By Ann Roosevelt
FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla.–BAE Systems is offering the military increased survivability and capability by leveraging existing vehicles such as the Caiman, already in service with U.S. forces, and the RG Outrider, in service with allies.
“The concept of the Caiman (Multi-Theater Vehicle) MTV is all about making the best use of what the Army has bought already,” Chris Chambers, vice president and general manager of BAE’s Global Tactical Systems programs at Sealy, Texas, told Defense Daily. “The armored shell is the same as the Caiman. The idea is you can bring in an old Caiman, wheel out the chassis and power train of that old Caiman, wheel in the power train and chassis of this ‘beast,’ upgrade the armor and now you have a 450-horsepower, independent suspension, extremely capable vehicle.”
The Caiman was developed in 2006 to provide U.S. warfighters in Iraq a vehicle that would protect them against rocket-propelled grenades, roadside bombs and explosively formed projectiles. More than 2,800 Caiman vehicles were produced with production contracts completing in November of 2008 (Defense Daily, Nov. 26, 2008).
BAE had a Caiman MTV at their display, with videos and other information here at the Association of the United States Army Winter Symposium here last week.
“The price of that would be $250,000 and you can have three of those for every MRAP you’re buying today,” Chambers said. A new Caiman would cost some $500,000.
The agile Caiman MTV can carry 11 personnel, is larger than M-ATV, produced by Oshkosh Corp. [OSK,] but just as mobile and maneuverable, “in other words, turning circle, speed on grades much better than M-ATV,” he said. The vehicle has a low center of gravity, stability control and anti-roll.
BAE also has aimed Caiman MTV at some of the more specialized variants of MRAPs: ambulances and command and control on the move.
“There, the most critical thing is the volume under armor that you can use in the back,” Chambers said. “Caiman’s unique feature is that it has the highest [useable] volume under armor of any MRAP.”
The base of Caiman is wide enough to be able to take two litters. Thus, four litters can be put in a Caiman–‘nothing else out there that can carry four litters,” he said.
BAE has upgraded the air-conditioning as well–command and control elements throw off a lot of heat.
Caiman work would be done at the Sealy, Texas BAE facility, as the Family of Medium Tactical Vehicle (FMTV) work winds down after a protested FMTV rebuy contract the Army awarded to Oshkosh.
Sealy would also be the site for work on the 4×4 RG Outrider, the latest variant in the RG family that includes the RG-33 MRAP the U.S. military has acquired.
“What we’ve done with this vehicle, we’ve manufactured it in South Africa, we’ve sold it to Ireland and transferred the vehicle to BAE in Sealy, Texas to introduce it to the U.S. market,” Natasha Pheiffer, manager, Communications and Corporate Responsibility Land Systems South Africa, told Defense Daily at the symposium.
“We designed and developed this in South Africa. It is wider, thus having more internal space and a little bit longer than the original, and has V-shaped hull. It weighs in at 9.5 tons and also has a cab at the back that can be configured for different missions.”
BAE developed RG Outrider specifically for an Irish requirement, and is delivering the vehicles now, she said. The vehicle on display here is one of the prototypes for the Irish procurement, but the configuration would be up to the customer.
Dennis Morris, president of BAE’s Global Tactical Systems, said in a statement: “Based on the successful RG series in service with several forces in Afghanistan including the U.S., Sweden and recently Spain, the RG Outrider is a versatile, light armored vehicle designed for first response situations and extreme off-road driving to meet special operations needs.
Pheiffer said, “We brought the vehicle over about a month ago and it was at (Nevada Automotive Test Center) NATC two weeks ago and we had quite a few customers there.”
RG Outrider also is in service with Sweden, where it is with the Nordic Battle Group.
The vehicle retains the mobility, agility and ground clearance of its predecessor, the RG32M. As well, the vehicle has steel welded armor and added side-blast protection. It uses commercial-off-the-shelf technology and an existing international parts distribution network to minimize crew training and logistics.