December 1, 2007: The Czech
Republic is sending a contingent of civil affairs troops to Afghanistan and
were in the market for appropriate vehicles. The American offered them twenty
armored hummers, but the Czechs asked around, and NATO troops who had already
been there suggested the Dingo 2 and MLV. So the Czechs bought four of each.
Officially called a "mine
protected vehicle," the Dingo 2 is basically an armored truck that is bullet
proof and explosion resistant. This vehicle is a commercial Mercedes-Benz
UNIMOG 4x4 truck with an armored body. With armor, it weighs 11-12 tons and
normally carries a driver and four passengers (although as many as seven people
can squeeze in), plus about two tons of cargo. The Dingo 2 is roughly similar in
size and capability to an armored hummer, but much heavier. The German Dingo is armed with a
remote control (from inside the vehicle) 7.62mm machine-gun. Israel, Austria
and Israel have also ordered Dingo 2s, which cost about half a million dollars
each.
The Italian LMV is a 6.5 ton
armored vehicle similar to the hummer, but with many anti-mine and bomb
features (V shaped bottom, suspended seats and so on). It seats five and is
designed to accommodate a remote control gun turret.
