The Warthog Built By Singapore That The Taliban Don't Want To Know

British forces have brought a new weapon to bear against the Taliban who “simply don’t want to know” when it arrives on the battlefield, commanders have said.

The Warthog is a 22-ton tracked armoured vehicle whose off-road ability allows it to frequently outflank the fleet-footed Taliban.
The vehicle’s success has led to a rethink on British tactics as they are not only able to deliver troops, supplies but they can also bring down heavy firepower from unexpected directions.

It can carry up to a dozen soldiers who can be deployed either to fight insurgents or engage with the local population to build up an intelligence picture of tribal communities.

It has almost certainly saved lives after 11 Warthogs were hit in one tour by large IEDs (Improvised Explosive Device) without anyone inside being killed although two were badly wounded.
The Warthog has also proved adept at being able to drive through the notoriously difficult terrain of Helmand’s irrigated “green zone”.

In one epic six week long battle earlier this year the vehicles provided a perimeter defence for the Royal Engineers as they laid a key road in central Helmand called Route Trident. Previously the Sappers had come under daily attack but with the heavy weaponry such as .50 calibre heavy machine guns and 40mm grenade machine guns the Warthogs kept the Taliban at bay.

With many ambushes happening in the easily defended Green Zone of tree-lined irrigation ditches the Warthogs allow troops to get behind the enemy’s backs.

“You can put Warthog into places you would not dream of with other armoured vehicles as it has very low ground pressure giving us the ability to move around the battlespace in a completely different way,” Major James Cameron, the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment squadron commander, the first to use the vehicle on operations.

“We have been able to manoeuvre in an extraordinary way. Literally we can go over ditches, swim rivers or go up ravines getting right in behind the enemy where they least expect us.

“We run on them at speed and before they know anything about it we are right on top of them.”

On one occasion Major Cameron was in an engagement with 30 Taliban in which he fired 1,200 rounds through his turret-mounted GPMG.

Towards the end of their six month tour radio intelligence has shown the Taliban commanders warning their men “don’t fire at the tank”.

The Warthog is unique in that it is the first armoured vehicle to be built for a Western army by an Asian company. Singapore based ST Kinetics won a £150 million contract for 115 vehicles as the MoD looked for a robust all-terrain vehicle.

STK managed to produce the first Warthog within nine months of the order, on time and ahead of schedule although there was a delay of several months as the armour protection was improved.

The Warthog is replacing the BAE Systems built Viking which is being withdrawn from service after almost a quarter of the fleet was destroyed by Taliban bombs.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/8681903/Taliban-dont-want-to-know-in-Warthog-fight.html