Defense Technology International - October 2007 - (Page 47) U.S. ARMY DAVID AXE/DEFENSE TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL Cougar H 4 X 4 vehicle from Force Protection Industries. of glass to improve survivability, at the cost of passenger visibility. RG-33 4 X 4: BAE Systems North America (Rockville, Md.). Weight: 14 tons. Passengers: 4 + 2 crew. MRAP I orders: 201 + several for testing. Cost: approximately $300,000. Features: Monocoque, flattened V-shaped hull that stops short of engine compartment; rear door. Reality check: The RG-33 is a cousin of the RG-31, which itself is based on the South African Mamba design that incorporates a German-designed Unimog chassis. The RG series of vehicles makes extensive use of armored glass to improve visibility, with a slight penalty in survivability. Perhaps the design’s greatest weakness is its vulnerability to a “mobility kill” that destroys the lightly armored engine and leaves the crew stranded. RG-33s are manufactured on two lines in York, Pa., another in Texas and a fourth at a BAE-owned factory in South Africa. BAE’s acquisition of Armor Holdings LLC this summer significantly boosted the company’s ability to “uparmor” its MRAP designs. BAE representative Doug Co ey says that live-fire testing at Aberdeen, Md., proved the RG-33 to be the overall most survivable MRAP vehicle. He added that stockpiling adequate raw materials, especially armor-grade steel, was the biggest obstacle to fulfilling orders. RG-33 has an extensive combat record. U.S. Army and Marine Corps units use the vehicle in Iraq and Afghanistan for bomb-disposal and route-clearance missions. MaxxPro 4 X 4: International Military and Government LLC (Warrenville, Ill.). Weight: 16 tons. Passengers: 4 + 2 crew. MRAP I orders: 1,955 + several for testing. Cost: $548,000. Features: Commercial truck chassis with a bolt-on V-shaped armored hull; 330-hp. engine; rear door. Reality check: Commercial truck-maker International was a surprise winner in the first round of MRAP purchases; MaxxPro scored more orders than any other type. Assistant General Manager Bob Walsh credits the company’s huge factory capacity and support base, as well as MaxxPro’s two-piece design. “It does a very good job of redirecting energy [from bomb blasts].” Repairability: “Being cab-on-chassis, you’re able to pull o this body and slide a new chassis in.” The successful German Dingo vehicle embraces a similar design philosophy, but there’s a reason most MRAP types feature single-piece monocoque hulls: On a bolt-on design, a powerful blast might separate the hull from the chassis, resulting in a mobility kill that strands the crew. MaxxPro chassis are manufactured in Garland, Tex.; hulls are made in West Point, Miss. Caiman 4 X 4: Armor Holdings LLC (Jacksonville, Fla.). Weight: 14 tons. Passengers: 4 + 2 crew. MRAP I orders: 1,154 OCTOBER 2007 DEFENSE TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL 47 MRAP BY THE NUMBERS Cat I Cat II Cat III Total Marines Army Navy Air Force SOCOM Total 3,039 599 2,000 500 421 113 624 73 333 0 6,417 1,285 62 0 10 0 0 72 3,700 2,500 544 697 333 7,774 RG-33 is used to escort vehicles that clear roadside bombs in Iraq. Reality check: Widely considered the “gold standard” of MRAP designs, the Cougar enjoyed considerable sales success even before MRAP. Force Protection built a small number of Tempest vehicles—basically early Cougars—for British Army engineers in 2002, followed by several hundred Cougars for the U.S. military between 2003 and 2006, mostly for engineer and bomb-disposal units. In April, Force Protection, citing military statistics, claimed that despite some 300 attacks targeting Cougars in Iraq, not one Marine died while riding in one. Force Protection builds Cougars at its main factory in Ladson as well as in a new facility in North Carolina, and has signed co-production agreements with General Dynamics and BAE Systems (for Iraqi army Cougars). The vehicle’s major weakness is poor o -road mobility, a consequence of its relatively heavy weight resulting from a high degree of protection. The design minimizes the use www.aviationweek.com/dti http://www.aviationweek.com/dti
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