Vehicles bought by the Royal Engineers for armoured construction projects will be under the spotlight at the DVD military vehicle exhibition in the UK
Armoured construction equipment bought under an £8m Urgent Operational Requirements (UOR) programme for the Royal Engineers will feature at DVD 2010. DVD, the DE&S stakeholder event for the land and supply chain communities in the defence sector, will take place on June 23rd and 24th at Millbrook, Bedfordshire. A pivotal date in the defence diary, the event is centred on DE&S project teams that deliver vital equipment to the frontline. Members of the defence acquisition and military personnel communities, as well as industry organisations, gather at the event for two-days of informal discussion and briefings. The Royal Engineers have a vital role to play in Afghanistan ensuring the mobility of the troops and constructing bases on the front line, often under dangerous conditions, so it is essential their safety is secured. The equipment procured under the UOR programme provides the Royal Engineers with life-saving diggers and tractors protected against the improvised explosive device (IED) threat in Afghanistan. Visitors to DVD 2010 will be able to see, firsthand, the work undertaken on the Caterpillar armoured diggers to protect the Royal Engineers from the IED threat while out on operations. The diggers have already proven their worth; saving two Army Sappers in two separate incidents on operation in Afghanistan. Sapper Craig Cook, of 38 Engineer Regiment, was undertaking a route clearance job in June last year when an IED went off. He said: 'Luckily I walked away unharmed thanks to the improved protection of the plant equipment I was using. Knowing that this equipment is safe has given me future faith to go out on further patrols in the machines.'
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