Light Protected Patrol Vehicle (Preferred Bidder)

Tuesday 12th October 2010 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Peter Luff)]

I am pleased to announce the successful outcome of the light protected patrol vehicle (LPPV) competition for a new vehicle to replace the existing Snatch Land Rovers and Weapons Mount Installation Kit (WMIK) vehicles on operations in Afghanistan. Following a rigorous trial and assessment phase, preferred bidder status has been awarded to Force Protection Europe for an initial tranche of 200 vehicles, subject to successful completion of contract negotiations. This initial tranche will be procured through the urgent operational requirements process, and we expect the first vehicles to be delivered for training in 2011. Further buys of LPPV will be subject to the confirmation of our wider requirement, which will be confirmed by the strategic defence and security review and defence planning round. Force Protection Europe’s vehicle represents leading edge technology and will provide an unprecedented balance of protection, weight and agility for a vehicle of its class. The vehicle is a new design developed specifically to meet the requirements of UK armed forces, and is only now possible due to the considerable investment by the Ministry of Defence and UK Industry in this technology. LPPV is a UK design, and will be manufactured in the UK, creating or sustaining over 750 UK jobs. LPPV is also ideally placed to take advantage of the export market, which the Government are fully committed to supporting.