Cougar Hardened Engineer Vehicle [HEV]
Joint Explosive Ordnance Disposal Rapid Response Vehicles (JERRV)
Lion / Typhoon / Tempest /
The Cougar H is a family of medium mine-protected vehicles which can be supplied in 4X4 or 6X6 layout. It can be configured for a wide range of tasks including troop carrying (up to 14 in the 6X6), EOD (4 troops and a large EOD robot in the 4X4), command and control, artillery prime mover, recovery and ambulance duty. Cougar H is in production. The versatile, multi-purpose Cougar Hardened Engineer Vehicle is the Marine Corps’ answer to threat of ballistic and mine-blast threats. The user-friendly vehicle is designed to protect both the driver and crew from ballistic and mine-blast threats.
The Cougar (known in the United Kingdom as "Tempest", and previously it seems in the US as "Lion" and "Typhoon"), is designed to withstand a 30-pound blast of TNT to either the front or rear axles as well as a 15-pound blast to the center portion of the vehicle. The Cougar Hardened Engineer Vehicle, until 2002 marketed as the Lion, can be configured to complete a wide variety of mission requirements. The new HEV can serve as a mine-proof troop transport vehicle, a law enforcement special response vehicle, a weapons platform, or an escort protection vehicle.
The Cougar also has ballistic protection for the radiator, fuel tanks, and battery compartments. It is equipped with weapons ports, a M-240G machine gun mount, engineer/ Explosive Ordinance Disposal tool storage, two spare tires, and a Nuclear, Biological and Chemical overpressure and filter system. The vehicle gives EOD teams and engineers the ability to maneuver with the speed, mobility and survivability equal to the ground maneuver forces within the Marine Air Ground Task Force.
The user-friendly vehicle is designed to protect both the driver and crew from ballistic and mine-blast threats. The Cougar is scalable as well, meaning that it can be used for humanitarian efforts as well as combat by detaching the arms and gun systems to look less lethal, but still protects the crew against threats. The four-wheel drive edition seats four passengers, and the six-wheel drive edition seats 10 passengers. The Cougar has ballistic protection for the radiator, fuel tanks, battery compartments; and is equipped with weapons ports, M240G mount, engineer/EOD tool storage, two spare tires, and a Nuclear, Biological and Chemical overpressure and filter system. The Cougar HEV has an armored capsule designed to protect personnel, the engine and transmission from both ballistic and mine-blast threats.
Ballistic glass, another feature on the Cougar, allows troops to see and engage an enemy ambush through the gun ports in the glass not exposing themselves to fire. In a humvee, gunners are usually perched above the vehicle on a 50-caliber machine-gun open to enemy fire, while in some vehicles the passengers inside cannot see what direction enemy fire is coming from. In a Cougar you could just look out the glass and engage.
The Cougar Force Protection's downsized version of the Buffalo. There is a four-wheel-drive HEV that seats four passengers, and a six-wheel drive variant that seats 10. Technical Solutions Group Inc., manufactures the Cougar HEV for allied nations and a larger HEV called the Buffalo, for the US Army.
Previously, combat engineers and explosive ordinance disposal personnel lacked the adequate organic battlefield transportation capability and protection to conduct independent missions. Now EOD and engineers will be able to maneuver with speed, mobility and survivability equal with the ground maneuver forces within the Marine Air Ground Task Force.
“Block off all their main and secondary supply lines for these are their main arteries, and ambush them along those routes for they are exposed and easy prey.” These words from Abu Musab al-Zarqawi were cited by the Winds of Change website, showing the real danger for convoys traveling Marine supply lines in Iraq. Many fatalities and casualties have been caused by improvised explosive devices and ambushes on convoys. The Cougar may be the rebuttal to al-Zarqawi’s statement that the supply lines are unprotected. This vehicle could cause a role reversal between the predator and its prey. The Marine Corps now has an opportunity and a way to alleviate the problem of so many casualties from IEDs and ambushes in Iraq.
Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles [MRAP] could have saved some of those lives and kept those Marines in the fight. With its flat bottom and soft-skin plastic doors, if a humvee is directly hit by a land mine or IED, most likely the passengers inside will lose their life and the vehicle will be destroyed beyond repair.
In 1968, South Africans in conjunction with Rhodesians started developing the technology to create new vehicles that would counter the land mine threat introduced in the Bush War in Southern Africa. They developed the technology that created a new modular design for their military vehicles. For example, the vehicle’s wheels could be blown off in a mine/IED blast, but the passengers and the rest of the vehicle survived. South Africa and Rhodesia did not have a large military and realized that you cannot afford to loose lives on the battlefield. These countries also didn’t have a large military budget and soon found that it was too expensive to loose a vehicle every time it hit a mine. It was far cheaper to replace an axel or wheel than an entire vehicle. The military in South Africa and Rhodesia have been using these vehicles for the past 30 years, steadily improving the technology.
The Marine Corps recognized these vehicles’ successful track record and became interested in incorporating them into the fleet. The Corps decided to do business with Force Protection, located in South Carolina, which is the company that developed a version of a Mine Resistant Ambush Protected [MRAP] vehicle named the Cougar. These vehicles are all designed from the ground up specifically built to survive IEDs and ambushes. The V-shaped hull assists deflection of a mine or IED blast away from the vehicle’s capsule keeping the passengers safe and the vehicle intact. The vehicle is also built to rollover and is equipped with multi-point, racing style harnesses, so if the vehicle rolled 360 degrees the passengers inside would avoid injury.
Marines started reaping the benefits of the MRAP vehicles in Fall 2004 after procuring around 27 Cougars. The Corps uses them in Iraq for explosive ordinance disposal. When receiving calls from convoys that come upon land mines or IEDs, they could send an EOD team out in a Cougar. So even if the mine hits the Cougar, its passengers will stand a far better chance of survival due to the v-shaped hull design and other special features incorporated in the vehicle. The Cougar is equipped with multi-point, racing style harnesses, so if the vehicle rolled 360 degrees, the passengers inside would avoid injury.
Combat engineers and explosive ordinance disposal personnel lacked the adequate organic battlefield transportation capability and protection to conduct independent missions. EOD and engineers will be able to maneuver with speed, mobility and survivability equal with the ground maneuver forces within the Marine Air Ground Task Force.
Because OIF II and contingency operations in the Global War On Terrorism have created an immediate mission essential requirement for the Cougar HEV, I Marine Expeditionary Force initiated an urgent Universal Need Statement in December 2003, to purchase 27 HEVs. The rapid procurement and fielding of the HEV is indicative of MCSC’s responsiveness to the needs of the MAGTF and the individual warfighter. The severity of unexploded ordnance and improvised explosive devices to operating forces and mine clearing teams has resulted in the loss of many lives. Many Marine Corps operating forces require adequate HEVs to negate these hazardous conditions and their effects.
On March 05, 2004 Force Protection, Inc. announced that its TSG subsidiary had developed a new Tactical Armored and Mine Protected Vehicle optimized for urban warfare and low intensity conflicts. Cougar/Typhoon is designed to excel in urban combat, low intensity conflicts, troop transport, and patrol duty. Typhoon is C-130 transportable and will be ready for production by the third quarter of 2004.
On April 26, 2004 Force Protection, Inc. announced that its subsidiary Technical Solutions Group (TSG) had been awarded a contract to manufacture and deliver up to 27 Typhoon mine and ballistic protected vehicles. The 27 vehicles, training programs and consumable spare parts have a total value of $9.7 million. Initial deliveries were scheduled to begin in September 2004 and all of the initial release will be delivered before the end of the year.
U.S. Representative Henry Brown, who represents the First District of South Carolina where TSG is located, stated, "I am very proud of TSG and all of their employees for receiving this critically important contract. These mine and ballistic protected vehicles will go a long way toward protecting all of the brave men and women in uniform who are in harm's way in Iraq and other parts of the world as we continue the global war on terrorism. And back home, I am very thankful that this procurement will provide significant new jobs and a boost for the local economy. Since these vehicles perform such a valuable service, I am hopeful that we can expect further contracts in the future." The Typhoon tactical armored and mine protected air transportable vehicle, optimized for urban warfare and low intensity conflicts was unveiled by TSG in April 2004. The Typhoon offers very high protection level, against typical urban warfare threats, higher than the level implemented by the Cougar. The added protection is achieved through the introduction of advanced armor with improved ballistic performance, and additional side-blast protection protecting against roadside bombs (IEDs). The Typhoon is a versatile 4 x 2, 4 x 4 or 6 x 6 multi-purpose vehicle that can be configured to satisfy a wide variety of mission requirements. The monocoque capsule is designed to protect personnel, the engine and transmission from both ballistic and mine blast threats. The capsule is mated with the latest in American commercial automotive technology to produce the most user-friendly and adaptable vehicle in its class. The Typhoon can be configured to serve as a mine protected troop transport vehicle, a weapons platform, a law enforcement special response vehicle or an Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD)/Range clearance vehicle.
The first 14 of the contracted 27 HEVs were shipped to various bases during September 2004. This new vehicle, that was first used in Operation Iraqi Freedom II, was distributed throughout the Marine Corps beginning September 2004. Technical Solutions Group Inc. is currently manufacturing the Cougar HEV for allied nations while also manufacturing a larger HEV called the Buffalo, for the U.S. Army in support of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Department of Defense FY 2005 Supplemental Request included $24.9 million for the Cougar Medium Mine Protected Vehicle. The Cougar family of medium-size mine protected vehicles is specifically designed to withstand mine explosions. The vehicle can be configured for a wide range of tasks including Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD). These vehicles will be used to protect EOD teams during mine clearing/counter IED operations.
Force Protection Industries Inc., Ladson, SC, was awarded on May 13, 2005, a $45,721,366 firm-fixed-price, indefinite - delivery / indefinite - quantity contract with a maximum ordering quantity of 122 Cougar Joint Explosive Ordnance Disposal Rapid Response Vehicles (JERRV) and associated manuals, spares and field support. The initial delivery order is for 71 out of the 122 vehicles available on the contract. Work will be performed in Ladson, SC (60 percent) and Charlotte, Mich. (40 percent), and work is expected to be completed by May 2006. Contract funds will not expire by the end of the current fiscal year. This contract is a sole source award to Force Protection Industries Inc. as they are the sole manufacturer of the Cougar JERRV. The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity (M67854-05-D-5091).
Force Protection Industries Inc., Ladson, S.C., was awarded on May 18, 2005, a $16,549,582 firm-fixed-price delivery order under previously awarded contract (M67854-05-D-5091). The delivery order is for 17 Cougar Joint Explosive Ordnance Disposal Rapid Response Vehicles (JERRV), associated manuals, and spares. A maximum of 122 vehicles can be ordered off of the contract. Work will be performed in Ladson, S.C. (60 percent) and Charlotte, Mich. (40 percent), and work is expected to be completed by May 2006. Contract funds will not expire by the end of the current fiscal year. This contract is a sole source award to Force Protection Industries Inc. as they are the sole manufacturer of the Cougar JERRV. The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.
On 23 June 2005 Force Protection, Inc. announced a delivery order for 34 additional mine-protected Cougar Joint Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Rapid Response Vehicles (JERRV) for an amount not to exceed $24.9 million. This is the third such order made in the past month under a joint contract awarded by the Department of Defense for approximately 120 Cougar JERRV vehicles to be used in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is funded by the Joint Explosive Device (IED) Defeat Task Force and fulfills the contract, bringing the total number of vehicles ordered to 122 for an amount not to exceed $87 million. Under the contract, Force Protection will manufacture the vehicles and provide training, spare part blocks and technical data. The first vehicles are expected to reach the field by early fall 2005.
