MRAPs and more MRAPs: Two from Protected Vehicles, Inc.

clipped from www.ishitech.co.il

The US Marine Corps has selected the Golan multi-purpose modular armored vehicle made by Rafael Armament Development Authority Ltd. and PVI of the US for use in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Marines will initially buy 60 Golans for $37 million.

Rafael Armament Development Authority Ltd. is an Israeli company. Protected Vehicles, Inc. has its plant in South Carolina (Force Protection, maker of the Cheetah, Cougar and Buffalo MRAPs, had its first plant in S.C.).

The price tag comes to a bit over $600,000 each. That's a bit more than the Pentagon shelled out for the first run of 125 Cougars, which were about $536,000 per.

Inflation?

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In late July, PVI unveiled a new MRAP intended to replace the Humvee.

clipped from www.protectedvehicles.com

PVI claims that the new Protector series includes protections against the "explosively formed penetrators" that have continued to cause problems for U.S. forces in Iraq. Yes, that's the advanced explosive devices that the U.S. has tied to Iran.

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Update: I did a bit more digging at the PVI site and ran across one of the potential reasons for the higher price tag on the Golan. PVI developed a new material to help protect against the EFPs.

North Charleston, SC- Protected Vehicles, Inc. is pleased to announce that ShieldAll™, the company’s solution to combating deadly explosively formed penetrators (EFPs), has completed several rounds of intensive testing on the proving grounds of a U.S. Government testing facility. The results exceeded expectations of the product's resilience to the devastating effects of an improvised explosive device (IED). EFPs are among the most destructive IEDs used by the enemy in Iraq and Afghanistan. IEDs account for approximately 70 percent of casualties in the field.

ShieldAll™, available exclusively from PVI, was created from an advanced materials development program at Battelle. With this revolutionary material in hand, PVI and Battelle joined forces to create a composite armor encompassing ceramics, metals, reinforcing and patented binders that provide exceptional protection against threats from powerful EFP explosions.

(protectedvehicles.com)

The blurb went on to say that PVI would be able to produce armor kits for the vehicles of other companies using the new material.

Great news if it works.