Germany will equip its troops in Afghanistan with more systems to detect and destroy mines & IED

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Military News - Germany
 

Sunday, 5 December 2010, 17:05 PM

 
Germany will equip its troops in Afghanistan with more systems to detect and destroy mines & IED.
 
 
BONN - Germany will equip its troops in Afghanistan with much-needed systems to remotely detect and destroy mines and IEDs. The aim is to purchase seven systems, each consisting of a rebuilt Wiesel air-transportable light armored vehicle outfitted with additional equipment, such as a special radar system and a remotely controlled mine clearance system provided by MineWolf Systems AG, which is headquartered in Switzerland.
     
German Wiesel 2 air-transportable light tracked armoured vehicle
German Wiesel 2 air-transportable light tracked armoured vehicle

     

At the end of November, the Bundeswehr also stated on its website that since June, it had resolved more than half of the 240 requests from deployed troops. Of the 62 new requests since then, about 50 have let to procurements. These results are seen as evidence that the financing system Mission Caused Immediate Needs can react on short notice.

     
German Marder 1A5 tracked armoured infantry fighting vehicle
German Marder 1A5 tracked armoured infantry fighting vehicle
     
Five additional Marder mechanized infantry combat vehicles are being sent to Afghanistan to equip the second training and protection battalion, which is based in Mazar-i-Sharif. Each battalion consists of two armored infantry platoons with five active Marder type vehicles and one as a reserve each.
     
German Eagle IV wheeled armoured personnel carrier
German Eagle IV wheeled armoured personnel carrier
     

The military's list says that since mid-September, 14 Eagle IV armored vehicles and 12 additional Dingo armored vehicles have been transferred to the Hindu Kush. To transport greater numbers of troops, 20 trucks also have been outfitted with special protected containers.

According to the Bundeswehr, German troops in Afghanistan have about 1,070 protected vehicles at their disposal.

In addition to vehicles, the list says 620 Lucie night vision goggles and 1,700 Hellie 3-D display electronic magnification glasses are to be bought in the short term. Other equipment includes new headsets, which should allow unlimited use of the Infantryman of the Future modular combat equipment.