Trucks for the Afghan Army

January 19, 2006: The Afghan army is buying 2,781 trucks, identical to the ones used by the U.S. Army. The "Medium Tactical Vehicles" (MTV) come in two sizes; 2.5 ton capacity, and five ton. There are four major variations be purchased by the Afghans; general transport (the most common); a fuel tanker; water tanker; and recovery (tow/repair). Deliveries have already begun, and Afghans trained to do maintenance and some repairs. The Afghans could have saved money and bought civilian grade trucks. But the MTVs are built to travel cross country, and in nasty terrain, without getting torn up. Many roads in Afghanistan, would qualify as "cross country" in most other nations. So the extra expense will end up being cheaper in the long run.