Army chiefs spent £26million on tanks that can only be driven by soldiers no taller than 5ft 7in – The Sun

ARMY chiefs spent £26million on tanks that can only be driven by soldiers no taller than 5ft 7in.

Belgium’s blunder came despite it having some of the tallest people in the world, with men 5ft 10in on average.

Top brass wanted to upgrade their Pandur fleet so they were better protected against landmines, while adding a raised floor and air conditioning.

But the changes created “a very serious nuisance” and the new floor “makes getting in and out very difficult”, according to broadcaster VRT.

Green MEP Wouter De Vriendt likened it to “launching money out of the window”.

The Belgian defence ministry admitted the Pandurs were unusable in their current state.

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Head of the systems division Yves Dupont said Pandurs have always had a height limitation and 5ft 7in was not uncommon in tanks.

The fleet of 44 vehicles was bought from Austria in 1996.

Each tank holds up to nine soldiers and travels safely over tricky terrain, according to army chiefs.


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