Today (October 7th).Prime Minister Tony Blair has pledged to give British troops in Afghanistan whatever equipment they need in their "very, very tough" fight against the Taliban. To quote to Prime Minister.."If the commanders on the ground want more equipment, armoured vehicles for example, more helicopters, that will be provided," Blair said. "Whatever package they want, we will do."also"I think this is a struggle that will take time but it is absolutely the right cause for us to be involved in." ...

So what will they get, a few more helicopters, body armour, and some replacement Land-Rovers. It's highly unlikely that the troops will get sufficient land based vehicles to patrol the hostile environment which is Helman province, with any sense of personal safety for the individual soldier on the ground.
 local commanders seem to prefer the American A10 aircraft to carry out close support airstrikes, due to its lower approach speed, Gattailng gun, and higher munition payload.The Harriers have been described as useless, useless, useless. due to their slow rate of autocanon Fire and low under wing payload.
For my thoughts on supporting ground forces please see my previous blog....

Deployment of "Cougar" vehicle in Afghanistan </story/2006/10/1/111616/901>

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