Britain Orders Cargo Dune Buggies for Afghanistan

Springer, pre-conversion(click to view full) The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) recent awarded Enhanced Protection Systems Ltd. (EPS) in Derbyshire a GBP 7 million ($10.3 million equivalent) contract for about 75 of their Springer vehicles. That works out to about GBP $93,300 per vehicle, or about $137,300. The government expects to receive them all by summer 2009. The Springer is specifically designed for arid desert conditions, and their 1,000 kg/ 2,200 pound capacity far exceeds that of the Kawasaki ATVs recently ordered by US Special Forces. That’s because the Springers will fill a very different role for the British, who use much larger Jackal ATVs for all-terrain Special Forces mobility. Instead, the Springers will be specifically focused on moving combat supplies from helicopter landing sites into British forward operating bases. From a public perspective, the program has 2 key issues. Jackal, Afghanistan(click to view full) The first issue is one of cost for this type of vehicle. At $137,000 each, the purchase has raised questions regarding the existence of far cheaper commercial alternatives. If a commercial alternative has a 1,000 pound cargo capacity, but costs 1/3 as much, is it a better choice? The depends on the cheaper design’s relative […]