A FLEET of 80 armoured personnel carriers bought by the Irish army at a total cost of €120m has suffered a series of problems including multiple cracks, faulty transmissions, failing speedometers and wheels that simply fall off.

Documents released by the defence forces under the Freedom of Information Act reveal “ongoing concerns” with the Mowag Piranha IIIs and that €5m has been paid to acquire spare parts, despite an extensive warranty.

The documents also reveal that monitoring equipment is to be used in an effort to establish if the failures are being caused by faults in the vehicles, or because of the way in which they are being driven by soldiers in harsh conditions.

Delays in sourcing spare parts have, on occasion, affected overseas humanitarian operations involving the Irish army.

The snag list on the vehicles over the past two years reveals that they have been recalled under warranty in order to fix steering wheel assemblies, driver instrument panels, suspension systems and unspecified “firing safety issues” relating to turrets. Modifications have been required to wheels, electronic control units and driver hatch locking mechanisms.

A monitoring system to be fitted on 80 Mowags can be programmed to activate a remote alarm when operating limits are exceeded.

Mowag, a Swiss-based manufacturer that supplies vehicles to armies all over the world, declined to comment last week. The Irish defence forces expressed confidence in the fleet, insisting that they are reliable, capable and sophisticated. “Without Mowags, Irish troops abroad would not operate as effectively or as safely as they do,” the defence forces said.

But correspondence sent back by soldiers in the field suggests otherwise. A November 2006 letter from Philip Cotter of the defence forces' Combined Vehicle Base Workshops (CVBW) contains a long list of problems.

He reported: “The Mowag has now been in service for over five years. A number of issues have arisen during this time. To date some have been resolved and others are the subject of continuing investigation and ongoing trials of modified/new components. The majority of these problems occurred early in the vehicles' life and can be defined as design issues.”

His snag list includes hull cracks, problems with the driver's outside instrument panel, as well as modifications to wheel rims, driver's hatches, pedal assemblies, seats and electronic control units. He outlines alternator repairs, ball joint replacements and an issue with the turret.

“Failures have occurred in other areas of the vehicles,” Cotter said. “These include differentials, auto-transmissions, engines and suspensions. Some units were replaced under warranty by Mowag.” Sourcing parts took up to a year at times.

In another letter written in the same month, Cotter states that 56 cracks have been found on 26 Mowag hulls and that the company would repair them. Problems with the instrument panel meant any would-be driver was “receiving no indication of the speed he is travelling” in some cases.

Another report by Captain J Fitzgerald in February 2006 states that the decision to replace ball joints in the entire Mowag fleet was taken “to ensure the safety of all personnel”. The issue with the ball joints came to attention of the CVBW after “an incident” in Kosovo in June 2005.

Other reports reveal a September 2006 incident where a control arm of a wheel was damaged as the vehicle travelled over a log. “This obstacle should have posed no problem,” it said.

In an unsigned June 13, 2007 letter from the Lebanon, “a wide array of different issues ranging from alternators to starting motors” are complained about. The same letter states the need for parts to be supplied quickly. “At the current casualty rate of vehicle breakdown, it is without doubt that all parts sent out to the mission area will be consumed during the lifespan of this tour of duty,” it says.

An email sent the next day describes how a Mowag “lost one of its wheels” on a dirt road.

A similar letter from the United Nations Mission in Liberia in August 2006 showed operations there being affected by problems with the Mowags.

In October 2007, Cotter recommended the installation of a monitoring apparatus to “provide long-term savings in the cost of maintenance and repair of the fleet, as drivers will know that their every action is being recorded and may have to account for them were disciplinary action considered”.

He added: “A serious situation has arisen over the last 24 hours whereby the number of Mowag Piranha APCs available to 95 Infantry Battalion has reached a critical level. Camp Clara had eight in operation up to yesterday morning. Unfortunately this figure is down to just four operational vehicles after another four were deemed unfit for operations.”

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