USMC Cougar

[tomahawk6]

The USMC is adding a new capability to their Cougar's. At $640,000 they GyrCam is as expensive as the Cougar itself.

http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htarm/articles/20060606.aspx

 

[George Wallace]

From the Buffalo thread, this link to the Cougar: http://www.forceprotection.net/models/cougar/

Check out the comparison to a HUMMV.

 

[Jantor]

Force Protection is supposed to have a HUMMV replacement in the works called the "mover". Has anybody seen anything on that?

 

[big bad john]

Might be of interest.  http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/44796.0.html#new

 

[Jantor]

Thanks for that big bad john. I saw an article on the web similar to that one you posted and couldn't find it again. I'll do a search next time.

:-[

 

[a_majoor]

Holy crap! The sensor turret is almost as expensive as the vehicle! That better be one honking piece of kit, and for the very clever out there, you now have an opportunity to crack a market niche if you can come up with a comparable piece of kit for a lower price.

There really needs to be a better way of doing things, with prices like this there will never be enough units out there to make a significant difference. We are falling into the same trap the Germans did towards the end of WWII, their tanks and most of their other equipment was far better than almost anything the Allies could make, but we could make far more of them. In the end, the Germans and Axis forces were overwhelmed by numbers.  I believe it was Marshal M.N. Tukhachevskii who said "quantity has a quality all of its own".

 

[Jantor]

a-majoor,

It would seem someone agrees with your POV. The Iraqi army will be getting Cougars and they will be getting allot of them.

http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/2006/06/bae-delivering-a-cougar-variant-for-iraqs-4454m-ilav-contract/index.php

$445.4 mil for 1050 vehicles if all options are exercised.

 

[Kirkhill]

Do they test the Gunners for Altitude Sickness and Motion Sickness? 

That Gunner is perched awfully high up there. 

 

[a_majoor]

Idle thought: The stabilized optical turret is being used to make the Cougar a recce vehicle of sorts. Would it be worth while to consider using something similar on either a "mud recce" vehicle, as a suppliment or the "MK II" version of the Coyote's surveillance suite, or attached to the RG-31, which is similar in concept to the USMC Cougar? Do we want this capability for surveillance or recce (or both)?

Being able to use your surveillance gear on the move would seem to be an advantage in certain situations, and makes the vehicle more flexible in terms of being able to perform in certain situations, either doing a quick "bug out" without having to loose the mast and still having eyes on target so you can call in shot to cover the getaway, or even the more common "can't see the target from here, displace one metre left".

 

[GAP]

By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, June 19, 2006 - The Marine Corps is using fat cats to combat enemy-emplaced roadside bombs in Iraq.

However, these hefty "Cougars" aren't felines. They're heavily armored wheeled trucks that are robust enough to ward off much of the deadly energy generated by improvised explosive devices favored by insurgents.

Cougars and other similarly built U.S. vehicles employed in Iraq feature armor-plated V-shaped bottoms designed to deflect the upward explosive power of roadside bombs that account for the majority of U.S. casualties in Iraq. Explosive ordnance teams as well as combat engineers use the trucks. Each can weigh 30,000 pounds or more, depending on the model.

The trucks began arriving in Iraq in the late fall of 2004 as part of an accelerated Defense Department acquisition program. Reports from Iraq say the heavyweight trucks have saved many servicemembers' lives.

"These vehicles provide unmatched protection capabilities for combat engineers and EOD teams by withstanding both armor-piercing and anti-tank mine blasts," Marine Maj. Gen. William D. Catto told House Armed Services Committee members during a June 15 hearing here. The Marines have fielded 26 Cougars in Iraq, thus far, Catto said.

Joint EOD rapid response vehicles, known by the acronym JERRVs, are another, similar variant of the Cougar concept. The Marine Corps has ordered 122 JERRVs, Catto said, for overseas deployment to joint-military explosive ordnance disposal teams. The Marine Corps is slated to get 38 JERRVs of its own.

These vehicles "are designed with protection capabilities that are very similar to the Cougar," Catto, who heads Marine Corps Systems Command, said at the hearing.

Catto said all 122 JERRV deliveries are to be completed this month. And MCSC, he added, awarded a contract in May 2006 for 57 more trucks earmarked for joint forces' use.

"The Marine Corps is committed to aggressively matching our equipment to changing threats," Catto told the committee. "Our ability to rapidly modify our vehicle armoring systems is another testament to this commitment."


_______________________________________________________
NOTE: View the original version of this web page on DefenseLINK,
the official website of the U.S. Department of Defense, at
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jun2006/20060619_5452.html.



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[Kirkhill]

Looking at this beast I was suddenly reminded of something.  Beloved of the IRA.  The Pig by Humber.

Better "bomb-proofing" but the same vehicle.

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Kirkhill
Google the "foaming-pig" used for riot control!!