The US Marine Corps are seeking nearly 600 new armored personnel carriers, and have selected an Irish-developed armored vehicle for testing, according to the Independent.
The 8X8 Terrex armored vehicle was developed in Ireland by world leaders in vehicle and suspension design, Timoney Technology of Navan, for the Singapore Technologies kinetics company.
The vehicle, which has a V shaped hull to protect against mine blasts, is one of the most modern armoured vehicles in production. It has exceptional mobility and agility using a Timoney suspension system.
The vehicle can carry up to 14 troops or 11 tonnes of cargo internally.
Timoney Technology has vast experience in designing armored vehicles and suspension systems.
One of its most successful has been the Bushmaster troop carrier, with hundreds produced in Australia by a licensee.
The vehicle has saved the lives of countless soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan as it was one of the first designed to withstand mine and improvised explosive device (IED) attacks.
It underwent initial trials in Ireland and the UK before being shipped off to Singapore for evaluation.
It is now produced there and the Singapore army has bought 135 vehicles, while another version is being produced in Turkey by Otokar.
The vehicle is one of the four that has been selected by the US Marine Corps and manufacturers have been given $3.5 million each to deliver a vehicle for testing, which will run until August 2013.
The contenders in the trials are Lockheed Martin with their Finnish Patria vehicle; Bae Systems with a 24-tonne Italian Superlav; General Dynamics; and Science Applications International Corp, a US-based company which is putting forward the Terrex vehicle.
According to the Independent, the marines need 579 personnel carriers to fill the gap left by another vehicle. The so-called expeditionary fighting vehicle was cancelled after $3bn was spent in developmental funding.
Timoney, which designed and built armored vehicles for the Irish Army in the Seventies, is also involved in developing the Crusher unmanned vehicle for the US military.
Last year, Singapore Technologies Engineering increased its shareholding in Timoney Holdings from 25pc to 27.4pc.
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