According to the newspaper website The Telegraph, United Kingdom is closed to release the request of information regarding the purchase of new 8x8 armoured vehicles for the British Army under the program Mechanised Infantry Vehicles (MIV). The Mechanised Infantry Vehicle (MIV) program will deliver up to 800 8x8 vehicles with initial operating capability planned for the early 2020s.



All the contenders for the MIV program of British Army (Picture source Army Recognition)

According to our latest information, five international defense companies are contenders for the MIV program of British Army including Patria with a new generation of wheeled armoured vehicle Armoured Modular Vehicle (AMV) XP, the French Company Nexter Systems with its VBCI 2, ST Kinetics from Singapore with the Terrex 3, German consortium Rheinmetall and KMW under ARTEC with the Boxer and General Dynamics (GD) with the Piranha 5, LAV 6.0 or the LAV 700 or the Stryker double-V-hull DVH.

The MIV or Mechanised Infantry Vehicle, an 8x8 armoured vehicle will be deployed with the new Strike Brigades of the British Army. During DSEI 2017, the Brigadier General Zac Stenning, commander of the 1st Armoured Infantry Brigade of British Army, explains that his unit will be the first to be transformed to Strike Brigade for 2020.

The Strike Brigades’ infantry battalions will use the 8x8 armoured selected for Mechanised Infantry Vehicle (MIV). The British army wants to introduce the MIV as a soon as possible.

The other major armoured fighting vehicle for the new British Strike Brigades is to be the Ajax tracked armoured reconnaissance vehicle. The Ajax is based on the General Dynamics ASCOD 2.

The new Strike Brigade of the British Army could include a Medium Armoured Regiment equipped with Ajax tracked armoured vehicles, 2 Mechanised Infantry Battalions with 8x8 armoured vehicle and one Protected Mobility Infantry Battalion with Mastiff, a 6x6 armoured vehicle which is already in service with the British Army.