Force Protection to Develop Lighter Cougar MRAPs

Force Protection, Inc. today announced receipt of a $7.2 million contract award from the United States Marine Corps for 5 reduced weight Cougar vehicles in response to an urgent request to develop vehicles providing enhanced mobility while maintaining survivability. The Company noted that these vehicles incorporate significant amounts of design and technology developed as part of the Cheetah platform. Mark Edwards, Force Protection, Inc.’s Executive Vice President for Development commented, “Achieving lighter base vehicle weight with higher available horsepower without sacrificing survivability gives our customer the flexibility to use the increased available payload and power to carry additional operation equipment and/or exterior armor solutions like our Force Armor™ for defeating explosively formed penetrators (EFP). The lighter base vehicle weight also increases the mobility and maneuverability of the vehicle, increasing the overall utility of our Cougar as operational requirements change”. Edwards stated, “We continue to develop and refine the Cougar and Cheetah variants and believe the trend toward lighter, higher powered vehicles with better mobility and utility will continue. The Cheetah and the lighter weight Cougar are uniquely positioned for the future in the market of medium mine protected vehicles to exploit this trend long term”. Damon Walsh, Executive Vice President for Customer Operations, noted, “The MRAP program grew out of an urgent requirement aimed at saving the lives of our deployed forces. Force Protection has achieved unmatched success at this as demonstrated by our well documented survival record in theater—we believe these are the safest vehicles on the battlefield today. The evolution of the Cougar vehicle is consistent with our drive to transform the company going forward. As the program’s requirements have evolved we have been right there all along the way. We are very proud to be part of this program and now we look forward to continuing to provide the best available survivability solutions by coupling renowned Cougar survivability with enhanced maneuverability and enabling America’s warriors the best opportunity to safely accomplish their mission and return to their loved ones now and into the future”. Force Protection, Inc. is a leading American designer, developer and manufacturer of life saving survivability equipment, predominantly ballistic- and blast-protected wheeled vehicles currently deployed by the U.S. military and its allies to support armed forces and security personnel in conflict zones. The Company’s specialty vehicles, the Cougar and the Buffalo, and the Cheetah, are designed specifically for reconnaissance, forward command and control, and urban operations and to protect their occupants from landmines, hostile fire, and improvised explosive devices (IEDs, commonly referred to as roadside bombs). The Company is one of the original developers and primary providers of vehicles for the U.S. military’s Mine Resistant Ambush Protected, or MRAP, vehicle program.