Global Business: Middle East Militaries Eye More Rugged Tactical Vehicles.

• Author: Easley, Mikayla

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates--Under the blazing mid-afternoon sun of the United Arab Emirates, a tactical military vehicle emerges into view and the driver speeds across a rugged dirt road, leaving a cloud of dust behind it.

The vehicle--an Ajban A440A 4x4 made by the UAE-based NIMR Automotive--first runs up a ramp lined with cobbled wood and debris. It then makes a quick, 180-degree turn before riding through a pit of water larger than the vehicle itself. Finally, the driver takes the Ajban over a hill taller than the height of a doorway, gliding over the top and coming back down on the other side just in time to turn around and run the obstacle course a second time.

Half-a-dozen tactical vehicles from various manufacturers and countries would run the obstacle course for a crowd sitting outside of the nation's largest exhibition center. Armored combat vehicles like tanks and howitzers followed.

The half-hour demonstration occurred each day of the weeklong International Defence Exhibition, or IDEX, in Abu Dhabi, underscoring the prominence tactical wheeled vehicles had during the largest defense trade show and conference in the Middle East.

Middle East countries are looking to upgrade their fleets of tactical wheeled vehicles that can move around and survive the threats of modern, dynamic battlefields. In response, vendors from all over the world came to IDEX to exhibit their advanced vehicles--many with added weapons and subsystems--that meet the region's demands.

While some of the militaries operate modern military vehicles, others use outdated platforms or commercial trucks that have been ruggedized to meet military requirements, said John Lazar, vice president and general manager of international programs at Oshkosh Defense.

"In the Middle East-North Africa region, they are moving away from commercial trucks with upgraded suspensions and a green paint job that they now call a 'military truck' and moving to a true military, tactical truck," Lazar said during the trade show.

Furthermore, using commercial vehicles for military purposes may cost a fraction of the price of a military-grade vehicle, but down the line a country's military may end up spending more in sustainment costs, said Jim Cannon, president and CEO of AM General.

"A soldier never looks at the data plate and says, 'How much weight can I put on this vehicle?' They put all the weight they can on the vehicle to get where they gotta go," Cannon said. "What they're learning...