$150m on defence and more to come

By KEVIN TAYLOR

The Army will get 321 British-built vehicles to replace its obsolete fleet of Land Rovers.

The Army will also get equipment to enable its Mistral ground-to-air missile system to distinguish friend or foe - a capability the weapons did not have when they was delivered in 1998, the Government said yesterday.

Defence Minister Mark Burton said the Cabinet had agreed to buy a first batch of 188 Austrian-designed Pinzgauer vehicles as the Army's "light operational vehicle" for $52 million excluding GST.

The batch will consist of 175 standard vehicles and 13 special operations vehicles for special forces use. A second batch of 133 - including an armoured version - will come later after further testing by the Army.

Mr Burton said the total cost of the light operational vehicles would be $60 million to $110 million.

The contract is expected to be signed with the maker before the end of the year, and the first vehicles should arrive by the midle of next year.

The Army said the Pinzgauers would operate in command and control, liaison, supply, special forces and ambulance roles.

Mr Burton said the purchase was another step in modernising the Army's capabilities.

He also announced that the Mistral ground-to-air missile systems would get a $15.5 million add-on to allow it to detect aircraft and determine if they were friendly or unknown.

The system was treated as a separate project and was not bought when the Mistrals were delivered in 1998.

The Cabinet has also approved the purchase of 24 Javelin anti-armour missile systems for $26.8 million.

They are expected to enter service by mid-2006.

The Ministry of Defence will also be seeking more information from suppliers of helicopters to replace the Air Force's Iroquois and Sioux.

The Pinzgauer

* Originally designed and built in Austria, they have been made in Britain since this year. About 30,000 are in service with 24 countries.

* Available in 4x4 and 6x6, they can be set up for different roles such as command and control, liaison, special operations and ambulances.

* They can carry up to 12 people and have a 2.4 tonne payload capacity, depending on version.