The Council of Ministers gave its agreement for the acquisition of 13 additional armoured logistics vehicles for the army, the Belgian Ministry of Defence announced on Friday.
Combat vehicles that cannot be repaired on the battlefield must be evacuated to maintenance sites further away from the frontlines. To do this, a Protected Evacuation Vehicle (PEV) must be deployed. These are composed of an armoured tractor and a semi-trailer capable of carrying all types of combat vehicles.
The PEVs set to be acquired by the Belgian Armed Forces are designed by the Dutch manufacturer DAF Trucks. Nine of them have already been purchased and were delivered to the army in 2022.
In the context of growing geopolitical tensions and Belgium’s plans to significantly boost investments in the Defence sector, the Ministry of Defence has decided to acquire another 13 of these vehicles.
The new vehicles are set to be delivered sometime this year and will be distributed among several units of the ground component of the army.
The total cost of the new vehicles is estimated at €18 million, Defence Minister Theo Francken has stated.
