June 29, 2010:
Britain has ordered another 140 Jackal armored patrol vehicles. Weighing 6.6 tons (less than half as much as an MRAP), the 4x4 Jackals do most of their travelling off road, thus avoiding most roadside bombs and mines. Jackal is basically a patrol vehicle, carrying three people. The British Army began ordering Jackals for Afghanistan service two years ago, and the troops liked the vehicles.
These are fairly compact vehicles (5.4 x2x2 meters) with one meter ground clearance. Top road speed is 130 kilometers/81 miles an hour. Jackals are usually armed with a 12.7mm and a 7.62mm machine-guns. About half the Jackals are the Jackal 2, which seats four, has better overhead protection and better resistance to IEDs.