the cougar mrap vehicles were commissioned under the mind-resistant ambush protection
or mrap program of the u.s department of defense dod
general dynamics land systems manufactured the cougar family of mrap vehicles force
protection had produced the cougar vehicles until general dynamics acquired it in december 2011.
the cougar mrap is used in urban and confined areas in command and control explosive ordnance
disposal or eod patrol convoy support forward observation surveillance and medical evacuation
or med evac missions it is primarily designed to reduce the casualties caused by threats such as
improvised explosive device ied detonations and small arms fire or saf forces operate
the cougar armored vehicles in the u.s canada hungary iraq italy poland and the uk in this
video the u.s military news channel will discuss mine resistant ambush protected vehicles or mrap
fire with flying metal fragments and burning hot explosive materials could
not stop the mrap vehicle despite being on the receiving end of a massive roadside bomb attack
it did not kill soldiers at times riding in the now famous mine resistant ambush
protected blast deflecting war vehicles the arrival of these vehicles in iraq and
afghanistan was heralded as a defining moment for soldiers facing enemy fire in war every day
the innovations fundamental to mrap vehicle construction and engineering and the pace at
which they flew from concept to war struck many as a minor miracle of life-saving proportions
this circumstance gives new meaning to the famous necessity is the mother of invention saying
and its impact cannot be understated how did this happen
and how did it happen so quickly
the first m raps emerged in the early to mid 2000s and in 2007 former secretary robert gates
made the now famous comment that acquiring mraps was the pentagon's highest priority
within just a few years thousands of m-raps were built and delivered
getting these vehicles especially in this kind of time frame took enterprising methods
of engineering and acquisition m-raps were built such that if the vehicle had to absorb a massive
ied hit the core capsule or chassis of the vehicle would stay intact the wheels
may come off and various components may get destroyed yet the soldiers riding inside survive
here's was in part accomplished by engineering vehicles with advanced suspension greater ground
clearance and of course the famous v-shaped hull able to send explosive fragments out onto the
sides of an attacked vehicle ground clearance also proved invaluable based upon a simple
scientific principle that bomb materials are less destructive when they have farther to travel off
the ground to reach a vehicle the arrival of these vehicles happened by several key factors such as
the rapid flexing of the u.s industrial base and the sheer number of mrap builders perhaps most of
all the vehicles were successfully fast-tracked through innovative new acquisition procedures
the idea was to truncate condense or accelerate otherwise lengthy and spread apart milestones for
example former secretary of defense ashton carter the pentagon's acquisition chief
found a way to accomplish testing development and safety certifications concurrently during
many of the mrap years it also helped that congress was pouring money into the program
multiple variants and mrap builders were another reason for the rapid response
as mraps were built by navistar armor holdings bae systems force protection general dynamics
and others the success of mraps even spurred the pentagon to quickly make more mobile mrap variants
called mrap all-terrain vehicles engineered with improved speed and suspension as smaller
faster ied defending platforms able to go off-road the m-atvs ultimately built by oshkosh defense
came rapidly into existence following an urgent needs statement from commanders in afghanistan
asking for a mobile off-road capable mrap variant i once sat inside of bae systems rg33 significant
mrap years ago when reporting on the program and it seemed like an armored living room
the cougar vehicle platform comes in two primary variants namely cat 1 and cat 2 integrated with
upgraded independent suspension systems the cat 1 is a 4x4 variant used to conduct mounted patrols
surveillance communications and command and control to support small unit combat operations
it can accommodate five crew members and a gunner
the cat 2 is a 6x6 variant that can be deployed to conduct security and
troop and cargo transportation in support of multi-mission combat operations the vehicle
can transport nine crew members and a gunner the cat one were fitted with the saber tube launched
optically tracked wire guided tow system to defeat armored and urban enclosed threats saber is an
anti-heavy armor missile system several cougar cat 2 vehicles were converted into ambulance
variants to transport and provide emergency care to personnel injured on the battlefield
the live fire testing of the cougar cat 2 a1 with this seat survivability upgrade or ssu
was completed at the aberdeen test center atc maryland in june 2016. five live fire
egress tests were conducted between june 2016 and august 2016. further 100
cougar cat 2 a1 vehicles were retrofitted with ssu kits for enhanced survivability
the mission variants include the cougar hev or hardened engineer vehicle the cougar j-e-r-r-v
joint eod rapid response vehicle the cougar iss or independent suspension system cougar mrap badger
ilav the iraqi light armored vehicle ridgeback ppv the protected patrol vehicle mastiff ppv wolfhound
heavy tactical support vehicle and tempest mpv the cougar m-rap vehicles incorporate a monocoque
v-shaped chassis mounting bulletproof and blastproof body the conventional layout houses an
engine in the front a crew cabin in the middle and features a troop compartment at the rear
two rectangular transparent armor glass windows protect the driver and commander in the cab
the driver and commander can enter and exit the vehicle through the doors on either side
of the cab the troop compartment is equipped with double entrances at the vehicle's rear
the roof is also equipped with a standard hatch both sides of the trip compartment
and all access doors are equipped with observation windows the vehicle can accommodate six passengers
in the 4x4 configuration and 10 passengers in the 6x6 configuration the standard cougar comes with
no armament outfit vehicles can be installed with a remotely controlled weapon station mounting a
7.62 millimeter machine gun 12 7 millimeter heavy machine gun or a 40 millimeter automatic grenade
launcher the cougar mrap vehicle offers protection against direct fire it features protection against
762 millimeter armor piercing or ap rounds rocket-propelled grenades or or rpg rounds
landmines and improvised explosive devices or ieds the v-shaped hull reduces the impact
of blasts by directing the shot away from the vehicle the vehicle can withstand the double
tm-57 mine equivalent explosion under any wheel and a single blast under the middle of the vehicle
the cougar vehicles are equipped with nuclear biological and chemical or nbc protection systems
the cougar mrap vehicle is powered by a caterpillar c7 diesel engine coupled to a
six-speed allison 3500 sp series automatic transmission the 330 horsepower engine
generates a maximum torque of 1166 newton meters at 1400 rpm
the vehicles are fitted with hutchison vfi or variable function insert run flats on all wheels
cougar has a maximum speed of 104 kilometers per hour and a range of 675 kilometers it can
afford a depth of 99 centimeters and it can be airlifted by the c-17 transport aircraft
you