US Army M-ATVs To Be Equipped With Q-Net RPG Defeat System

QinetiQ has won a contract to supply Q-Net rocket propelled grenade (RPG) defeat system for installation onboard the US Army's mine-resistant ambush-protected (MRAP) all-terrain vehicles (M-ATVs).

Under the $18.3m contract, the company will update RPG protection on the army's newly purchased M-ATVs with an upgraded version of the original protection kit it had manufactured and delivered from 2009 to 2011 for more than 7,500 vehicles.

QinetiQ North America Technology Solutions executive vice-president and general manager Andy Rogers said the Q-Net offers lightweight, easy-to-install, superior protection against RPG attacks.

''The US military continues to show its confidence in both the M-ATV and Q-Net, and we are proud to provide our warfighters this important, life-saving RPG protection system,'' Rogers said.

Easily adaptable to a range of platforms, the Q-Net is an ultra-light weight and affordable add-on armour kit, designed to safeguard military armoured vehicles against RPG attacks in the battlefield.

Capable of resisting multiple hits, the system is similar to other add-on systems, like slat armour cages, but is cheaper and is 50-60% lighter, enabling integration on light vehicles that cannot support slat, including high mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicles (HMMWV).

The vehicles protected by Q-Net, including Humvees, RG-31s, M-ATVs, can operate as designed without the burden of excessive weight that results in higher roll-over risk, wear and tear on operating systems and excessive fuel consumption.

The Q-Net system has extensively been deployed by the US military in Iraq and Afghanistan over the last few years. Manufactured by Oshkosh, the M-ATV has the survivability and off-road mobility required for these harsh environments.