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OVIK [1] [2] was a British company that designed and manufactured specialist and armoured vehicles and chassis systems. It was established in 2008, and based in Dorset. OVIK designs and develops specialist vehicles (and other equipment) for defence, security, emergency services and commercial customers.
OVIK was formed by brothers Jez and Duncan Hermer in 2008. OVIK was both a specialist vehicle manufacturer and an engineering consultancy offering support for the design, prototype and test of land-based and amphibious special vehicles. OVIK was involved in the transformation of the Singapore Technologies Kinetics Bronco All Terrain Tracked Carrier vehicle into the UK MOD's WARTHOG vehicle, a vehicle developed as an Urgent Operational Requirement (UOR) for Operation Herrick in Afghanistan.
The company went in liquidation in April 2020. [3]
OVIK was based in Dorset, and close to the British Army's Armour Centre at Bovington. The name OVIK was derived from the name of the Swedish town Örnsköldsvik often shortened to OVIK, a town Jez Hermer is associated with through his work with Hägglund & Söner, a company headquartered in the town.
An armoured fighting vehicle or armored fighting vehicle (AFV) is an armed combat vehicle protected by armour, generally combining operational mobility with offensive and defensive capabilities. AFVs can be wheeled or tracked. Examples of AFVs are tanks, armoured cars, assault guns, self-propelled artilleries, infantry fighting vehicles (IFV), and armoured personnel carriers (APC).
A tank destroyer, tank hunter or tank killer is a type of armoured fighting vehicle, predominantly intended for anti-tank duties. They are typically armed with a direct fire artillery gun, also known as a self-propelled anti-tank gun, or missile launcher, also called an anti-tank missile carrier. The vehicles are designed specifically to engage and destroy enemy tanks, often with limited operational capacities.
The Rooikat is a South African armoured reconnaissance vehicle equipped with a stabilised 76 mm (3.0 in) high velocity gun for organic anti-tank and fire support purposes. The Rooikat's main armament was built with the Oto Melara 76 naval gun as its basis, to which it is nearly identical in terms of technical performance and statistics. The Rooikat can also fire the same ammunition as the naval gun, albeit modified with new percussion primers in the shells.
The FV603 Saracen is a six-wheeled armoured personnel carrier designed and produced by Alvis from 1952 to 1976. It has been used by a variety of operators around the world and is still in use in secondary roles in some countries. The Saracen became a recognisable vehicle as a result of its part in Operation Banner in Northern Ireland as well as for its role in the South African government's enforcement of apartheid.
The Musée des Blindés or Musée Général Estienne is a tank museum located in the Loire Valley of France, in the town of Saumur. It is now one of the world's largest tank museums. It began in 1977 under the leadership of Colonel Michel Aubry, who convinced both the French military hierarchy and the local political authorities. Started 47 years ago with only a few hundred tracked vehicles, it has become a world-class collection which attracts visitors interested in the history of multinational tank development as well as professional armor specialists. From the very beginning, Colonel Aubry had made it a key policy of the museum to restore to running condition as many historically or technically significant vehicles as was feasible.
A SWAT vehicle, police armored vehicle, or police rescue vehicle is a non-military armored vehicle used by police tactical units to respond to incidents. They are most often in configurations similar to military light utility vehicles, infantry mobility vehicles, or armoured personnel carriers. They are generally designed to have armor that can sufficiently block high-caliber rounds, space to carry the unit's equipment, and sufficient passenger seating; some also allow for additional personnel to hang onto the side of the vehicle in transit.
Merseyside Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing Merseyside in North West England. The service area is 647 square kilometres with a population of around 1.5 million. As of September 2017 the service has 3,484 police officers, 1,619 police staff, 253 police community support officers, 155 designated officers and 208 special constables. The force is led by Chief Constable Serena Kennedy.
The Dingo Scout Car was a light armoured car built in Australia during World War II. They were produced by the Ford motor company during 1942.
The Land Rover Tangi is a type of armoured vehicle, based on the Land Rover chassis and used in policing in Northern Ireland. They were used by the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and are currently used by its replacement, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). The vehicle was designed and built in house by the Royal Ulster Constabulary's own engineers.
The Autoblindo 40, 41 and 43 were Italian armoured cars produced by Fiat-Ansaldo and which saw service mainly during World War II. Most autoblinde were armed with a 20 mm Breda 35 autocannon and a coaxial 8 mm machine gun in a turret similar to the one fitted to the Fiat L6/40, and another hull mounted rear-facing 8 mm machine gun.
An armoured vehicle-launched bridge (AVLB) is a combat support vehicle, sometimes regarded as a subtype of military engineering vehicle, designed to assist militaries in rapidly deploying tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles across gap-type obstacles, such as rivers. The AVLB is usually a tracked vehicle converted from a tank chassis to carry a folding metal bridge instead of weapons. The AVLB's job is to allow armoured or infantry units to cross craters, anti-tank ditches, blown bridges, railroad cuts, canals, rivers and ravines, when a river too deep for vehicles to wade through is reached, and no bridge is conveniently located, or sufficiently sturdy, a substantial concern when moving 60-ton tanks.
The Snatch Land Rover is a protected patrol vehicle based on the Land Rover Defender 110 chassis. Intended for general patrolling in low-threat areas, the vehicle was developed in 1992 for use in Northern Ireland. It provides a limited degree of small arms protection for occupants and a limited level of protection from Improvised Explosive Devices and off-route mines.
Bovington Camp is a British Army military base in Dorset, South West England. Together with Lulworth Camp it forms part of Bovington Garrison.
Non-military armoured vehicles are armoured vehicles used outside professional armed forces. While primarily invented and used for defense/internal conflicts from an equally well armed organized force, armour technology has found a number of other uses outside of this military context.
The current Royal Marines Armoured Support Group (RMASG) is an element of the Royal Marines that operates the Viking BvS 10 All Terrain Vehicle. It is based at Bovington in Dorset. The original RMASG was formed in the Second World War to give British and Commonwealth forces heavy fire support in the opening attacks of the Normandy landings.
An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world.
The Bronco All Terrain Tracked Carrier (ATTC) is a twin chassis multi-purpose tracked articulated vehicle jointly developed by ST Kinetics and the Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) for the Singapore Army. A variant of the Bronco in British service in Afghanistan was named Warthog.
The Cameleon IV440 is a four-wheel drive modular mission system vehicle designed by Jez Hermer MBE, CEO of OVIK Special Vehicles. Designed and developed in 2010, it is based upon the IVECO Daily 4x4 chassis but incorporates a number of modifications designed by OVIK plus a range of specialist mission modules which can be interchanged rapidly.
The TATA Kestrel, also known as the IPMV , is a family of armoured personnel carriers developed by Tata Advanced Systems and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). It was developed to replace Soviet-era BMP-1 and BMP-2 and APCs in service with the Indian Army.
The Jankel group of companies were founded by founder Robert Jankel starting in 1955. In its early years, Jankel provided specialist design and manufacturing services to improve the performance of rally and racing cars. By 1970 Jankel had established Panther Westwinds and was manufacturing production sport cars and coach-built touring limousines for VIP customers. Jankel then diversified into coachwork for the likes of Rolls-Royce, Bentley and Mercedes-Benz, specialising in armoured, Head of State vehicles. In 1997 Jankel branched out into producing vehicles for the UK MoD and Police.