Brown Kick-Starts Procurement Process says Defence IQ

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Brown Kick-Starts Procurement Process says Defence IQ

LONDON, UK – 1st December 2009 – The announcement by Gordon Brown this week that 500 extra British troops will be deployed to Afghanistan coincides with Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth’s declaration that the UK’s armed forces have the vehicles and equipment necessary to commit additional personnel.

Widespread reports suggest that adequate equipment for soldiers was one of the three conditions laid down by Gordon Brown this summer for agreeing to send more troops to Helmand. The other two were a ‘legitimate’ Afghan government prepared to tackle fraud and corruption, and additional contributions from European allies in NATO.

According to The Guardian, Brown’s three conditions have served a more practical purpose, in that they have ignited the MoD’s heavily criticised equipment procurement process. In effect, defence chiefs now acknowledge that equipment is adequate and as a consequence they cannot openly criticise it, with the MoD pointing to the number of Mastiff and Ridgback vehicles available to troops increasing significantly in recent months.

Defence procurement continues to remain at the forefront of the global political agenda, as Brown made his declaration on the eve of Barack Obama’s announcement yesterday to lay down his new Afghan strategy, with plans to send an additional 30,000 troops.

Procurement tops the agenda at Defence IQ’s flagship event, International Armoured Vehicles, which is taking place on the 1st - 5th February 2010 at the ExCel Centre in London. The event is the only international exhibition and conference dedicated exclusively to the armoured vehicle community. International Armoured vehicles brings together senior military and industry experts providing opportunities to gain expert insights on armoured vehicle trends, global procurement activity and lessons learnt from the battlefield, as well as to conduct business with the world's leading vehicle, system and component manufacturers and smaller specialist suppliers.

The exhibition is attracting a huge amount of interest, with over 1500 likely to attend and over 50 exhibitors confirmed already. Exhibitors include vehicle manufacturers and major OEMs, vehicle system and service providers, as well as smaller component suppliers. Organisations range from Iveco, BAE Systems and TMV to DEW, IFS Defence, Schleifring and Hamilton Hall.

Currently in its 9th year, the event is held in high esteem, Major Alan Bolster, the Deputy Project Director, of the Tank Replacement Project, Canadian DND said; "Over the years I have consistently found the event to be an excellent venue to gain insight into the programmes of other nations and industry. The mixing of military capability managers and leaders of industry permits the exchange of ideas in a structured programme yet informal manner."

Visit www.armoured-vehicles.co.uk for further details about the event.


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