 |
| Image: Wiki Commons |
By Franz-Stefan Gady
The ANA is to receive 55 additional Commando Select Armored Security Vehicles by February 2016.
The United States is rushing additional military hardware to Afghanistan to support the embattled Afghan National Army. According to IHS Jane’s Defense Weekly, the U.S.-based defense contractor Textron Marine & Land Systems has been awarded a $56.2 million contract for the delivery of 55 additional Commando Select Armored Security Vehicles by February 2016.
“Vehicle deliveries are to begin in October and finish by February 2016, and the platforms include 36 with Objective Gunner Protection Kits, 15 with enclosed 40 mm/.50-calibre turrets, and four ambulance variants,” the article notes.
The Afghan National Army (ANA) already operates 623 Commando Select wheeled armored cars, although it is unclear how many of them are functional. More heavily armored and more heavily armed than the ANA’s Humvees, the Commando Select is considered to be the backbone of the Afghan government’s ground forces in Afghanistan.
The ANA currently operates three different variants of the Commando Select including ambulance, enclosed turret, and so-called Objective Gunner’s Protection Kits–gun shields manned by a gunner up top–versions. Each version has a crew of three and can carry up to seven passengers. In addition, the ANA also uses the vehicle as an armored personal carrier, alternatively armed with a machine gun or grenade launcher, that can carry up to eight soldiers.
Read the full story at The Diplomat