The State is to spend £40 million on armoured personnel carriers (APCs) which the Department of Defence says will allow it to keep up with modern peacekeeping activities.
However, the Department says the APCs, which have a 360 gun capability and offer soldiers high standards of protection, are not being purchased as part of the State's proposed membership of Partnership for Peace (PFP).
The Army is testing two types of APCs which it put on display before the Minister for Defence, Mr Smith, and the Chief-of-Staff of the Defence Forces, Lieut Gen David Stapleton, at the Curragh yesterday. They are the Steyr Daimler Puch Pandur, built in Austria, and the Mowag Piranha 3, which is built in Switzerland. Each costs about £1 million.
The Defence Forces hope to secure "a few more" than 40 for its £40 million expenditure. According to the Department, the finance is being provided through savings in Defence Forces pay through voluntary redundancy.
Each of the APCs can carry 10 soldiers. They will be tested by the Defence Forces at the Curragh over the next 12 weeks. The selected vehicle will then be phased in to the Defence Forces in a purchasing programme due to start next year.
The new vehicles are expected to allow the Defence Forces to take a more active role in peacekeeping. In the past, the role of the Defence Forces has been restricted to logistical support and unarmed military policing duties as Irish forces did not have sufficient equipment.
