Land Rover Snatch is good. RG31 is bad

The Land Rover SNATCH vehicle is currently deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan by British forces. What little protection it offers to troops is via S2 composite fiberglass. On their website NP Aerospace - the manufacturer - calls the deployment of 'armoured' SNATCH by the British as 'particularly successful' - although it is not clear if they are referring to their own consequent sales success or the effectiveness of the Land Rover SNATCH in preserving the lives of troops. A quick search on Google would suggest that they are referring to the former.

Just how much protection the SNATCH offers is difficult to establish because although the government conducted a study some time ago, the results remain 'secret':

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his oral answer of 22 May 2006, Official Report, column 1183, on Iraq, what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of composite fibreglass in protecting the occupants of Land Rovers used by the British military for patrol purposes in Iraq. [74274]

Des Browne [holding answer 5 June 2006]: The overall protection level afforded by the Land Rover Snatch vehicles was assessed in March 2005 as part of a number of ongoing assessments to ensure the suitability of a range of equipment used on current operations. The results of these assessments are being withheld on the basis that disclosure of such information could prejudice the safety of the armed forces.

As a follow-up to articles on the Snatch Land Rover and the possible replacement - the RG31 - published here in the last few months [see three most recent at foot of this story] see below the House of Commons exchange between Ann Winterson MP and Secretary of State for Defence Adam Ingram. Unfortunately Ms Winterson's question was pretty feeble - given that an almost identical enquiry had been made of the minister [and brushed aside] only days previously.

22 June 2006:

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what evaluation his Department has made of the RG31 vehicle; and what assessment has been made of the possible advantages of this vehicle compared with the Snatch armoured Land Rover. [78216]

Mr. Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 16 June 2006 [db: see below], Official Report, column 1528W, to the hon. Member for Aldershot (Mr. Howarth). Compared to Snatch, the RG-31'’s size means it cannot access areas of the urban environment that Snatch is able to.

16 June 2006:

Nyala Armoured Vehicle

Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment his Department has made of the suitability of the Nyala RG-31 armoured vehicles for use in (a) Afghanistan and (b) Iraq. [76502]

Mr. Ingram: The Ministry of Defence considered the RG-31, alongside a number of alternatives, to supplement our current fleet of vehicles, but concluded that its size and profile did not meet our needs.

Britain's unprotected troops in Iraq and Afghanistan - See links to RG31 info
Dodgy Minister defends useless 'Snatch' vehicles
IED exploded under this [non-snatch] vehicle