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Ex-army officers defend Viking vehicles after blast
Ministry begins investigating circumstances surrounding the deaths of a senior commander and a soldier.
- Guardian News & Media Ltd
- Published: 23:26 July 3, 2009
London: Former army officers on Friday defended the decision to deploy Viking vehicles to southern Afghanistan as the Ministry of Defence began investigating the circumstances surrounding the deaths of a senior commander and a soldier.
Lieutenant Colonel Rupert Thorneloe and Trooper Joshua Hammond were killed on Thursday when their armoured Viking track vehicle was blown up by a "huge" bomb as their convoy was heading for Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand province.
The Viking cross-country vehicles are due to be replaced in Afghanistan by more than 100 new, larger and more heavily armoured tracked vehicles to be known as Warthogs, while a further 100 Jackal all-terrain vehicles will also be purchased.
As attention focused on the Vikings, former officers defended their use and suggested that military planners have been surprised by the size of the bombs and mines the Taliban now have in their arsenal.
"You have to remember that Vikings were deployed to fill a very specific function," said Amyas Godfrey, a former infantry officer and fellow of the Royal United Services Institute thinktank, referring to the bridges and canals of the "green zone" along the Helmand river.
The Viking is a tracked vehicle, unlike the heavier Mastiff armoured troop carrier. "You are sacrificing mobility for protection but mobility is itself a form of protection," said Godfrey.
He said even the Mastiff had been vulnerable to roadside bombs. Charles Heyman, a military consultant and former infantry officer, said it was impossible to judge decisions and the circumstances surrounding the colonel's death.
The MoD said the Warthogs will not be delivered until next year because they have to undergo trials and be fitted with British "subsystems".
The Viking was introduced into Afghanistan three years ago, but last year the MoD admitted it had reached the limit of how much it could be armoured following a number of deaths involving roadside bombs. It is due to be replaced by the new Warthog vehicle next year.
Announcing the move in the Commons in December, Gordon Brown said £150 million would be spent buying the new tracked personnel carriers from Singapore. The Bronco, as it is called, will be converted into armoured, all-terrain vehicles and renamed Warthog.
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