| Ocelot
is a radically different breed. Unlike mine-protected
vehicles based on existing commercial chassis, Ocelot
is based on modular flexibility. The Ocelot is produced
by the US Company Force Protection, for the requirement
of British Ministry of Defense for a new armoured
vehicle with high protection, for the troops deployed
to the new combat area. The first demonstrator was
completed in 2009. The Ocelot is presented for the
first time at DSEI 2009. This imaginative, new from
the ground up design, integrates V-hull, blast protection
technology with a demountable protected crew pod
that allows multiple configurations for different
roles. The modular crew pod is made with light advanced
composite materials that allow Ocelot to meet and
and/or exceed UK MoD Light Protected Patrol Vehicle
survivability, mobility, payload and gross weight
requirements. Developed jointly by Force Protection
Europe Limited, the UK subsidiary of the manufacturer
of the Mastiff and Ridgback MRAP vehicles, and its
partners Ricardo UK Limited, whose whole-vehicle
and sub-system design and optimization is successfully
deployed in UK MoD programmes such as fire support
Vixen. In essence, the Mastiff and the Land Rover
fire support kit have sired an agile prodigy: the
Ocelot.
The 27 April 2010, Force Protection Europe a wholly
owned subsidiary of Force Protection Industries,
Inc., received a contract from the United Kingdom
Ministry of Defence (MoD) for the purchase of two
Ocelot vehicles for further testing in respect of
the Light Protected Patrol Vehicle (LPPV) program.
Designed to meet the British requirement for LPPV
the Ocelot is designed for a gross vehicle weight
of 7.5 tons, carrying a payload 2 tons. The patrol
version accommodates six soldiers (2+4), the weapon
carrier WMIK version (Weapon Mounted Installation
Kit) carries 2+2 while the logistical variant seats
a crew of two. In addition to the British LPPV competition,
Ocelot has also been offered for the Australian
Land 121 Project Overlander program. Force Protection
Europe Ltd (FPE), a Force Protection, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)
group company, announced in September 2010 that
it has been selected by the United Kingdom (U.K.)
Ministry of Defence (MoD) as the preferred bidder
in the Light Protected Patrol Vehicle (LPPV) program.
The initial Ocelot vehicles are expected to be available
for the training of U.K. forces in 2011. Formal
contract negotiations (including final determination
of vehicle quantities and price) between FPE and
the U.K. MoD will begin shortly. Having recently
won a major British competition with its Ocelot
vehicle, Force Protection is preparing to go after
the American market, according to the company's
chief operating officer. Force Protection has briefed
U.S. Army and Marine Corps leaders on the Ocelot,
but the company wanted to secure a win in the U.K.'s
light protected patrol vehicle (LPPV) program before
pushing it aggressively in the United States, said
Randy Hutcherson, chief operating officer for Force
Protection, Ladson, S.C.
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