Caiman Multi Theater Vehicle video, 2010

BAE Systems has a recent video featuring an updated version of its Caiman MRAP. The video features the new Caiman MTV "Multi-Theater Vehicle."



If the Pentagon is still buying the MaxxPro Dash then there's still a market for this type of thing.

The vehicle in the background has something closer to the characteristically sloped hood of the original Caiman design. I wonder what it is, exactly?

Another BAE "Panther"?

BAE Systems and PM Assured Mobility Systems will roll out the Panther family of vehicles at Building 52 near Letterkenny Army Depot north of Chambersburg.

BAE is producing the Panther for the U.S. Army. The six-wheel-drive vehicle has a V-shaped hull designed to protect occupants from unconventional explosives. The vehicle will be used by forward engineers, explosive ordnance disposal units and military intelligence units.

(tradingmarkets.com)

The Brits have an Italian armored vehicle that appears in the guise of a BAE product on the company Web site.

It seems doubtful that the U.S. Army is getting the same thing as the Brits.

A new name for the BAE M-ATV, that nearly doubles as the BAE/Navistar Valanx, perhaps?

Let's see some pics!

BusinessWire publishes photos of BAE M-ATVs

Click the link above the photo below to access the image of the Caiman-based model. The image I clipped was supposedly based on the RG model, but it seems to borrow some of its looks from the Valanx. The Valanx, of course, was the JLTV model produced jointly by BAE Systems and Navistar. The window design is the most striking similarity. Lose a window in service and there is only one replacement part. All the windows share the same shape.

clipped from www.businesswire.com

Update:
The link through the Clipmarks border doesn't seem to work, so try this one to access both BusinessWire photos.

BAE's M-ATVs

BAE Systems weighed in on the M-ATV competition with two different entries--not just two prototypes essentially representing the same vehicle.

UPI.com reports that one company division has offered a RG-33 variant for M-ATV while another presented a lighter version of the Caiman, as expected.

Caiman lite (CLT) to compete with Navistar Dash

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BAE Systems has unveiled its new Caiman Light vehicle at the 2008 Association of the United States Army Annual Meeting & Exposition in Washington, D.C. The “Caiman Light” or CLT is a five-man, 4X 4 version of the 6X6 Caiman Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle.

Caiman Light is a member of the Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV). The Caiman Light offers protection comparable to the 18 ton Caiman at two-thirds the weight. Caiman Light comes standard with electronic stability controls and can be built with rear steering, which gives it a less-than 20-foot turning radius.

(Business Wire)

No luck finding pics so far.

The electronic stability controls, one might suppose, help address past problems with rollover for BAE MRAPs.

The AP with some MRAP rollover numbers

There have been at least 66 MRAP-related accidents from November to June, according to Defense Department statistics. Nearly 40 of those involved a rollover caused by bad roads, weak bridges or driver error.

"We're certainly concerned," said Brig. Gen. Michael Brogan, the Marine Corps officer who manages the MRAP program.

(Mercury News)

Afghanistan is more likely than Iraq to have bad roads and rough terrain, from what I've read. Or perhaps I should say Afghanistan has more bad roads and opportunities for rollover accidents. It is possible that heavier use of BAE models in Afghanistan resulted in the warning focus on BAE vehicles.

BAE MRAPs focus of rollover warnings

BAE Systems, though one of the big winners of MRAP manufacturing contracts, has found its vehicles the focus of rollover warnings.

BAE manufactures elsewhere the Caiman model and has a part in the manufacturing of the RG-31, which has a lead producer of General Dynamics.

Both of those models have been involved in major rollover incidents, helping to prompt the warning.

Golden said the company is in conversations with the military about what can be done to minimize the risk of MRAP rollover, but could not comment further.

(York Daily Record)

The above story is all over the news, and many of the accounts refer to MRAPs as being "hastily designed" or words to that effect. It isn't rocket science that a high center of gravity tends to increase the chances of rollover. Evidently the BAE designs proved more susceptible than expected, which is likely to have played a part in General Dynamics winning the lion's share of orders when the latest contracts were announced last Friday.

Perhaps another lesson to apply to the JLTV competition?

MRAP orders: BAE Systems is the big winner

The initial news about last Friday's latest MRAP orders concentrated on the relative snub of Force Protection Inc. Certain other publications have emphasized the 700+ vehicles ordered from International Navistar.

And Force Protection and Navistar should be very worried and pleased, respectively, but the stories thus far have underemphasized the growing dominance of BAE Systems.

BAE, together with subsidiary Armor Holdings, finished a close second with the last round of orders but moved past Navistar with a heavily armored whoosh.

Vehicle orders:




The Armor Holding order apparently consists of 1,024 Caiman MRAPs.
The BAE order is made of of RG-33's including the ambulance variant.
The Navistar order will be filled with MaxxPro MRAPs.
The Force Protection order includes 11 of the Cat. III Buffalo with the rest made of of 12 Cat. I Cougars and six Cat. II Cougars.

The Pentagon cash prize of $1,136,458,248 goes to ...



BAE Systems has positioned itself extremely well in the JLTV competition through its partnerships with Lockheed Martin and Navistar. Lockheed formed its JLTV partnership with Armor Holdings, since last year a BAE subsidiary and BAE inherited the relationship.

Navistar has performed well in the MRAP competition in its own right.



Corrected description of Lockheed Martin/Armor Holdings JLTV partnership
Corrected reference to "Force Protection Industries"

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Video "MRAP Saves Lives"

MRAPs haven't been in the news so much lately, so as a result I haven't posted much on military hardware.

I did run across an uncredited news report posted at YouTube. Unfortunately, it repeats the misinformation about the MRAP fatality some weeks ago, taking military officials at their mistaken word that it was the first fatality for an MRAP crew member.


On the plus side, the report obtains some comments from MRAP crew members and has a good number of shots of various MRAPs in action in Iraq. The Force Protection and BAE Systems models feature most prominently.

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Surprise contender for MRAP II: The Caiman

OK, so maybe I'm the only one surprised. The Caiman had not warranted mention in any of the stories I had seen about the MRAP II competition, though it was clear enough that parent company BAE Systems (parent of Armor Holdings, Inc., maker of the Caiman) was competing.

As one of only two contractors chosen, BAE Systems will produce Category I MRAP II test vehicles based on the company’s Caiman 6x6 design and Category II MRAP II test vehicles based on the company’s RG33 6x6 vehicle. Six Category I MRAP II vehicles, along with improved armor solutions, will be provided to the customer in March 2008 for testing under the contract’s initial delivery order.

“The RG33 and Caiman vehicles have the right balance of payload capability, automotive performance, and blast protection, and have proven extremely capable of handling the significantly increased requirements of MRAP-II,” said Matt Riddle, vice president of Wheeled Vehicle Programs. “Our designs offer mobility upgrades that significantly increase payload capacity and enable the integration of superior survivability enhancements across the threat spectrum.”

(Businesswire.com)

Based on the media reports of the early MRAP II competition, I had mused that the 1,000 or so Caimans (almost all of the Cat. I variety) ordered as part of MRAP I represented the total number the military would possess. Apparently the vehicles have performed well under test conditions.

I certainly would not have predicted that the Caiman would square off with the (Ceradyne) Bull to secure a win in the MRAP II competition. The RG-33 ... maybe.

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New MRAP contracts; Caiman included? (Updated)

Navistar International, BAE Systems and Force Protection were again the MRAP producers who squeezed out the other competitors for new MRAP contracts.

Whether as part of the Marine Corps demand for a lighter vehicle as I guessed some days ago or for some other reason, a chunk of the orders received by BAE Systems were through its subsidiary Stewart & Stevenson (Armor Holdings), the maker of the Caiman.

Stewart & Stevenson Tactical Vehicle, Division of Armor Holdings, Sealy, Texas, is being awarded $458,128,283 for a firm-fixed-priced delivery order #0003 under previously awarded contract (M67854-07-D-5030) to purchase 668 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Category II (CAT II) vehicles with CAT I seating configuration, sustainment parts and engineering change proposals.
(defenselink.mil)

The earlier Caiman order only included a very few Cat II versions of the Caiman but plenty of the Cat I. My expectation that the Marines might still be interested in the Caiman was based on the small size of the Cat I version, while this order consists of Cat IIs "with Cat I seating configuration."

Dividing up $2,644,490,914

Some predicted that Force Protection might eventually get squeezed out of the market when larger defense contractors started competing in the MRAP competition. This collection of contracts seems to confirm that prediction, though it's also true that the U.S. has been negotiating with the Brits to enable quick production of vehicles our allies would like to order. That order isn't particularly large, however. If Force Protection isn't making up the orders somewhere else (more Badgers?) then this contract announcement isn't good for them.

Update:

While I'm playing with graphs, I might was well include one showing the respective number of vehicles. All the MaxxPros are Cat I. Cat IIs tend to cost more.

I don't guarantee that I've correctly identified the vehicle names, by the way.

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Another pic of the Caiman MRAP, Cat II version

clipped from www.janes.com

If I have interpreted the reports accurately, the Marines won't have many of these at all. Most of the vehicles ordered through Armor Holdings (now a subsidiary of BAE Systems) were the Cat I design pictured here.

• 1,154 BAE Armor Holdings Caimans, CAT I
• 16 ABAE rmor Holdings Caimans, larger CAT II size

(DefenseIndustryDaily)

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Caiman MRAP orders likely finished

The Marine Corps announced a contract award to Armor Holdings (now a subsidiary of BAE). By all appearances, the contract represents an extension of the contract for Caiman MRAP vehicles accounting for training and support services.

Stewart & Stevenson Tactical Vehicle, Division, Armor Holdings, Sealy, Texas, is being awarded a $50,218,798 firm-fixed-priced delivery order #0002 under previously awarded contract (M67854-07-D-5030) for the purchase of Prescribed Load List (PLL) sustainment parts, Authorized Stockage List (ASL) sustainment parts, MRAP University Training, new equipment training and logistics demonstration support. Work will be performed in Sealy, Texas, and work is expected to be completed October 2008. Contract funds will not expire by the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured. The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.
(Defenselink.mil)

The Caiman reportedly has better off-road capabilities than the other MRAP designs purchased by U.S. armed services, which may help explain the Marines' interest.

BAE had other MRAP designs prior to its purchase of Armor Holdings and reports offer no indication that BAE will continue to push the design. Most likely the slightly more than 1,000 Caiman vehicles will be the only ones to serve with the U.S. military.

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Winnowing the field of MRAP producers

The U.S. military has reached the point where it can begin to move closer to its customary methods of equipment acquisition. The need to get as many MRAPs as possible to the theater of war in Iraq and Afghanistan resulted in an unusually high number of companies producing vehicles for the armed services. The MRAP II evaluations (apparently) helped the military narrow the field to three manufacturers.

While the Pentagon has yet to officially announce its decision, only three vendors will receive follow-on orders expected by early December 2007. According to Pentagon officials, the three vendors that already received the current orders will continue to get future business as they could sustain 1,200 vehicles per month. These vendors include International Military & Government (IMG) company and Force protection International (FPI) will both become exclusive providers for Category I (4x4) vehicles, while FPI and BAE Systems will continue to deliver the heavier Category II (mostly 6x6) vehicles. BAE Systems' Category II (RG-33) vehicles were recently selected through a mini MRAP competition as the preferred design for 400 ambulance variants which the department is now purchasing. Sofar the Pentagon accelerated orders of Category I vehicles but since these vehicles will be more difficult to receive armor upgrades, the current preference is leaning toward heavier Category II platforms.
(Defense Update)

The story's chock full of information, so stopping by Defense Update to read the whole of it is recommended.

The news is bad, of course, for Ceradyne and PVI.

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Breakdown of new MRAP order

As reported here, the armed services have ordered another 2,400 MRAPs, with Navistar International filling plurality of the order with 1,000 MaxxPro vehicles.

Navistar International Corp. on Thursday received a $509-million order for an additional 1,000 armored trucks for U.S. soldiers Iraq and Afghanistan. The latest order from the Marine Corps raised Navistar’s total orders for the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) trucks to 2,971 since May.
(Chicago Business)

Force Protection received an order for 800 vehicles. I almost reported the wrong number because of this story:

Force Protection Industries (FRPT) has been awarded a $376M contract for 553 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles according to the Department of Defense website
(tradingmarkets.com)

A closer read of the contract announcement revealed that Force Protection received orders for 800 vehicles of which 553 were Cat. I and the remainder were Cat II.

BAE Systems collected the 600 remaining vehicle orders, including 112 Cat. II "ambulance variant" models and 89 "special operations command variants."

Though I earlier reported these orders as an outcome of MRAP II evaluation, that very well may not be the case. The timing, at least, was coincidental.


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Early winners in MRAP II (Updated/corrected)

Pentagon officials have awarded three companies with contracts to build Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles, a Defense Department official said on Thursday.

The firms are Navistar International, BAE Systems and Force Protection, chosen from a field of at least five vendors, industry sources said.

(Marine Times)

For those keeping track at home, these prompt orders reflect success fom the MaxxPro, RG-30-something and probably the Cougar from Force Protection.

It is worth noting that the lighter MRAP from Armor Holdings, the Caiman, did not compete for MRAP II, no doubt because of its purchase this past summer by BAE systems.

The early results suggest that Mr. Zippy's analysis (the Zipster may be connected directly to Force Protection, the maker of the Cougar) was essentially accurate.

Update:
The DOD Web site makes clear that the new round of orders represents an expansion on existing contracts. That places doubt on my conclusion that these recent orders are associated with the MRAP II program. It seems significant that Navistar will fill 1,000 of the 2,400 vehicle order.


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