The Netherlands Defence organisation today took symbolic delivery of 1,667 new vehicles when the keys of the newly acquired Volkswagen Amaroks were handed over to the organisation. The symbolic handover ceremony was held at Camp New Amsterdam near Huis ter Heide. The vehicles themselves are to be delivered in the near future.

The Volkswagen Amarok is set to replace the Mercedes Benz, which for years has been the trusty workhorse of the armed forces, but is now reaching the end of its working life. One new aspect included in the procurement contract of the Amaroks is that maintenance of the vehicles will be carried out by the supplier. The military vehicles will be taken to the nearest service point for minor and major maintenance. In the case of breakdown on the road, the ANWB (roadside assistance organisation) will be called out.

Indispensable
The Royal Netherlands Army will take the lion’s share of the Volkswagen Amaroks into service, 1,138 being the exact number. Among these, there will be a specialised type of Amarok for use by the Defence Explosive Ordnance Disposal Service. In all, 14 different types of the vehicle were selected for use in the Netherlands armed forces. “The Amarok will soon be an indispensable part of the armed forces’ land mobility during operations, the execution of national tasks and during exercises”, explained Commodore Ludger Brummelaar, Assistant Chief of Projects at the Defence Materiel Organisation.

The Royal Netherlands Marechaussee had the honour of being the first armed forces Service to deploy the Amaroks operationally.

www.defensie.nl