Force Protection Inc
Encyclopedia
Force Protection, Inc. is a manufacturer of ballistic- and blast-protected vehicles which have been used in Iraq
, Afghanistan
, Kosovo
and other hot spots around the world.
speed boat company founded in 1997. When the boat business hit tough times after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, a new investor stepped in and looked to alter the direction of the business. A California Investor, Frank Kavanaugh financed and secured the rights to a new line of products in support of the company's Mission to Protect and Save Lives. Around that time, the team identified an insolvent company in South Carolina
called Technical Solutions, that was building a prototype of a mine-resistant vehicle called Buffalo
and attempting to build a smaller vehicle called the Cougar MRAP
(Mine Resistant Ambush Protected). Technical Solutions was struggling. Ultimately after various several generations of designs, and the addition Dr. Vernon Joynt an internationally recognized blast expert a new management team led by CEO Gordon McGilton retooled the vehicles and developed the production capability of the business to almost $900 million in sales over 3 years - by integrating high quality US automotive components with an innovative and effective blast resistant chassis. They also took a new name to reflect the focus on Protecting and Saving Lives: www.forceprotection.net.
The heavily armored trucks featured a V-hull
design that deflected underbody blasts away from the passenger compartment, and with Dr. Joynt's expertise the products were enhanced to address side-blast from IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) that had become a primary cause of injury and death for soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. The base designs secured from Mechem (South African government) resulted in two U.S. models: the Buffalo, a huge, mine-clearing truck, and the Cougar, which was smaller and more versatile, and through the company's R & D efforts with Dr. Joynt several innovations and improvements such as the Cheetah, and Spaced Armor.
Since Force Protection got its first small MRAP contracts in 2004 and 2005, it sometimes struggled to deliver vehicles on schedule. It replaced two initial management teams and focused on moving from a prototype production environment to sustainable volume production methods. At first the company had less than a dozen people on its early production line. At times the prototype approach took five weeks to build one Cougar. The United States Department of Defense
fined Force Protection more than $1.5 million for delivery delays in 2005.
The McGilton led management team developed agreements with other defense industry manufacturers such as Armor Holdings and BAE Systems
, as well as a joint venture company with General Dynamics
("Force Dynamics"), to merge Force Protection's proprietary designs with the manufacturing capacity thought necessary to meet increasing demand. Force Protection received several contracts as part of the MRAP
program, supplying blast resistant vehicles to American forces in Iraq, but as 2007 progressed orders were increasingly placed with rivals companies.
In 2005, several managers left to form a rival company at Force Protection's initial location in North Charleston called Protected Vehicles, Inc. which ultimately failed, faced claims over stolen confidential data, and subsequently entered bankruptcy.
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, 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...
, Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
and other hot spots around the world.
Company
The company traces its roots to Sonic Jet Performance, Inc., a CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
speed boat company founded in 1997. When the boat business hit tough times after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, a new investor stepped in and looked to alter the direction of the business. A California Investor, Frank Kavanaugh financed and secured the rights to a new line of products in support of the company's Mission to Protect and Save Lives. Around that time, the team identified an insolvent company in South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
called Technical Solutions, that was building a prototype of a mine-resistant vehicle called Buffalo
Buffalo (mine protected vehicle)
The Buffalo mine protected vehicle is a wheeled armored vehicle built by Force Protection Inc. It was designed based on the successful South African Casspir mine-protected vehicle. While the Casspir is a four wheeled vehicle, the Buffalo has six wheels. Buffalo is also fitted with a large...
and attempting to build a smaller vehicle called the Cougar MRAP
MRAP
MRAP stands for Mouvement contre le racisme et pour l'amitié entre les peuples , and is an anti-racist French NGO, created in 1949...
(Mine Resistant Ambush Protected). Technical Solutions was struggling. Ultimately after various several generations of designs, and the addition Dr. Vernon Joynt an internationally recognized blast expert a new management team led by CEO Gordon McGilton retooled the vehicles and developed the production capability of the business to almost $900 million in sales over 3 years - by integrating high quality US automotive components with an innovative and effective blast resistant chassis. They also took a new name to reflect the focus on Protecting and Saving Lives: www.forceprotection.net.
The heavily armored trucks featured 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 that deflected underbody blasts away from the passenger compartment, and with Dr. Joynt's expertise the products were enhanced to address side-blast from IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) that had become a primary cause of injury and death for soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. The base designs secured from Mechem (South African government) resulted in two U.S. models: the Buffalo, a huge, mine-clearing truck, and the Cougar, which was smaller and more versatile, and through the company's R & D efforts with Dr. Joynt several innovations and improvements such as the Cheetah, and Spaced Armor.
Since Force Protection got its first small MRAP contracts in 2004 and 2005, it sometimes struggled to deliver vehicles on schedule. It replaced two initial management teams and focused on moving from a prototype production environment to sustainable volume production methods. At first the company had less than a dozen people on its early production line. At times the prototype approach took five weeks to build one Cougar. The United States Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
fined Force Protection more than $1.5 million for delivery delays in 2005.
The McGilton led management team developed agreements with other defense industry manufacturers such as Armor Holdings and 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...
, as well as a joint venture company with General Dynamics
General Dynamics
General Dynamics Corporation is a U.S. defense conglomerate formed by mergers and divestitures, and as of 2008 it is the fifth largest defense contractor in the world. Its headquarters are in West Falls Church , unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, in the Falls Church area.The company has...
("Force Dynamics"), to merge Force Protection's proprietary designs with the manufacturing capacity thought necessary to meet increasing demand. Force Protection received several contracts as part of the MRAP
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...
program, supplying blast resistant vehicles to American forces in Iraq, but as 2007 progressed orders were increasingly placed with rivals companies.
In 2005, several managers left to form a rival company at Force Protection's initial location in North Charleston called Protected Vehicles, Inc. which ultimately failed, faced claims over stolen confidential data, and subsequently entered bankruptcy.
Product Line
- CheetahCheetah MMPVThe Cheetah MMPV is built by Force Protection Inc. It is the smallest of Force Protection's line-up, consisting of the...
– The Cheetah is designed for urbanUrban areaAn urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...
operations, reconnaissanceReconnaissanceReconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
, and forward command and control. - CougarCougar (vehicle)The Cougar is an armored fighting vehicle designed to be resistant to anti-vehicle mines and improvised munitions.It is a family of armored vehicles produced by Force Protection Inc, which manufactures ballistic and mine-protected vehicles. The automotives are integrated by Spartan Motors...
– The Cougar is a medium sized mineLand mineA land mine is usually a weight-triggered explosive device which is intended to damage a target—either human or inanimate—by means of a blast and/or fragment impact....
-protected vehicle for command and control, artilleryArtilleryOriginally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
prime mover, recovery and ambulanceAmbulanceAn ambulance is a vehicle for transportation of sick or injured people to, from or between places of treatment for an illness or injury, and in some instances will also provide out of hospital medical care to the patient...
duty.- Cougar H 4X4Four Wheel DriveThe Four Wheel Drive Auto Company, more often known as Four Wheel Drive or just FWD, was founded in 1909 in Clintonville, Wisconsin, as the Badger Four-Wheel Drive Auto Company by Otto Zachow and William Besserdich.-History:...
can carry 4 troops and a EOD robot. - Cougar HE 6X6 can carry up to 12 troops.
- Cougar H 4X4
- BuffaloBuffalo (mine protected vehicle)The Buffalo mine protected vehicle is a wheeled armored vehicle built by Force Protection Inc. It was designed based on the successful South African Casspir mine-protected vehicle. While the Casspir is a four wheeled vehicle, the Buffalo has six wheels. Buffalo is also fitted with a large...
– The Buffalo is designed principally for route clearing activities, asset protection, urban weapons systems, and command and control. - OcelotOcelot (vehicle)The Force Protection Ocelot is an armoured vehicle that is scheduled to replace the United Kingdom's Snatch Land Rover with British forces in Afghanistan and Iraq...
(production expected 2011) – The Ocelot, which is designed and built in the United Kingdom by Force Protection EuropeForce Protection EuropeForce Protection Europe is the British defence company which developed the Ocelot light-weight mine-protected military vehicle....
, is a light protected patrol vehicle (LPPV) scheduled to replace the UK military's Snatch Land RoverSnatch Land RoverThe Snatch Land Rover is a protected patrol vehicle, based around the Land Rover Defender 110 chassis, intended for general patrolling in low-threat areas and is the successor to the Truck Utility Medium with Vehicle Protection Kit...
.