Friday, March 11, 2016

ST Kinetics Warthog retired from British service.


via Janes.
The British Army has retired is ST Kinetics Warthog articulated tracked armoured vehicles from service, IHS Jane's can reveal.
In total, 115 Warthogs (an improved version of the ST Kinetics Bronco) were purchased by the United Kingdom as an urgent operational requirement (UOR) for use in Afghanistan instead of the less-well protected BvS 10 Viking articulated tracked vehicle.
In December 2013 the MoD announced that 100 Warthogs would be brought into the 'core' equipment budget, meaning they would remain in service once UOR funding for operations in Afghanistan ended. Under this plan the Warthogs would be modified and transferred to the Royal Artillery's 32 and 47 Regiments to support unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operations.
However, speaking to IHS Jane's on 10 March, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) stated that this decision had been reversed, with Warthog instead having been retired from service in October 2015.
In a statement the MoD said: "Warthog was delivered in 2010 to replace Viking and was designed specifically for use in Afghanistan. A number of protected mobility vehicles have been brought into core; it was decided that the capability required from Warthog could be delivered by other vehicles, therefore Warthog was withdrawn from service in 2015. The Army has a fleet of other protected mobility platforms still in service delivering this capability."
They're gonna miss the all terrain capability of this vehicle.  I wonder if it wouldn't make sense to buy a few for USMC needs at reduced price.  Having a couple dozen in Norway would make sense...as would buying them for local law enforcement in the US to use for high water rescue.

Having a vehicle that can go anywhere and float too?  Sound like exactly what's needed in Shreveport, LA right now.

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