September 19, 2009: Britain is replacing its "Viking" (BvS10) all terrain combat vehicles with larger "Warthog" vehicles. The 18 ton Warthog carries a crew of two and 11 passengers. The Warthog is better protected against roadside bombs and gunfire, has greater range, payload and carrying capacity. Like Viking, it is an articulated vehicle (two separate, self-propelled elements that are linked). There will be four versions; troop transport, ambulance, command, and recovery (and repair). Warthogs cost about $2 million each, and will be delivered direct from Singapore to Afghanistan.
The 14.2 ton Vikings cost $890,000 each, and can haul five tons. The BvS10 is an articulated vehicle, with a tracked trailer connected by a power transfer and steering linkage. The front part weighs 4.9 tons, the rear part 3.1 tons. Because of this trailer arrangement, the vehicle has a 47 foot turning radius. Four passengers can be carried in the front car, and eight on the rear one. The vehicle is amphibious and has a top speed in the water of five kilometers an hour (compared to 65 kilometers an hour on land.) The vehicle are Swedish, and built to cope with the marshes and mountains the country is full of, as well as deep snow. The light ground pressure created by the wide tracks, tended to go over landmines without detonating them. The light ground pressure was designed for allowing the vehicle to move over snow.
The hundred Warthog vehicles will replace 108 Vikings already in service. The rush to do this is partly driven by bad publicity back in Britain about troops being injured, by roadside bombs, while travelling in Viking vehicles.
