The Caiman is an armored vehicle with a V-hull

V-hull

The V-hull is a type of vehicle armor design used on wheeled armored personnel carriers , infantry mobility vehicles and infantry fighting vehicles...

 design based on the Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) and Low Signature Armored Cab (LSAC), initially developed by Stewart & Stevenson

Stewart & Stevenson

Stewart & Stevenson, a privately held company based in Houston, Texas, designs, manufactures and provides specialized equipment and aftermarket parts and service for the oil and gas and other industries...

. Stewart & Stevenson was later acquired by Armor Holdings in 2005 who developed the Caiman from the FMTV and LSAC designs. Armor Holdings also owned O'Gara-Hess & Eisenhardt (who had exclusive rights to the up-armor kits the U.S. Military selected for their Humvees) and Integrated Textile Systems (who had a ultra high molecular weight polyethylene

Ultra high molecular weight polyethylene

Ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene , also known as high-modulus polyethylene or high-performance polyethylene , is a subset of the thermoplastic polyethylene. It has extremely long chains, with molecular weight numbering in the millions, usually between 2 and 6 million...

 fiber called Tensylon that is processed into composite armor) at the time. BAE Systems

BAE Systems

BAE Systems plc is a British multinational defence, security and aerospace company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that has global interests, particularly in North America through its subsidiary BAE Systems Inc. BAE is among the world's largest military contractors; in 2009 it was the...

 acquired Armor Holdings in 2007, and now develops and manufactures the Caiman as well as the Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles it is based on.

The Caiman recently, as of July 2007, completed testing by the US Military at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds. On 13 July 2007, Armor Holdings received a prime contract award by the US Navy on the behalf of the US Marine Corps for $518.5m under the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected

MRAP (armored vehicle)

A Mine Resistant Ambush Protected is a family of armored fighting vehicles design led by the United States Marine Corps in use by the United States Army, Navy, Air Force, and Special Operations Forces with the goal of surviving IED attacks and ambushes - prompted by US deaths in Iraq...

 vehicle program. The contract specifies delivery of 1,154 Category I MRAP vehicles and 16 Category II MRAP vehicles by the end of February 2008.

It is likely that the Cat I will be based on the LMTV, while the Cat II will be based on the MTV. The Cat I Caiman weighs 14 tons and the Cat II version weighs 24 tons which, according to the Vice President of Armor Holdings, is lighter in weight than its competitors. The work will be performed at BAE Systems M&PS facilities located in Fairfield, Ohio

Fairfield, Ohio

Fairfield is a city in Butler County in the U.S. state of Ohio, near Cincinnati. Fairfield was incorporated in 1955. The population was 42,510 at the 2010 census. The city school district is one of the largest in Ohio, with Fairfield High School graduating 842 students in June 2009. Fairfield is...

 and Sealy, Texas

Sealy, Texas

Sealy is a city in Austin County, Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. The population was 5,248 at the 2000 census. Sealy is located 50 miles west of the downtown Houston area.-Geography:...

.

A reinforced Caiman design submitted by BAE was one of the two eventual winners of the MRAP II competition at the Aberdeen Proving Ground

Aberdeen Proving Ground

Aberdeen Proving Ground is a United States Army facility located near Aberdeen, Maryland, . Part of the facility is a census-designated place , which had a population of 3,116 at the 2000 census.- History :...

.

Caiman features:

• 10-man crew capacity
• Tensylon Composite Armor
• Armoring enhancement capable
• Accepts all types of manned and remote weapons stations
• 85 percent parts commonality with standard FMTV models (40,000 of which are already fielded)
• Full-time all wheel drive
• Fully automatic transmission
• Electronic Central Tire Inflation System (CTIS)
• Anti-lock Braking System (ABS)
• Class V Interactive Electronic Technical Manuals (IETM
  IETM
  An IETM or Interactive Electronic Technical Manual is a portal to manage technical documentation. IETMs compress volumes of text into just CD-ROMs or online pages which may include sound and video, and allow readers to locate needed information far more rapidly than in paper manuals...
  
  )

See a picture of the Caiman here.

In September 2010 BAE Systems has been awarded a $629 million contract from the U.S. Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) Joint Program Office (JPO) to upgrade 1,700 Caiman MRAP vehicles to Caiman Multi-Terrain Vehicle - Caiman MTV standard. The upgraded vehicle integrates a refurbished and improved armored capsule from an existing vehicle with a new high-power automotive power train, chassis and independent suspension made by ArvinMeritor. Greater survivability is achieved through an enhanced monolithic floor, a strengthened chassis frame and better blast absorbing seats.