Posts Tagged ‘ Mexican Army ’

New Humvees for the Mexican Army

Photo: http://www.veracruzinforma.com

The Mexican Army is beginning to replace its ageing Humvee fleet.

According to the Ministry of Defense, 717 out of the 2,200 Mexican Humvees are incapable to fulfill the Army’s minimal operational requirements.

Therefore, the Army is acquiring an initial batch of 240 brand new Humvees for a total cost of US $40 million.

Mexican Humvees have proven their efficiency in tactical missions such as troop transport, liaison and reconnaissance.

Nevertheless -as the Army has pointed out- Humvees are not well suited for urban counter-narcotic operations due to their weight and reduced maneuverability. That’s perhaps one of the main reasons that encouraged the Armed Forces to acquire the Sandcat Tactical Protector Vehicle.

2011
03/17
CATEGORY
News
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UPDATED: New armored vehicles for the Mexican Army

Good news for the Mexican Army.

According to an official source, the Mexican Ministry of Defense has bought an unspecified number of Oshkosh Sandcat Tactical Protector Vehicles.

The Sandcat is an armored, highly-maneuverable tactical vehicle suited for urban warfare scenarios.

This is perhaps the Army’s most important purchase of state-of-the-art armored vehicles in decades.

It is not yet known when these vehicles will reach operational readiness. However, given Mexico’s current public safety crisis, the Sandcats will face action anytime soon.

Although more details regarding this purchase are still unknown, we do believe that Mexican troops are in desperate need of modern armored vehicles to effectively tackle organized crime gangs. The Sandcat will therefore receive a warm welcome among soldiers.

Update February 05: The first pictures of Mexican Sandcats were shared to us by Greyhound, senior member of  www.mxarmedforces.tk military forum. We are very thankful indeed.

2011
01/12
CATEGORY
News
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US $150 million for Army checkpoints

Military checkpoint with Gamma-Ray non-intrusive facilities at Querobabi, Sonora.

The Mexican Ministry of Defense is asking for a US $150 million budget to build 13 “Counter-narcotics Strategic Checkpoints”.

The Army (project number 10071170002) plans to install 13 company-sized permanent checkpoints with non-intrusive X-Ray and Gamma-Ray inspection facilities.

Each checkpoint will have 5 inspection lanes for small vehicles and another 5 for larger ones, such as cargo trucks or buses. According to the Army it will take no more than 5 minutes to effectively scan every vehicle.

In 2009 the Ministry of Defense inaugurated the Querobabi Counter-narcotics and Arms-smuggling checkpoint in the state of Sonora, northwestern Mexico.  

Querobabi is certainly the most advanced military checkpoint in the country and will serve as a model for the new project.

Click here to access a video of Querobabi (in Spanish).

Addendum: Although I think that counter-narcotics checkpoints do help reduce drug trafficking, I believe that the US $150 millions should be allocated elsewhere (say Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Platoon-sized Tactical Radios or any kind of intelligence-oriented assets).

Drug Trafficking Organizations would simply find another way to avoid a permanent checkpoint…wouldn’t they?   

PS. MXSECURITY decided not to publish the location of the project’s new facilities.

2010
10/22
CATEGORY
News
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