By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
South Korea plans to buy several U.S. Multipurpose All-Terrain Vehicles (MATV) to protect the 320 troops it will deploy to Afghanistan later this year, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said Monday.
``A proposal was sent to the U.S. government to buy MATVs through the foreign military sales program,'' a DAPA official said. ``It will take two to three months to get an official response from the U.S.''
The Ministry of National Defense earlier considered leasing or buying 10 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles to protect its troops from roadside bombs, often referred to as improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
The official said the Joint Chiefs of Staff concluded that the newer, lighter MATVs would be more effective in field operations than MRAPs. A buy of MRAPs is still on the table, he added.
IEDs are known as the ``number one threat'' in Afghanistan and account for 70 to 80 percent of casualties there, according to reports.
The U.S. Department of Defense has said that since 2007, the number of IEDs in Afghanistan has jumped 350 percent.
While many are found before they detonate, the number of troops killed has increased by more than 400 percent and the number wounded is up more 700 percent over the last two years, according to the Pentagon.
Since last year, it has sent about 3,500 of the regular MRAPs and 12 new MATVs designed to protect against roadside bombs. The U.S. military plans to deploy about 2,000 MATVs to Afghanistan with a deployment of up to 3,000 troops.
In December, the Cabinet here endorsed a plan to send 320 troops, 40 police and 100 Provincial Reconstruction Team members to Afghanistan in July. A related parliamentary motion is waiting for approval. The motion calls for a 29-month deployment.