Christened the Foxhound, the new hi-tech armoured car is currently undergoing final testing in the Helmand desert before being deployed on operations later this year
Afghanistan might seem far removed from the glamorous world of Formula 1, but British troops serving there are set to benefit from their own F1 machine.
Christened the Foxhound, the new hi-tech armoured car is currently undergoing final testing in the Helmand desert before being deployed on operations later this year.
Designed to replace the Army’s Snatch Land Rover – which has been criticised as providing inadequate protection – the Foxhound is fitted with cutting-edge technology.
So this is no ordinary combat vehicle. ‘The MoD’s design brief was to make it lightweight and agile and easy to service, while offering the crew enhanced protection,’ says a designer at Force Protection Europe, the Midlands-based subsidiary of General Dynamics which designed and built the vehicle.
‘The only way to do this was to use the sort of composite materials and modular components found in F1 cars, which, for instance, enable a car’s engine to be changed so quickly during a pit stop.’
The Foxhound’s advanced features were developed with the help of engineers from the McLaren F1 team, as well as Ricardo, a leading British automotive-technology firm, and BMW.The resulting vehicle weighs 7.5 tons yet is faster than its small, lightweight predecessor. Read More HERE
I think its fabulous that our brave forces get the best protection possible whilst in Afghanistan, but I wonder what will happen to these vehicles when we pull out? Given to that ungrateful Taliban fodder Hamid Karzai? or our old friends Pakistan or even the Global superpower India? Maybe they may see some service on
the Korean Peninsular?
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