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Background
— Cougar and Buffalo Mine- / Blast-Resistant Vehicles |
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“... You’re supposed to be the hard case!” – Two New Blast-Resistant Vehicles for the
CF
Force Protection Industries of South Carolina announced the
sale of 10 of its vehicles to the Canadian Forces on 04 May 2007. The order – placed on behalf of Canada by
the US Navy [1] – is for five each of the mine-/blast protected Cougar and Buffalo engineering
vehicles. A third vehicle type on order is six South African Husky mine detectors. Cougars are 6x6s. Early reports of a reduced
window area suggested a British Mastiff variant[2] but this was not the case. The three CF types –
Cougar, Buffalo and Husky – will form a new Canadian Forces Expedient Route-Opening Capability (EROC).
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Force Protection Cougar
Route-Prover — Specifications
| Powerplant: |
7.2 liter, 243 kW, 6-cyl. Caterpillar C7 diesel |
| Transmission: |
Allison HD-4560 P five-speed automatic |
| Size: |
length x 7.08 m, width x 2.74 m, height x 2.64 m |
| Weight: |
13.61 t, max (curb) 13,635 kg, GVW 15,900
kg |
| Payload: |
maximum payload up to 1,820 kg (4,000
lbs) |
| Crew: |
2 (driver, vehicle commander ) + 8
troops |
| Range: |
Operational range 965 km (600 miles) |
| Performance: |
road speed: 105 km/h (65 mph), ford: 1m (39") |
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The Buffalo is a specialized mine clearer /anti-IED vehicle using its distinctive robot arm to
probe an object identified by the Husky – disposal is done by an EOD team from a
Cougar.
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Force Protection Buffalo
Mine Resistant Vehicle — Specs
Powerplant:
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12 L, 330 kW, 6-cyl. Mack ASET
(Application
Specific Engine Technology) AI-400 diesel |
| Trans.: |
Allison HD-4560 P five-speed automatic |
| Dimensions: |
length x 8.2 m, width x 2.46 m, height
x 2.97 m |
| Weight: |
20.56 t, max (curb) 20,600 kg, GVW 38,180 kg |
| Payload: |
maximum payload up to 1,7580 kg (38,680
lbs) |
| Crew: |
2 (driver, vehicle commander ) + 12 EOD squad |
| Range: |
615 km (382 miles) with 320 L (85 gal) fuel tank |
| Performance: |
road speed: 105 km/h (65 mph), ford: 1m (40") |
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[1] The US $8.867M contract ( $9.77M Canadian) was placed by the US Navy on behalf of the Canadian Expeditionary
Force Command (or CEFCOM). The Navy is involved because the US Marines’ Systems Command will administer this
contract under a Foreign Military Sales agreement covering supply (through May 2008), spares, field service, and
training. As 07 May 2007, no FMS notice had been published.
[2] British Army Mastiff PPV (Protected Patrol Vehicles) are similar to the US service as the JERRV
(Joint EOD Rapid Response Vehicle) as bought by Canada. However, Mastiffs had extra armour protection (initially
spaced armour plates, but deployed Mastiffs have slat armour.
[3] The larger Buffalo has only the rear door but its crew remains inside the vehicle during most operations.
The Cougar’s side doors are desirable (especially if the crew have to bail out) but the openings
for doors make it more difficult to form a completely rigid hull structure. The hulls of both
Cougar and Buffalo are mine-resistant, their armour (and ballistic glass) protected against IEDs and
7.62x51 mm rifle fire.
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Like the CF 
Protection types using drivetrains adapted from US commercial trucks. Cougars have crew side doors
(right) plus a conventional rear door [3] which allows egress from the compartment by the 8-person
EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal ) team.
Both Force Protection types are components of the US Army Interim Vehicle-Mounted Mine Detector
system (along with a relative of the Husky). This US system has now been modified to allow the detector
vehicle to be remotely- controlled from the Buffalo. When a suspicious object is found, that extensible,
30' (9.15m) arm is used to investigate from within
the relative safety of the hull. US Army Buffalo have been mine/IED clearing in Afghanistan since first
deploying there in July 2003. This is a big improvement for the CF engineering reconnaissance.