Aardvark JSFU Mark 4 is a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

-made Mine flail

Mine flail

A mine flail is a vehicle-mounted device that makes a safe path through a mine-field by deliberately detonating land mines in front of the vehicle that carries it. They were first used by the British during World War II....

 vehicle built by Aardvark Clear Mine Limited of Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

The JSFU flail system was developed in Aberdeenshire by David Macwatt of Elgin, Scotland and George Sellar & Son of Huntly (system designers were James (Barney) Hepburn, Pat McRobbie and Alistair Birnie) with the cooperation of Ford Motor Co, Basildon. George Sellar & Son owned a number of patents concerning the rotor and chain design and electronic depth contouring system and manufactured the flail assembly. The armoured vehicle was manufactured by Glover & Webb of Southampton until their acquisition by GKN

GKN

GKN plc is a multinational automotive and aerospace components company headquartered in Redditch, United Kingdom. The company was formerly known as Guest, Keen and Nettlefolds and can trace its origins back to 1759 and the birth of the Industrial Revolution.GKN is listed on the London Stock...

 who continued to armour vehicles for a period before Penman Engineering were given the contract.

Aardvark Clearmine Ltd was acquired in 2008 by Penman Engineering Ltd of Dumfries, and is now a wholly owned subsidiary of that company. Operations remain located in Insch, Aberdeenshire.

Aardvark clearance machines have been used by the military and humanitarian mine clearance organisations in Europe, Africa and in the Middle and Far East. Aardvarks have also been chosen by the British and American forces for
landmine clearance in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Design

The vehicle consists of an armoured cab with a front-mounted flail system. The system has 72 chains with 66 striker tips.

• Armour: 56mm armoured glass windows, double skin cab floor
• Crew: 2 - 1 operator, 1 crew member
• Powertrain: 160 hp 6 cylinder turbo charged New Holland diesel engine
• Transmission: 4 speed syncromesh; 4 gears, 16 speed
• Flail System: 72 chains, 66 tips

Users

Users of the AARDVARK JSFU system: - (Land Force Command) - deployed in Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

 - (French Army

French Army

The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...

) - (Royal Netherlands Army

Royal Netherlands Army

The Royal Netherlands Army is the land forces element of the military of the Netherlands.-Short history:The Royal Netherlands Army was raised on 9 January 1814, but its origins date back to 1572, when the so-called Staatse Leger was raised...

) - (Irish Army

Irish Army

The Irish Army, officially named simply the Army is the main branch of the Defence Forces of Ireland. Approximately 8,500 men and women serve in the Irish Army, divided into three infantry Brigades...

) - (Royal Saudi Land Force

Saudi Arabian Army

The Saudi Arabian Army , also called Royal Saudi Land Force . Is a branch of the Saudi Armed Forces. The total number of active troops is estimated to be 233,500The current Chief of the Saudi General Staff is Field Marshal Saleh Al-Muhaya....

) - (Singapore Army

Singapore Army

The Singapore Army is the branch of the Singapore Armed Forces responsible for land operations. It is the largest of the three armed services and heavily reliant on a conscript army, comprising the majority of Singapore's Operationally Ready National Servicemen .-Capabilities:The mission of the...

) - (Republic of Korea Army

Republic of Korea Army

The Republic of Korea Army is the largest of the military branches of the South Korean armed forces with 520,000 members as of 2010...

) - (United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

) - (British Army

British Army

The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

) - (Latvian Special Forces)