British Forces Announces £400m Protection Package

The Defence Secretary today announced a £400m package of protected vehicles and Counter-Improvised Explosive Device (C-IED) technology to further improve the protection of British Forces in Afghanistan. IEDs are the single greatest threat to our forces in Afghanistan. Improving the protection of our forces on the front line is the military’s number one priority, and these investments mark another major step forward in the battle against the Taliban. The package includes around 100 additional Foxhound protected patrol vehicles. Foxhound is at the cutting edge of protected patrol vehicle technology and will provide unprecedented levels of blast protection for its size and weight. Today’s announcement will take the total number of Foxhound vehicles available to our Armed Forces to around 300. The first of the 200 Foxhounds already ordered by the MoD are due to be delivered for military training over the next month, and will be available for deployment to Afghanistan during 2012. This announcement also includes over £200m of advanced C-IED technology, giving British Forces a major boost in the battle against the insurgency.