New mini-tank 'will transform Army'
(Filed: 05/10/2003)
The defence White Paper will slash £2 billion from the Armed Forces - but the go-ahead will be given for a new tank that has all the punch of a Challenger 2 but fits into a plane, reports Sean Rayment
A new £6 billion "mini-tank" that is small enough to be flown to conflict zones around the world is to become the spearhead of the British Army.
The tank will have the same calibre gun as the current Challenger 2 tank, and equally strong armour, but will have the advantage of being more manoeuvrable and much more easily transportable.
The development of the new tank, which is intended to transform the Army into a lighter, more mobile force, will be one of the central announcements in a forthcoming Government White Paper on the future of the armed forces.
A senior Ministry of Defence military adviser, who is working on the programme, said: "It is in simple terms a vehicle that can punch above its weight.
"The aim of this project is to be able to provide the British Army with a fleet of modern armoured vehicles with the manoeuvrability of light vehicles but the firepower of heavier ones. If we had had this new tank in the Gulf we could have attacked Saddam's forces in days rather than weeks. Our enemies will know that the British can deliver a large armoured force onto their doorstep ready to fight within days of an emergency - that amounts to a very potent threat to any future aggressor."
The White Paper, which was due to be published this month, but has been delayed because of the Hutton Inquiry into the death of Dr David Kelly, will result in about £2 billion of spending cuts.
Among the projects affected will be the construction of two new aircraft carriers, the Joint Strike Fighter, and Type 45 Destroyers for the Royal Navy. The extra £2 billion could be found by reducing the number of Type 45 ships from six to five, cutting the Joint Strike Fighter force by 10 aircraft and reducing the size of the carriers from 60,000 to 50,000 tons.
Since the start of the Iraq war, the defence budget has been under growing pressure. The £3 billion allocated for the war and its aftermath is close to being exhausted. According to the International Institute of Strategic Studies the conflict has cost the British taxpayer £1.6 billion directly, plus £700 million in preparation, travel and special equipment, while the actual deployment is costing £100 million a month.
However, the "mini-tank" will be one of the few schemes not to suffer as ministers press ahead with plans to provide the Army with a fleet of rapidly deployable armoured vehicles.
The new programme will mean that some of the Army's most famous tank regiments will loose their heavy armoured role.
It is estimated that the equivalent of an entire armoured brigade of Challenger 2 tanks, about 130, will have to be mothballed.
The Army currently possesses a "light" capability, which is composed of forces such as the Parachute Regiment and the Royal Marines. These forces can be deployed within days of receiving orders, but can only be accompanied by lightly armoured tanks, which offer little protection against attack, because larger vehicles will not fit into the RAF's transport aircraft.
The Army also has a "heavy capability", which is made up of armoured units equipped with 50-ton Challenger 2 tanks, which outside Europe can only be deployed by sea, as in the two Gulf Wars. Deployment takes weeks, if not months, to achieve.
The new tank will effectively fill the gap between these two types of forces. It will be much lighter than Challenger 2, but is planned to have the same 120mm gun. It will also be armed with chain-guns firing up to 550 rounds a minute. Its fighting capability will be enhanced by sensory systems capable of selecting targets in order of importance and threat.
The tanks, which have yet to be given a name, will be protected by the latest armour available and may use a new material called E-glass, a plastic and glass fibre composite, which is as strong as modern ceramic armour but much lighter.
Variants of the new vehicle, which might be wheeled or tracked, include armoured troop carriers, anti-tank rocket launchers and reconnaissance vehicles.
The creation of a "medium" capability within the Army will also have the effect of reducing strain on regiments such as the Parachute Regiment and the Royal Marines. Both regiments, which specialise in rapid deployment, have taken part in every military operation undertaken by Britain since the mid-Nineties.
The mini-tank programme, one of the most expensive contracts in Army history, will provide 1,500 vehicles by 2009.
The contract has yet to be awarded but the arms manufacturers Alvis, BAe Systems, which has a 25 per cent stake in Alvis, and the US firm General Dynamics, have spent the past 12 months helping the Ministry of Defence draw up plans for the programme. Each is hoping to be awarded either part or all of the contract within the next few months.
