Thats great news. was expected but still great news.
Only question now is in terms of numbers and if they will have the RWS and EO/IR mast like the aussie ones. There was discussion about another limited buy of SF support vehicles (Bushmasters hopefully). hopefully we can expect an announcement soon.
Yes hopefully a "range" of vehicles to better suit operations as surely we are realising one size does not in fact fit all. Afghan has proven this in a few ways across the PRT and SF rotations in terms of vehicle type, usability, operation and suitability. Bougainville, Timor and Afghan have shown the need for a varied response and capability in terms of terrain, open, close, urban and varying threat levels.
Supacat was a no brainer and bushmaster seems a good bet as proven, reliable and supported platforms. Other options include something like iveco LMT, yes hawkeis, light tacticals and even armoured landcruisers (along with their normal nissan patrols, quads, MCs etc) which also have potential for wider use throughout NZDF as deemed fit and required later on down the track, difference is SAS has a bigger justification stick to push projects through relatively quickly. No doubt they have looked to our allies and at what/how they are using their vehicle fleets for options and ideas on what/how to best implement and alot of lessons learned would have been gleaned from current ops especially.
Hopefully the current SOV fleet is re-distributed to recon units in the BNs or QA rather than sold, mothballed or otherwise disposed of.
