• Despite the crisis in the Gulf, the end of
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the cold war threatens massive cutbacks in vehicle supplies for the armed services by the late 1990s, with many ex-army drivers coming into the workforce.
The Ministry of Defence is considering an unpublished report on potential areas for cutbacks, called Options for Change, and is almost certain to slow down recruitment dramatically in the next few years. According to the ministry, principal cutbacks will hit the British Army on the Rhine, which numbers 60,000. It is believed this force could be halved.
If so, orders for army trucks will reduce sharply. Just a year ago the MoD ordered 5,000 four-tonne trucks from Leyland Daf in a contract worth £155m, This order satisfies requirements up to 1995. At present the army has a fleet of 20,000 four-tonners ranging from new to 18 years old.