I had hoped the MRV-P would have been based on a single family with a 4x4 and 6x6 variant, unfortunately the MoD seem to have chosen to keep a fractured vehicle fleet the normal and awarded JLTV part 1.Lord Jim wrote:I do believe we would do better to only proceed with the Group 1 MRV(P) and use it and additional Boxers to cover the requirements the MRV(P) programme as a whole would have met. The right Group 1 platform could also carry out some of the roles intended for the Group 2 platform, and he Boxer can certainly cover the rest, in fact exceed the requirements by some margin. Now we have chosen the Boxer I strongly believe we should double down on the platform especially with the production line being set up in Telford. This has the possibility of become the main if not sole Boxer production facility in Europe moving forward, and will give the UK a far more substantial AFV manufacturing capability than the sites putting together the Ajax for example.
The 2 remaining options for Part 2 are both around 15t, the Boxer is nearly 40t in operational fit. That's a huge difference in deployability! You also struggle when you move into more urban environments and road moves.
It is an idea worth considering though in an increasingly tight defence budget.