Cougar Hardened Engineer Vehicle

The Cougar is an armored fighting vehicle designed to be resistant to anti-vehicle mines and improvised munitions. An armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) is a military vehicle, equipped with protection against hostile attacks and often mounted weapons. ... U.S. Army soldier removes fuse from a Russian-made mine to clear a minefield outside of Fallujah, Iraq. ... IED is also an abbreviation for Intelligent Electronic Device IED is also an abbreviation for Intermittent explosive disorder A large cache of munitions found in Afghanistan in 2004. ...

Overview

The Cougar is produced by Force Protection Inc, a US-based company, who - according to their investor profile - "Manufactures ballistic and mine-protected vehicles through its wholly owned subsidiary. These specialty vehicles are protected against land mines, hostile fire, and Improvised Explosive Devices." FPI are the manufacturer of the Cougar and Buffalo (mine protected vehicle) armoured vehicles. ...

Variants

The Cougar comes in two configurations, a 4x4 and 6x6 configuration. It is designed for transport and protection of military engineers, especially against land mines and smaller ballistic explosives such as rocket propelled grenades, as well as Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). A military engineer is primarily responsible for the design and construction of offensive, defensive and logistical structures for warfare. ... Various anti-tank and anti-personnel land mines A land mine is a type of self-contained explosive device which is placed onto or into the ground, exploding when triggered by a vehicle, a person, or an animal. ... Ballistics (gr. ... This article is concerned solely with chemical explosives. ... A Rocket propelled grenade (RPG) is a hand-held, shoulder-launched anti-tank weapon capable of firing an unguided rocket equipped with an explosive warhead. ...

Operators

•  Iraq
•  United Kingdom ^[1][2]
• United States

The Cougar is used by the United States Marine Corps and Iraqi Army and will soon be delivered to the British Army. In service with those countries, the Cougar is used in a variety of roles, including the HEV (Hardened Engineer Vehicle) and the Joint Explosive Ordnance Disposal Rapid Response Vehicles (JERRV) whilst in service with the US Marine Corps. Image File history File links Flag_of_Iraq. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_States. ... This article is becoming very long. ... The New Iraqi Army is being developed by the Coalition Military Assistance Training Team (CMATT) with the ultimate task of assuming responsibility for all Iraqi land-based military operations following the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. ... The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ...

British Mastiff PPV in trials on sailsbury plain

The British forces variant will, compared to the original Cougar vehicle, be fitted with large, vertical armor plates which cover the large vision blocks and weapon firing ports. In line with British thinking that the role of the APC/MICV is to carry troops under protection to the objective and then give firepower support when they have disembarked, although it is not clear weather the Mastiff withh be fitted with any armaments, either smoke dischargers and a cupola sporting a L7A2 GPMG (General Purpose Machine Gun) - the FN MAG 7.62 x 51 mm, L110A1 Light Machine Gun 5.56 x 45 mm or a L1A1 Heavy Machine Gun .50 inch (12.7 mm) BMG (Browning Machine gun). Another reason is that ability of the average soldier to fire accurately out of the ports of a moving IFV has been questioned. The large armour plates will also give added side protection from RPG's or IED explosions. The L7 machine gun is a general-purpose machine gun used by the British Army. ... The FN MAG is a machine gun manufactured by Fabrique Nationale (FN), Belgium. ... NATO 7. ... Caliber: 5. ... U.S. Military 5. ... This article is about the . ... A . ...

The British Army has operated an early version of the Cougar since 2002 in the form of the Tempest MPV. ^[3][4] As of August 2006, the British Army has ordered 86 Cougar HE 6x6 vehicles for deployment in Iraq, they will be known as Mastiff PPV (Protected Patrol Vehicle). It is conceivable that further orders may follow in the future if the vehicle performs adequately, perhaps replacing the older Saxon armoured trucks (some of which are being redesigned as armoured battlefield ambulances) until the introduction of FRES. The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ... Fres (Greek:Φρες) is a village and municipality in Chania Prefecture on the island of Crete, Greece. ...

Notes

External links

• Force Protection Inc.
• Global Security
• New Cougar HEV to hit Corps soon
• Cougar at Army-Guide.com
• BBC News Article including reference to Cougar Purchase
• Military.com