'Used in Iraq' tag a big selling point

THIS week's Defence Systems Equipment International (DSEi) exhibition in London's Docklands is proving that there is nothing like a recent war to help sell weaponry.

'Proved in combat in Iraq' is one of the more popular phrases at sales pitches from a range of firms. At the BAE Systems stand, for example, a 105mm light artillery gun - freshly back from Iraq - is on display with its all-weather Laser Initial Artillery Pointing System.

Largely through the Urgent Operational Requirements, almost 200 of which were issued by the Ministry of Defence just before and during the conflict, many firms are able to boast of recent orders for British forces and sell their kit as 'used in Gulf War II'.

Cardiff-based BCB International secured a £500,000 emergency order for 35,000 three-litre backpack personal water systems for British troops. The packs were provided by a US company using firms in Mexico and the Philippines.

Australia's ADI has a mini-mine clearing device that the Royal Navy towed behind a small craft to destroy Iraqi mines in the strategic approaches to the Southern Iraqi port of Umm Qasr.