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I was watching the BBC news lately and the British Government were boasting about how the troops in A-Stan and Iraq would be better protected in the new Bulldog APC.
Looking at it, It looked vaguely familiar....
Yes indeed the NEW Apc is no more than an Up Armoured FV432, which was supposed to have been retired from the British Army when the Warrior IFV was introduced. £85m to upgrade the 1000 that were not sold to private citizens for use as fairground attractions....
The FV430 series was introduced in the 1960s. Production ended in 1971(It was originally known as "Trojan"
Can you imagine what would happen if the Irish DF were to put a lick of new paint on the Landsverks and send them out to Lebanon?
http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/De...rolInBasra.htm
However not everyone is impressed. The delays in introducing the Cougar "Mastiff" Mine Resistant Ambush Protected(MRAP)...
I am sorry to say it but it appears to me that the UK government have not come much further from the attitude in the First World war that their military were little more than "Cannon Fodder"
Looking at it, It looked vaguely familiar....
Yes indeed the NEW Apc is no more than an Up Armoured FV432, which was supposed to have been retired from the British Army when the Warrior IFV was introduced. £85m to upgrade the 1000 that were not sold to private citizens for use as fairground attractions....
The FV430 series was introduced in the 1960s. Production ended in 1971(It was originally known as "Trojan"
Can you imagine what would happen if the Irish DF were to put a lick of new paint on the Landsverks and send them out to Lebanon?
Bulldog vehicles on patrol in Basra
5 Feb 07
The first delivery of the upgraded FV430 Mk3 Bulldog vehicles arrived in Iraq just before Christmas and have become the Royal Green Jacket's (recently formed up as The Rifles) vehicle of choice for carrying out patrols in Basra City.
The upgraded FV430 Mk3 Bulldog vehicles on patrol in Basra City, Iraq
[Picture: Cpl Andy Benson, RAF]
The vehicle's additional armour provides enhanced safety for driver, commander and troops while other features include air conditioning and an improved engine and transmission for peak performance and reliability.
The Bulldog's ability to turn around within its own length gives vehicle commanders more agility and flexibility which can prove vital in coping with the unexpected in the Basrah’s narrow streets.
The Royal Green Jackets Battalion (newly formed up as The Rifles), based at Basra Palace, is the first unit to use the Bulldogs on operations and the vehicle has already proved its worth with many of the soldiers.
Rifleman Keith Murphy, said:
"We were on patrol in downtown Basra when we came under contact. We drove through but were hit by a roadside bomb. It exploded when it hit the body armour of the vehicle but didn’t penetrate through."
The FV430 Mk3 Bulldog in Iraq
[Picture: Cpl Andy Benson (RAF)]
Bulldog driver, Rifleman Stuart Strachan, said:
"It's a lot easier and very simple, just like a Go Kart, quite quick and easy to handle.
"It's a great bit of kit. As a driver it gives me a bit of cover as well and it can move a lot better. It provides better protection on the ground and it’s more effective."
Vehicle Commander, Corporal Scott Hodgkinson, who has experience in Bosnia and Afghanistan said:
"It out rates all the other vehicles I've been in before in my whole army career whether it be Snatch, Saxon or normal Landrover."
Drivers from the Royal Green Jackets spent a month in Catterick last year learning to drive the vehicles before they deployed to theatre in early November 2006.
The delivery to theatre came after successful trials in the UK and the Middle East confirmed the Mk 3 vehicles were as reliable and robust as expected. More deliveries will be made to operations in Iraq as well as Afghanistan.
5 Feb 07
The first delivery of the upgraded FV430 Mk3 Bulldog vehicles arrived in Iraq just before Christmas and have become the Royal Green Jacket's (recently formed up as The Rifles) vehicle of choice for carrying out patrols in Basra City.
The upgraded FV430 Mk3 Bulldog vehicles on patrol in Basra City, Iraq
[Picture: Cpl Andy Benson, RAF]
The vehicle's additional armour provides enhanced safety for driver, commander and troops while other features include air conditioning and an improved engine and transmission for peak performance and reliability.
The Bulldog's ability to turn around within its own length gives vehicle commanders more agility and flexibility which can prove vital in coping with the unexpected in the Basrah’s narrow streets.
The Royal Green Jackets Battalion (newly formed up as The Rifles), based at Basra Palace, is the first unit to use the Bulldogs on operations and the vehicle has already proved its worth with many of the soldiers.
Rifleman Keith Murphy, said:
"We were on patrol in downtown Basra when we came under contact. We drove through but were hit by a roadside bomb. It exploded when it hit the body armour of the vehicle but didn’t penetrate through."
The FV430 Mk3 Bulldog in Iraq
[Picture: Cpl Andy Benson (RAF)]
Bulldog driver, Rifleman Stuart Strachan, said:
"It's a lot easier and very simple, just like a Go Kart, quite quick and easy to handle.
"It's a great bit of kit. As a driver it gives me a bit of cover as well and it can move a lot better. It provides better protection on the ground and it’s more effective."
Vehicle Commander, Corporal Scott Hodgkinson, who has experience in Bosnia and Afghanistan said:
"It out rates all the other vehicles I've been in before in my whole army career whether it be Snatch, Saxon or normal Landrover."
Drivers from the Royal Green Jackets spent a month in Catterick last year learning to drive the vehicles before they deployed to theatre in early November 2006.
The delivery to theatre came after successful trials in the UK and the Middle East confirmed the Mk 3 vehicles were as reliable and robust as expected. More deliveries will be made to operations in Iraq as well as Afghanistan.
However not everyone is impressed. The delays in introducing the Cougar "Mastiff" Mine Resistant Ambush Protected(MRAP)...
Thus we do await the delivery of the Mastiffs in theatre, which are better equipped to deal with this threat. But, as the delays mount (no doubt in part arising from the insistence on carrying out modifications which could and should have been done in theatre - or even on the ship coming over) can it really be a coincidence that, on the same day that another soldier is killed while taking part in a Warrior patrol, the MoD posts a long "puff" about the newly introduced Bulldog (pictured)?
Once again, also, one worried out the MoD writers. The describe the Bulldog as an FV430 Mk3. But there is no such thing as an FV430 – there is the FV430 series, or family of vehicles, of which the Bulldog is one, an up-armoured FV432. And then we get Associated Press, which published the picture of the Warrior shown above, giving it the caption: "A British soldier stands in front of a tank in Basra …".
Once again, also, one worried out the MoD writers. The describe the Bulldog as an FV430 Mk3. But there is no such thing as an FV430 – there is the FV430 series, or family of vehicles, of which the Bulldog is one, an up-armoured FV432. And then we get Associated Press, which published the picture of the Warrior shown above, giving it the caption: "A British soldier stands in front of a tank in Basra …".
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