Images from the MoD
Foxhound Light Protected Patrol Vehicle in Afghanistan
Foxhound Light Protected Patrol Vehicle in Afghanistan
Foxhound Light Protected Patrol Vehicle in Afghanistan
Foxhound Light Protected Patrol Vehicle in Afghanistan
Foxhound Light Protected Patrol Vehicle in Afghanistan
Still surprised that its protection level is only is Stanag 2 I was expecting 3 or 4. Shame it’s taken nearly 9 years for a proper alternative to the Snatch!!!
Wow
It’s like a bloody cockpit up front with all the controls.
Just want to see these fully developed to include 6×6 version to replace the plethora of vehicles we now have (pinzgauers, Jackals, husky etc) would love to see one with a Scarab type body. Thd perfect replacement for a Fox/Ferret scout car!!!
I’d be curious to see how much it would change the cost of the vehicle if you removed all those bells and whistles and just used it as a protected land rover. I can see four screens at least in there, nine cameras plus on the outside along with ECM.
Yes Phil,
I’d like to see the UK forces with a proper armoured car too.
I agree. This vehicle is an overdue replacement for Snatch Landrover. Now it’s here, it heralds a new approach to protected mobility. My fear is that we will use it for roles for which it wasn’t designed – i.e. it is not a wheeled APC merely a UK Hummer equivalent, albeit with substantially improved protection.
I’d like to see this technology incorporated in vehicles with better cross-country performance and with a capacity to mount a decent turret.
Has one experienced an IED attack yet? And, if so, how did it fare?
Not a turret, Monty, but a lightweight RWS (5.56/7.62 mg class) could easily be carried by Foxhound.
“Still surprised that its protection level is only is Stanag 2 I was expecting 3 or 4.”
I think I’m right in saying that Stanag 2 means it’ll take standard AK74 fire, while Stanag 3/4 is getting into armour piercing arounds and heavy machine guns?
That seems reasonable for a vehicle of this size and weight.
Brian I don’t claim to be an expert on this. Its just that initial claim for Ocelot/Foxhound was the same protection as Mastiff/Ridgeback. I believe the standard that is used is Stanag 4569. You are absolutely right in that level 2 (of which there is 2a and 2b) offer balistic protection from standard 5.56 infrantry weapons only. The real issue is the mine protection. details from Wiki:
Level 2
[edit]Kinetic Energy
7.62 x 39 API BZ at 30 meters with 695 m/s[1]
Protection cover:
Angle azimuth 360 degrees
Elevation 0 – 30 degrees
[edit]Artillery
155 mm High Explosive at 80 m[4]
Protection cover:
Angle Azimuth 0 – 360 degrees
Elev. 0 – 22 degrees
Due to very low probability of a large fragment retaining enough velocity at these distances, STANAG 4569 makes this optional.[4]
[edit]Grenade and Mine Blast Threat
6 kg (explosive mass) Blast AT Mine:
2a – Mine Explosion pressure activated under any wheel or track location.
2b – Mine Explosion under center.
Level 3
[edit]Kinetic Energy
7.62 x 51 AP (WC core) at 30 meters with 930 m/s[1]
7.62 x 54R B32 API (Dragunov) at 30 meters with 854 m/s[1]
12.7 x 99 M2 AP at 30 meters with 914 m/s (only Level 3+)
Protection cover:
Angle azimuth 360 degrees
Elevation 0 – 30 degrees
Artillery
155 mm High Explosive at 60 m[3]
Protection cover:
Angle Azimuth 0 – 360 degrees
Elev. 0 – 30 degrees
Due to very low probability of a large fragment retaining enough velocity at these distances, STANAG 4569 makes this optional.[4]
[edit]Grenade and Mine Blast Threat
8 kg (explosive mass) Blast AT Mine:
3a – Mine Explosion pressure activated under any wheel or track location.
3b – Mine Explosion under center.
[edit]Level 4
[edit]Kinetic Energy
14.5x114AP / B32 at 200 meters with 911 m/s[1]
Protection cover:
Angle azimuth 360 degrees
Elevation 0 degrees
[edit]Artillery
155 mm High Explosive at 30 m[3]
Protection cover:
Angle Azimuth 0 – 360 degrees
Elev. 0 – 90 degrees
[edit]Grenade and Mine Blast Threat
10 kg (explosive mass) Blast AT Mine:
4a – Mine Explosion pressure activated under any wheel or track location.
4b – Mine Explosion under center.
I believe the Mastiff is level 3 almost level 4. level 2 is a big drop in what I was expecting. 6Kg versus 10kg thats almost half the protection!!!
@Phil: the Foxhound has been sold as something better than the US M-ATV, on the basis it’s smaller and lighter (7.5 vs 15 tonnes). It appears this is purchased with much lower protection levels. Worth it? Not entirely sure, since it would be rare for anyone to want to sling load a Foxhound on a Chinook and majority of jinga trucks are liable to weigh more than 10 tonnes anyway
It needs to be understood that STANAG 4569 protection levels function separately between ballistic and blast. Therefore a vehicle can have one level of ballistic protection and an entirely different level of blast protection.
Oops for Brian read SteveD
@Phill I did a bit of work with this Stanag a year or so back, and while I’m also certainly not an expert in vehicle protection, I know that 10kg of TNT is a bloody big explosion.
Of course we want out soldiers to have the best protection possibe, but this has to be balanced against functionality and mobility. If the lightest vehicle in our arsenal is 15tonnes, there will be places our soldiers will not be able to go, and terrain they will not be able to cross, without dismounting (and a dismounted soldier is at inherantly greater risk).
The Foxhound is at the end of the day a replacement for the Landrover Snatch; we shouldn’t expect it to offer the same protection levels as an APC.
I would note, again, that Phil’s interpretation of the STANAG is not correct. Most descriptions of the the Foxhound are that the ballistic protection is level 2 (AP 7.62 short) and that the mine protection is… better.
Certainly Mastiff is likely to be better than levels 3-4 for mine protection. It’s predecessor the Casspir is rated for 3 AT mines (21kg) under a wheel or 2 (14kg) under the belly. That’s significantly above STANAG Level 4 for mines in both ‘a’ and ‘b’ categories.
At the same time its protection against ballistic threats is only STANAG level 1 (7.62 NATO ball)