Great Britain has stopped operation of its entire fleet of Man (now RMMV) trucks numbering 6,000 units. And this is connected with identified problems with bolts that hold the vehicle structure together.
As The Telegraph writes, specifically the drive shaft of the vehicle raised concerns. As a result, the entire vehicle fleet must undergo technical inspection and verification, during which time their use is suspended.
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Defense Express notes that on one hand this is indeed a serious problem that could cause loss of control. However, various sources clarify that we're simply facing consequences of poor maintenance over 18 years of service, because the first MANs were delivered to the British back in 2007.
At the same time, it's worth remembering here that we're talking about suspension of operation according to peacetime standards, when there's heightened attention to details. During war, this will most likely either be ignored or have much smaller scales of restrictions.
So most likely there's no need to worry about a similar problem regarding Ukrainian RMMV HX trucks that were transferred to the Armed Forces of Ukraine as part of partner assistance. Overall, these vehicles have earned a reputation as reliable and powerful logistics assets.
At the same time, suspension of operation of the entire fleet at the moment limits the military's logistical and transport capabilities. Moreover, this will take considerable time to check all 6,000 vehicles, even if a single inspection doesn't last long.
The biggest problem with suspending truck use is the timing when this occurred. Because almost the same week, similar actions were taken regarding the line of tracked Ajax IFVs and other armored vehicles due to noise and vibrations that were supposedly long fixed. That is, within a short period of time, two critical vehicles in the British military were immediately suspended due to technical problems. As a result, the country's defense capabilities are being called into question.
Overall, Great Britain has been economizing on the military for many years, the consequences of which it faces today. Promises about changing course are voiced, but in practice decisions are constantly postponed, as with the RCH 155 SPG.
Regarding the HX trucks themselves, they have been used in many countries around the world for many years and constantly receive new orders, the latest known of which was for Denmark. So it's more than likely that were facing specifically a British problem, not something that will affect all operators.
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