Norway Adding Dingo-2s to Its Blast-Resistant Fleet
In 2006 Norway made an urgent buy of blast-resistant patrol vehicles in response to poor front-line experiences with quasi-civilian flat-bottomed jeeps. In 2010, Norway has decided to supplement them with 20 of KMW’s larger Dingo-2 vehicles, which can carry more troops than the MLVs, or more additional equipment for route clearance and combat engineering. KMW’s release states that:
“The troops operating at the Hindu Kush are in need of the vehicles more than ever; since the beginning of the year, soldiers have been confronted with an increasing number of assaults by insurgents. By the end of November, the first ten vehicles shall be delivered by KMW and transported to the operational area. The remaining vehicles will follow in February 2011.”
Dingo-2 competes with other 6×6 blast resistant vehicles like Force Protection’s Cougar, BAE’s RG-33 and Caimin vehicles, and Thales’ Bushmaster. Customers currently include Germany, Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Luxembourg, and now Norway.