14.2 | Conclusions: Military equipment (post‑conflict)

13. By May 2005, the IED threat had increased significantly. Commanders in

Multi‑National Division South‑East (MND(SE)) had a choice of two vehicles in which they

could conduct routine patrols: the Snatch Land Rover or the Warrior Armoured Fighting

Vehicle. Those two vehicles were at opposite ends of the protected mobility spectrum,

with very different characteristics and availability.

14. Lieutenant General James Dutton, General Officer Commanding MND(SE) from

June 2005 to December 2005, explained to the Inquiry that towards the end of 2005

all movement was conducted by air or in convoys protected by armoured vehicles.

That constrained wider UK operations, including the Security Sector Reform (SSR)

effort, because military personnel, police officers and civilian personnel were frequently

not able to move around MND(SE).

15. The impact of limited mobility on SSR was regularly raised in meetings of the

Chiefs of Staff and the reports of those who visited Iraq (see Section 12.1). The impact

of protective security measures on civilians’ ability to carry out their jobs effectively is

described in Section 15.1.

16. In June 2006, Lieutenant General Nicholas Houghton, Chief of Joint Operations,

reported that troops could “manage Snatch – just, but they have no inherent confidence

in it”.7 Questions were asked in Parliament about what the MOD was doing to ensure the

best possible protection of its troops.

17. The Inquiry recognises that there is not always a solution to an evolving threat and

that, depending on the sophistication of the device and the way in which a vehicle is hit,

any vehicle can be vulnerable to attack.

18. In June 2006, Mr Des Browne, the Defence Secretary, commissioned a review

of armoured vehicles in Iraq. The review led to the identification of a requirement for

a medium weight PPV for deployment to Iraq.

19. The MOD decided to procure 108 Cougar vehicles which were modified for use

on UK operations. The modified vehicle was called the Mastiff.

20. The Cougar vehicle had been in service with the US Army since 2004. The British

Army had also deployed a Cougar variant to Bosnia in 2003/04.

21. The Mastiff was a wheeled PPV offering better protection than Snatch, but, because

of its size, was not suitable for all patrol tasks. Although it was not an ideal solution,

Mastiff was positively received by troops in Iraq. The first four Mastiffs had reached Iraq

by 30 December 2006.

7 Minute Houghton to PSO/CDS, 16 June 2006, ‘Visit to Iraq 13 – 15 Jun 06’.

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