The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
608.
Lord Drayson
wrote that, given Mr Browne’s commitment to report back
to
Parliament
“as soon as possible” and the start of recess on 26 July, he would
be grateful
for
confirmation of the funding by the following day.
609.
Mr Timms
replied to Lord Drayson on Sunday 23 July, saying he realised
that
Mr Browne
was “under pressure to make an announcement in the House on
Monday”
and the
“considerable work” undertaken by officials “in scoping the
requirement” within
the tight
deadline.313
Mr Timms
wrote that he fully recognised the need to provide
“adequate
protected mobility in these challenging environments” and that he
supported
the
proposals.
610.
While
Mr Timms agreed that the MOD could enter into commercial
arrangements
to
up‑armour the FV430s and procure Cougar vehicles, he was “not
comfortable” that
the
“commercial terms” had been reached for the requirements to be
“properly costed”.
He asked
for an update once the full costs were finalised, at which point he
would
“formally
uplift” the UOR funding.
The Cougar
is described by the US Department of Defense as “a hardened
engineering
vehicle
that provides protection against armor‑piercing rounds and
high‑explosive
devices”.314
It is used
for “ordnance disposal, communications, command and
control,
and leading
convoy missions”. It is available in two configurations: 4x4 and
6x6.
Both of
these configurations have been integrated with UK systems to enable
their use on
UK
operations: the 4x4 became the Ridgback, and the 6x6 became the
Mastiff.
The main
distinction between the two is their size. The British Army refer
to Mastiff as
Ridgback’s
“bigger brother”.315
The US
Marine Corps contracted Force Protection Inc to provide 28 Cougar
vehicles
in April
2004.316
Three
further orders were placed by the US Army for Cougar
vehicles
between May
and June 2005, but for a Joint EOD Rapid Response Vehicle
(JERRV)
variant.
Those were in both configurations (4x4 and 6x6) and were delivered
in 2005.
The JERRV
variant was a type of vehicle also known as a Mine Protected
Vehicle, or
more
commonly a Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle (MRAP) which is
specifically
designed to
protect against landmine and IED attacks, making them suitable for
Explosive
Ordnance
Disposal tasks.
The MOD has
told the Inquiry that it cannot confirm details about US vehicles
and their
313
Letter
Timms to Lord Drayson, 23 July 2006, ‘Protected
Vehicles’.
314
Report US
Department of Defense, 27 June 2007, ‘Procurement Policy for
Armored Vehicles’.
315
British
Army website, Ridgback.
Website
content correct as of date of publication.
316
Report US
Department of Defense, 27 June 2007, ‘Procurement Policy for
Armored Vehicles’,
pages 6‑7;
USA
Today, 10
February 2007, The truck
the Pentagon wants and the firm that makes it.
317
Letter
Duke‑Evans to Hammond, 2 February 2016, [untitled].
102