FEARLESS WILDCAT

Team Ocelot – the unique collaboration between Force Protection Europe Ltd and Ricardo Plc – held a ride and drive event at Millbrook on Tuesday April 27 to enable members of the media to experience for themselves the world’s most advanced light protected patrol vehicle being put through its paces.

The new Ocelot LPPV vehicle, developed and manufactured in the UK, was originally unveiled at the Defence Systems & Equipment International Exhibition, London, in September 2009, and has since been undergoing rigorous development testing. Ocelot has been performing well in tests since the middle of last year and has demonstrated unprecedented levels of survivability and manoeuvrability for a vehicle of this size and weight. The UK Ministry of Defence has already completed a number of their own tests on two of the vehicles. They have now placed a contract for the purchase of two more Ocelots so that they can carry out further trials within the MoD’s Light Protected Patrol Vehicle programme.

Offering similar levels of protection to the highly praised Mastiff MRAP vehicle, Ocelot has the flexibility to perform a range of roles including patrol, fire support and protected logistics. Innovative features include role-specific pods which can be fitted quickly to the core automotive armoured V-shaped hull in the field. The armoured hull houses the main fuel tank, drive line, batteries and generator as well as the powerpack, which includes the engine, gearbox, auxiliary fuel tank and associated ECUs (electronic control units). The vehicle has been designed from the outset to be easily repaired and maintained in the austere environment of a forward operating base. Commercial off the shelf (COTS) components have been used to ensure maximum availability of spares worldwide.

Four wheel steering is common to all and the vehicle can be transported in a C-130 or underslung from a Chinook. Ocelot is equally suited to operations in desert, jungle, mountainous or urban environments and meets the needs of military and internal security forces around the world.