military budgets.
A main theme of the reorganisation of the Defence Forces was to increase its "teeth to tail" ratio, increasing the mobility and fighting capacity and reducing the logistics and non-combat side. It was estimated that only 10 per cent to 15 per cent of the Defence Forces could be described as combat ready.
The Army, although principally an infantry organisation, has only two armoured personnel carriers, both ageing Soviet-built Sisu. They are used for training crews to serve in south Lebanon where the Sisu is the main carrier in service with the United Nations force. The carriers used by the Army in south Lebanon belong to the UN but, in any future non-UN peace-keeping operations in which the Army participates - like the NATO-led operation in Bosnia - the Army would have to supply its own equipment. The Defence For ces have a small military police unit serving in Bosnia. It is anticipated that the Army would be able to transfer the battalion-strength unit it has in Lebanon to duties in Bosnia.
The acquisition of the carriers would also give the Army the ability to participate properly as an element of a European defence organisation whether that be under NATO or the Western European Union - the nascent European military corps. The Defence Forces have received a number of invitations to participate in WEU and NATO exercises but have only been able to do so as an observer. Forty armoured personnel carriers could provide adequate battle transport for a single infantry battalion. The fleet would include command and control, ambulance and repair vehicles.