Further to earlier pieces on rationalising the United Kingdom's naval and military aeroplane and helicopter fleets,herein we shall list the only families of field vehicles which the armed forces actually need (rather than have or want),these shall use common components wherever practical,shall be available in a variety of configurations such as four,six or eight wheeled,truck or tractor,wheeled,half tracked or full tracked and shall be adaptable to specific environments or roles by the addition of internal and external equipment.
The Ox family of Utility Vehicles shall be front engined,one cylinder (powered by the same diesel engine family as the Mule and Pony),four or six wheel,four wheel drive,typically four or six seat vehicles,able to operate on four foot wide foot paths,with a gross weight of around two long tons,gross payload (including the weight of the driver) of over sixteen hundred pounds,optional ballistic and mine protection to STANAG 4569 Level 1 and,by means of netting,protection against occasional Rocket Propelled Grenade hits in lieu of payload.
The Mule family of Field Cars shall be front engined,two or three cylinder (powered by the same diesel engine family as the Ox and Pony),four wheel or six wheel,all wheel drive,typically ten seat vehicles,with the same internal volume as the Pony,Matilda and Charger,able to operate on six foot wide roads,with gross weights of four or six long tons,gross payloads of over four thousand or fifty-two hundred pounds respectively,optional ballistic and mine protection to STANAG 4569 Level 2 and,by means of netting,protection against occasional Rocket Propelled Grenade hits in lieu of payload.
The Pony family of Light Protected Trucks shall be front engined,four or six cylinder (powered by the same diesel engine family as the Ox and Mule),four wheel or six wheel,all wheel drive,typically ten seat vehicles,with the same internal volume as the Mule,Matilda and Charger,able to operate on eight foot wide roads,with gross weights of eight or twelve long tons,gross payloads of over four thousand or ninety-two hundred pounds respectively with standard ballistic and mine protection to STANAG 4569 Level 3,optional protection to STANAG 4569 Level 4 and,by means of netting,protection against occasional Rocket Propelled Grenade hits in lieu of payload.
The Horse family of Medium Protected Trucks and Tractors shall be front engined (powered by the same diesel engine family as the Elephant,Matilda and Charger),all wheel drive,typically three seat vehicles,able to operate on eight foot wide roads and to carry or tow loads of up to fifty long tons with standard ballistic and mine protection to STANAG 4569 Level 3,optional protection to STANAG 4569 Level 4 and,by means of netting,protection against occasional Rocket Propelled Grenade hits in lieu of payload.
The Elephant family of Heavy Protected Trucks and Tractors shall be front engined (powered by the same diesel engine family as the Horse,Matilda and Charger),all wheel drive,typically three seat vehicles,able to operate on twelve foot wide roads and to carry or tow loads of up to one hundred long tons with standard ballistic and mine protection to STANAG 4569 Level 3,optional protection to STANAG 4569 Level 4 and,by means of netting,protection against occasional Rocket Propelled Grenade hits in lieu of payload.
The Matilda family of Medium Armoured Tracked Infantry Armoured Personnel Carriers shall be front engined (powered by the same diesel engine family as the Horse,Elephant and Charger),tracked,typically ten seat vehicles,with the same internal volume as the Mule,Pony and Charger,able to operate on ten foot wide roads,with gross weights of up to fifty long tons,gross payloads of up to ninety-two hundred pounds with standard protection against mines,shoulder fired and crew served weapons and able to carry a remotely operated turret or other equipment in lieu of payload.
The Charger family of Cavalry Heavy ARmoured vehicles shall be front engined (powered by the same diesel engine family as the Horse,Elephant and Matilda),tracked,typically ten seat vehicles,with the same internal volume as the Mule,Pony and Matilda,able to operate on twelve foot wide roads,with gross weights of up to one hundred long tons,gross payloads of up to ninety-two hundred pounds with standard protection against mines,tank guns,shoulder fired and crew served weapons,with a standard Five And A Half Inch Tank Gun turret and able to carry a remotely operated turret or other equipment in lieu of payload or the gun turret.
