Life-Saving Vehicles In Afghanistan

With regard to the incident, let us take a closer look at the vehicle fleet of our PRT in Afghanistan and the equipments arriving in the near future.

In the February 7 attack the ambushers fired two RPGs at the convoy of four Humvees, and one of the grenades hit the front right armoured window of the second vehicle. The window absorbed the blast but the splinters injured the troops. In the event of such an attack and a hit in the window this is an acceptable damage, the most important thing is that the vehicle has saved the life of our soldiers.

Based on the cooperation agreement between the Defence Ministry of the United States and the Hungarian Ministry of Defence, in 2008, the Hungarian PRT received HMMWV armoured all-terrain vehicles (also known as Humvees) for use. These vehicles were manufactured specifically for this theatre, and the American party handed them over to the Hungarian troops in Afghanistan, therefore we did not have any further costs in connection with their transportation.

Naturally, there are also some other types of – armoured – vehicles apart from the Humvees, that serve to protect the troops. The MoD has been constantly developing and continues to develop the fleet and the equipments, in line with the changes in the security situation. As the first step, back in 2004 and 2005, at the request of the user (the Hungarian contingent in Afghanistan) armoured protection kits were installed on some twenty technical equipments the troops had in the country. As the corps using the vehicles had requested, so-called ballistic covers and bulletproof materials were installed. The total cost of providing armour protection was 187 million forints. (Which is approximately the same as the market price of one modern, armoured all-terrain vehicle. In other words, for the price of one armoured vehicle, the ministry has solved the armour protection of twenty vehicles.)

Naturally, the Ministry of Defence surveys and examines the requests of the Provincial Reconstruction Team – which are based on their practical experiences – and analyzes the prevailing local conditions on a regular basis. In response to the requests, in the past three years the ministry has spent 2 billion forints on the purchase and rent of all-terrain and transport vehicles with built-in armour protection – for example armoured Mercedes and Toyota ATVs, Mercedes UNIMOGs, and armoured NISSAN troop carriers – under the terms of their 10-year framework agreement, the Vehicle Purchase Program, with RÁBA Vehicle Ltd.

In addition to the vehicles fitted with armour panels subsequently, the Ministry of Defence has supplied the Provincial Reconstruction Team with 61 pieces of equipment providing adequate protection. But the developments cannot stop. After the successful tests conducted in Hungary by the corps, COUGARS, special armoured EOD vehicles will be activated and they will arrive in Afghanistan soon. This type of vehicle is considered even safer than the Humvees that have passed the test in the latest attack. Hopefully they will not have to prove how powerful they are in action.