SNATCH landrover

SNATCH landrover
Land Rover
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Snatch Land Rovers are used as protected transport vehicles by the British Army. The name “Snatch” was coined as the vehicle was used in during the Troubles in Northern Ireland to take suspects off the streets. <ref> Jon Ungoed-Thomas and Michael Smith, Focus: Is the army putting money before lives?,The Sunday Times, June 25, 2006 online edition</ref>

Manufactured as the CAMAC CAV 100 by NP Aerospace<ref>The Defense Supplier's Directory, armedforces.co.uk, accessed 28 July 2007</ref>, they were first seen in Northern Ireland as an inexpensive and speedy way of transporting troops during the Troubles<ref>Q&A: Army Land Rover row BBC news, Tuesday, 27 June 2006 </ref>. Now used in Afghanistan and Iraq. They are based on the 4.0 tonne GVW Ricardo Land Rover Defender chassis, fortified with CAMAC composite armour to offer the crew protection against kinetic energy projectiles and explosions. They are also fitted with electronic counter-measures (ECMs), which are designed to prevent Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) exploding.

Origins

First seen in Northern Ireland as a cheap and speedy way of transporting troops during the Troubles. Now used in Afghanistan and Iraq. The Land Rovers are fortified with armour to offer the troops protection against explosions and ballistics, they also have electronic counter-measures (ECMs) - designed to detect roadside bombs before they explode.

Criticisms

Critics of the vehicles state they are an outdated, cheap alternative to the more modern equipment used by the US and South Africa. US forces use Humvee vehicles. But these come in for similar criticism to the Land Rovers and are thought to be susceptible to roadside bombs and grenades.

Similar vehicles

Others have suggested that vehicles used by the South African Army, the RG-31 should have been bought to replace Land Rovers. But RG31s are designed to protect against landmines, not the kind of explosives the Army deals with in Iraq. Also the "size and profile" of the RG-31s do not match the Army's requirements, and they could not access urban areas that Land Rovers could.

Other armoured vehicles that the Army already uses, such as the Warrior Tracked Armoured Vehicle, have been suggested, but these are much bigger and less mobile than the Snatch Land Rover and also had problems of access to urban areas.

The MoD has argued that their Land Rovers have enough counter-measures to make them safe for peacekeeping patrols. They say that the equipment they use is under constant review, along with the tactics and electronic counter-measures.