Written question asked by Tobias Ellwood (Conservative) on Wednesday, 15 November 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 20 November 2006. It was answered by Adam Ingram (Labour) on Tuesday, 5 December 2006 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Armoured Vehicles

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Cougar and Vector Pinzgauer armoured vehicles are being sent to (a) Iraq and (b) Afghanistan; and when they are expected to arrive.

Answer: On 24 July my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence announced we would procure around 100 Cougar vehicles and around 160 Vector.On current plans half of the Mastiff (the UK variants of the Cougar) vehicles will deploy to Iraq, the remaining half will be split between Afghanistan and a training pool of vehicles retained in the United Kingdom. The first batch of Mastiff vehicles is on schedule to arrive in Iraq by the end of the year.A majority of the Vector vehicles will be deployed to Afghanistan with a small number retained in the United Kingdom for training. The first batch of Vector vehicles is on schedule to arrive in Afghanistan in January 2007.However, final decisions on the deployment of these vehicles are a matter for operational commanders.

Secondary information