Light Protected Patrol Vehicle

Tuesday 30th November 2010 Written Statements

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

Following the announcement I gave on 12 October 2010, Official Report, columns 9-10WS, regarding the award of preferred bidder status to Force Protection Europe, I am pleased to announce the successful contract negotiation of the Light Protected Patrol Vehicle (LPPV) competition. The new vehicle, Foxhound, will replace the existing Snatch Land Rovers and Weapons Mount Installation Kit (WMIK) vehicles on operations in Afghanistan. An initial tranche of 200 vehicles is being procured through the urgent operational requirements process, and we expect the first vehicles to be delivered for training in late 2011 prior to their first operational use in spring 2012. Further buys of Foxhound will be subject to the confirmation of our wider requirement.

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. Foxhound 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. Foxhound is designed and manufactured in the UK, creating or sustaining over 750 jobs. It is also ideally placed to take advantage of the export market, which the Government are fully committed to supporting.