Force Protection to upgrade MRAPs
Providing IED-resistant vehicles — Mine Resistant Ambush Protected, or MRAP — to the U.S. military is a growing business; South Carolina-based Force Protection, a manufacturer of the Cougar MRAP, upgrades the Cougar’s suspension
Back in February we wrote that in the economic slowdown notwithstanding, we should look for Ladson, South Carolina-based Force Protection, Inc. to do well (see 5 February 2009 HSDW). The reason: The Obama administration is moving forward on plans to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq while increasing the number of troops in Afghanistan. In Afghanistan, as was the case in Iraq, improvised explosive devices (IEDs) pose a threat to U.S. and NATO forces. One way to protect the troops is to use Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) to ferry them about.
One such MRAP is the Cougar. The Cougar family of medium-sized blast-protected vehicles is produced in both 4-wheel (formerly Cougar H) and 6-wheel (formerly Cougar HE) layouts. It took some time — Donald Rumsfeld famously said that “You go to war with the army you have, not the army you wish you had” — but, eventually, the wisdom of using survivable vehicles in a theater where land mines and IEDs were the No. 1 threat became clearer, and these vehicles have gradually shifted from dedicated Explosives Ordnance Disposal (EOD) roles to patrol and route-proving convoy lead functions as well. The 4×4 vehicles usually carry 4 troops plus the front seats, while the 6×6 variants can carry up to 8+2.
Here is an update. The U.S. Marine Corps has modified a contract with Force Protection, Inc. for the company to provide additional independent suspension upgrade kits. The company announced that the Marine Corps Systems Command has modified a deal originally awarded to the company in April.
Under the $56.3 million contract modification Force Protection will deliver its independent suspension upgrade kits for installation on approximately 545 of the Cougar mine resistant ambush protect vehicles.
“This additional independent suspension order further demonstrates the flexibility and sustainability of the Cougar,” Michael Moody, Force Protection chief executive officer, said in a statement. “The Cougar has performed extremely well in Iraq with an impressive operational readiness rate. This suspension upgrade will provide increased mobility for even more Cougars in the much more rugged terrain of Afghanistan.”
