Force Protection, Inc.

Last updated
Force Protection, Inc.
Company type Division
Industry arms industry
automotive industry   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Founded1996;29 years ago (1996), in San Diego, California
FounderFrank Kavanaugh
Defunct19 December 2011  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Successor General Dynamics Land Systems   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
HeadquartersLadson, South Carolina
Key people
Frank Kavanaugh (chairman)
Productsmine- and blast- protected vehicles
Number of employees
over 1000 [1]
Subsidiaries Force Protection Europe
Website www.gdls.com

Force Protection, Inc. was a manufacturer of ballistic- and blast-protected vehicles from the United States which have been used in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo and other hot spots around the world. The company was acquired by General Dynamics in 2011.

Contents

Company

The company traces its roots to Sonic Jet Performance, Inc., a California speed boat company founded in 1997. When the boat business hit tough times after the September 11 attacks, a new investor, Frank Kavanaugh, stepped in and looked to alter the direction of the business. Kavanaugh financed and secured the rights to a new line of products in support of the company's Mission to Protect and Save Lives. Around that time, the team identified an insolvent company in South Carolina called Technical Solutions, building a prototype of a mine-resistant vehicle the 'Buffalo' and attempting to build a smaller vehicle the Cougar/Tempest MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected). Technical Solutions was struggling and required a new strategy and additional resources. The products were designed using commercial components, and utilized a strategy to allow them to be rapidly rebuilt in the field.

Kavanaugh, the company chairman and largest investor, rebranded the company as 'Force Protection', and added rapid design capability, a focus on product quality, large scale production, and technical talent including the addition of Dr. Vernon Joynt, an internationally recognized blast expert. [2] Over a 3-year period, the new management team retooled the vehicles and developed the production capability of the business to almost $1.3 billion in annual sales - by integrating high-quality US automotive components with an innovative and effective blast resistant chassis.

The heavily armored trucks featured a V-hull design that deflected underbody blasts away from the passenger compartment, and with Joynt's expertise the products were enhanced to address side-blast from IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) that had become a primary cause of injury and death for soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. The base designs secured from Mechem (South African government) resulted in two U.S. models: the Buffalo, a huge, mine-clearing truck, and the Cougar, which was smaller and more versatile, and through the company's research and development efforts with Joynt several innovations and improvements such as the Cheetah, and spaced armor.

Force Protection initially struggled with its first small MRAP contracts in 2002 through 2005. At first the company had less than a dozen people on its early production line. At times the prototype approach took five weeks to build one Cougar. The United States Department of Defense fined Force Protection more than $1.5 million for initial delivery delays. Kavanaugh focused on moving from a prototype production environment to sustainable volume production methods. [1]

The team overcame these issues, developed agreements with other defense industry manufacturers such as Armor Holdings and BAE Systems, as well as a joint venture company with General Dynamics ("Force Dynamics"), to merge Force Protection's proprietary designs with the manufacturing capacity necessary to meet increasing demand. Force Protection received several contracts as part of the MRAP program, supplying blast resistant vehicles to American forces in Iraq, but with Kavanaugh's departure in 2007 the remaining team lost focus and chose not to introduce an innovative JLTV category vehicle known as Cheetah. This led ultimately to the sale of the company to General Dynamics as orders were increasingly placed with rival companies. [3]

Product Line

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Casspir</span> Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle

The Casspir is a Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle that has been in use in South Africa since the 1980s. It is a four-wheeled, four-wheel drive vehicle, used for transport of troops. It can hold a crew of two, plus 12 additional soldiers and associated equipment. The Casspir was unique in design when launched, providing for passive mine defence. The main armoured steel body of the vehicle is raised high above the ground, so when a mine is detonated, the explosion is less likely to damage the crew compartment and kill the occupants. The cross-section of the hull is V-shaped, directing the force of the explosion outwards, further protecting the occupants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buffalo (mine protected vehicle)</span> Light tactical military vehicle

The Buffalo is a Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle built by Force Protection, Inc., a division of General Dynamics. It is the largest vehicle in Force Protection's line-up, followed by the Cougar HE MRAP and the Ocelot light protected patrol vehicle (LPPV).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cougar (MRAP)</span> Mine-resistant infantry mobility vehicle, 2002

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheetah MMPV</span> Infantry mobility vehicle

The Cheetah MMPV was a prototype built by the Force Protection, Inc., division of General Dynamics. It was intended as part of Force Protection's armoured military vehicle line-up, which includes the MRAP-class of Buffalo and Cougar vehicles and the Ocelot light protected patrol vehicle (LPPV).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Infantry mobility vehicle</span> Wheeled armored personnel carrier

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">V-hull</span> Vehicle armor design

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ocelot (vehicle)</span> British armoured vehicle

The Force Protection Ocelot is a British infantry mobility vehicle that replaced the United Kingdom's Snatch Land Rover with British forces. It received the service name Foxhound, in line with the canine names given to other wheeled armored vehicles in current British use such as Mastiff, Wolfhound, and Ridgeback, which are all variants of the Cougar.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iraqi Light Armored Vehicle</span> Weapon

Iraqi Light Armored Vehicle or International Light Armored Vehicle is an armored fighting vehicle based on the Cougar and manufactured by Force Protection Industries, BAE Systems and General Dynamics.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Route clearance (IEDs)</span>

Route clearance is a routine part of counter-IED efforts performed by military forces around the world. The purpose of route clearance is to secure an important route and render it for safe transport. This mission relies on the use of Sapper and EOD forces to accomplish this task. Although mines have been used in warfare for years, the rise of IEDs in current conflicts has led to the development of the current route clearance doctrine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oshkosh Alpha</span> Light tactical military vehicle

The Oshkosh Alpha is a Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle created by Oshkosh Corporation together with Protected Vehicles Incorporated (PVI). It is considered as a Category I MRAP vehicle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States MRAP program</span> Program to produce Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle

United States MRAP program was created to produce Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle for the country. In 2004, the TSG/FPI Cougar was designed by a British-led U.S. team, to U.S. Marine Corps requirements. It became the springboard from which the MRAP program was launched. Only two "armor quality" steel mills operate in the U.S.: the Russian-owned Oregon Steel Mills and the International Steel Group. The U.S. Department of Defense negotiated to ensure enough steel was available to keep pace with production. The U.S. military's MRAP program was prompted by U.S. casualties from improvised explosive devices (IED)s during the Iraq War. The United States Department of Defense MRAP program began in 2007 as a response to the increased threat of IEDs during the Iraq War. From 2007 until 2012, the MRAP program deployed more than 12,000 vehicles in the Iraq War and War in Afghanistan.

References

  1. 1 2 Eisler, Peter (2007-10-02). "The truck the Pentagon wants and the firm that makes it". USA Today. Archived from the original on 2007-10-18.
  2. Raz, Guy (May 18, 2007). "New Mine-Resistant Vehicles Aimed at Foiling IEDs". All Things Considered. NPR. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  3. More MRAPs: Navistar’s MaxxPro Maintains the Pole Position - Defense Industry Daily
  4. "Force Protection Europe". Force Protection. Archived from the original on 2010-07-01.