An electric reboot for Army vehicles will allow them to “pirouette” to escape enemy fire.

As part of the Army’s £10 million investment into fitting hybrid electric drives to armoured 4X4s, a Man SV, Jackal and Foxhound have all been repurposed to work on a hybrid system.

Marcus Jenkins, the director of MagTec, the UK-based company which is leading the green revolution, said the engine change meant the vehicles now performed better.

Speaking to The Telegraph at the DESI arms fair, Mr Jenkins explained that because they had applied electric motors to drive each wheel, as opposed to a traditional vehicle where one engine drives all the wheels at the same time, they had created a more agile product. 

Mr Jenkins said: “These vehicles have never been able to pirouette before. Now we can drive wheels in a different direction and they can spin on the spot.”

This would make it easier to “escape” enemy fire, he said. 

Trials are currently taking place, with the vehicles due to be rolled out to the Army for use in training and on operations.

During the trials they have also seen a reduction in noise, adding a “stealth” component that would particularly suit Special Forces, Mr Jenkins added.

“The likelihood is there will be more of these vehicles coming into play and rolled out across the Army’s existing fleets.”  

Mr Jenkins said the hybrid model saved 30 per cent of fuel and had a battery life of 13 hours.