14.1 |
Military equipment (post-conflict)
761.
On 29 April,
Lieutenant General Peter Wall, DCDS(C), briefed the Chiefs of
Staff
that the
protected mobility options for the MiTTs in Basra “had been
investigated and
Bulldog had
been determined as the most applicable solution”.404
762.
The minutes do
not record that that was said to be the best option in the
interim,
but the
documents that follow suggest that Bulldog was only ever intended
to be
a short‑term
solution until Ridgback came into service at the end of
2008.
763.
In his weekly
report, on 2 May 2008, Maj Gen White‑Spunner
stated:
“The
provision of suitable vehicles for the remaining MiTTs is going to
be a tricky
one and we
are grateful for all the hard work being done in the UK to find a
solution.
We have
accepted … that we will have to manage with Mastiff and Bulldog in
the
short term,
and at least until Ridgback becomes available later in the year.
This
is not
ideal, as you know; Mastiff, as well as being in short supply, are
having
considerable
difficulty keeping pace with IA [Iraqi Army] Humvees through
narrow
obstructed
streets and Bulldog, being tracked, will be unpopular with both the
Iraqi
chain of
command and … with the Baswaris.
“I
understand that Ridgback simply cannot be delivered in the required
timeframe
even if
diverted from their original target in Afghanistan, and my point is
simply to
emphasise
the urgency of procuring them as fast as possible. In the
meantime,
we can
make up some of our Mastiff shortfall for MiTTs if we are prepared
to replace
some of
those Mastiff on less vulnerable tasks (such as in Umm Qasr) with
Vector,
which we
understand are readily available in the UK.”405
764.
Ministers
continued to take a close interest in the provision of protected
mobility
for deployed
forces.
765.
On 6 May, the
Chiefs of Staff were told that Vector would be used from the
UK
training
fleet to backfill vehicles used in lower threat areas to release
Mastiff for use by
the
MiTTs.406
Options for
the use of Ridgback in the longer term were being
investigated.
766.
On 22 May, a
junior official advised Mr Browne that:
•
The UK’s
PPV requirement for “comprehensive MiTTing” was 60
vehicles.
Mastiff was
“the most appropriate vehicle” to fulfil the task, of which
MND(SE)
had 51
employed across a range of tasks and 43 could be re‑allocated
to
MiTTing.
•
The Chiefs
of Staff had endorsed military advice that, in order to make
the
43 vehicles
available, Mastiff vehicles operating elsewhere in Iraq would
be
replaced
with Vector, “at manageable risk to personnel on those
tasks”.
404
Minutes, 29
April 2008, Chiefs of Staff meeting.
405
Minute
White‑Spunner to CJO, 2 May 2008, ‘GOC MND(SE) Weekly Letter – 1
May 2008’.
406
Minutes, 6
May 2008, Chiefs of Staff meeting.
131