Now we know why the Brits are buying JLTVs and shelving Foxhound Protected Patrol Vehicles!

via The Guardian.

However, the BBC has quoted an unnamed sergeant as saying the replacement vehicles had reliability issues in the heat. “They break down all the time. They cannot handle the heat. They have a massive problem with it. At 50 degrees the engine cooks out,” the sergeant said.

The sergeant, who did not want to be named, said the vehicles kept overheating. He said he had to alter the bonnets to try to increase the air supply to cool down the engines.

Tools were not provided to deal with this so he bought his own specialist equipment, he said.

An MoD spokeswoman said: “Foxhound has dealt with the demanding conditions in Iraq, kept our soldiers safe and is delivering the required operational output in the defeat of Daesh [Islamic State].

“The urgent operational requirement (UOR) programme has saved countless lives in operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Decisions on which equipment to continue to support and which to sell are made with current and future operational requirements in mind.”

Story here. 

The article, at least my reading of it, is a bit strange and backwards looking. What is of interest is the Foxhound itself.  Why would the Brits not do any "product" improvement?

When I first saw this rig and looked at the list of companies that participated in its development it looked absolutely awesome.

To hear the complaints of the Brit Sgt is telling and disappointing.

What I find mysterious is that the Brits bought it under an urgent operational requirement but they essentially had it designed.  There were other vehicles off the shelf that could have met the requirements but they went with what looked to be a pretty solid homegrown solution.

The fact that it didn't perform mechanically as expected (all the reports I've read indicate that its blast protection was superb) would seem to indicate that a series of modifications to the basic design should have been called for, not scrapping them all together.

The good news part of this story?

We have finally found out why the Brits chose to buy JLTVs.

Side note.  Is it just me or does the British Army seem a bit small to be operating such a wide array of combat vehicles?  With the downsizing of the military shouldn't we see a "standardization" take effect instead of so many different vehicle types?  Remember.  The British Army is less than half as big as the USMC but if I'm counting correctly operates twice as many different types of combat vehicles!