UK to evaluate VBCIs?

Thanks for the article Jonathan..



via Defense Aerospace...

(Issued in French only; unofficial translation by Defense-Aerospace.com)
As part of the armaments section of the French-British Lancaster House agreements signed in 2010, the French army will place 19 VBCI infantry combat vehicles and two Caesar self-propelled guns at the disposal of the British Army for a period of six months.

In January, in the Mali theater of operations, the British Army’s chief of staff was able to appreciate the capabilities of the VBCI. The British Army had, at the time, officially requested the opportunity to evaluate this equipment, and today’s agreement is the result of that request.

The Letter of Intent formalizing the loan of the equipment was signed in London on July 1 by the chiefs of staff of the two countries’ armies.

France’s 1er Régiment de Chasseurs d’Afrique (1st African Rifle Regiment) will provide the necessary training, and the loan will have a very limited cost for France.

The UK's armored vehicle plans have always confused me.

They're upgrading the Warrior with a 40mm cannon, while at the same time procuring the ASCOD which is a similar sized vehicle to fulfill the function that the much smaller CVRT filled and now they're about to evaluate the VBCI.

I won't even delve into the confusion surrounding their retaining several MRAP type vehicle along with the outstanding Foxhound to fulfill some type of Light Infantry type force.

Kinda makes the USMC's woes seem like small potatoes.