The MoD have today announced the contract placement with Force Protection Europe for 200 Foxhound Light Protected vehicles. Foxhound is the MoD’s name for the FPE Ocelot.
The order is for 200 vehicles at a total cost of £180 million.
2 months from preferred bidder status to order placement is probably an MoD record, perhaps there was a lot of paperwork.
Of significance is the influence of motorsport design, leveraging the UK’s position as one of the foremost automotive designers.
No indication of a full in service date but if Warthog is anything to go by, expect them in theatre in 2012/2013. Let’s hope we can build on this and get them their much earlier. The announcement indicated availability for training in 2011 but failed to mention when in the year this would be.
A good news day.
Now lets start looking at all those alternative bodies that can be attached to the chassis for other roles !
agreed Jed.
there is plenty of potential for wider use of Foxhound.
speaking from a tech background, if a commanders vehicle was VOR and unlike the old days of transferring all the comms kit to another FFR, all it meant was releasing the pod and slotting it onto another donor chassis, i would be one happy bunny!! (not forgetting it would save the R.Sigs doing the tempest crap as well)
Yes s good day, let’s hope this is just the first order of many. This vehicle can replace so many legacy vehicles.,..
All Land Rovers
All pinzgauers 4×4 and 6×6
Most of the Jackals and even the Coyote ( if the vehicle is fully developed Inc 6×6 variant)
Husky
Ridgeback
Hi Phil @ 7:04,
I’d like to buy one!
But re: “All pinzgauers (4×4 and) 6×6” is it really big enough to take the ground station for the Sentinel aircraft?
Steady on Phil, reign in the enthusiasm a little :-)
I presume you mean LandRover Snatch and the “armoured” Pinz, but don’t think its big enough, as in has enough payload to replace Husky in the armoured logistic role.
Ridgeback is also a lot bigger and I believe is rated against higher threats, so it might continue to have a role ?
Biggest priority, get the WMIK type body variant in to replace the Jackals – no crew sat over the wheels on the Foxhound !!
Great news! But lets get 2,000 and make it a standard model-it has great potental for other roles. Lets get a 6×6 varient with a bigger body/load bed. Can we use the components to make a new ferret? And how about a half-track with rubber tracks? (big load bed+load capacity). Its not a stupid idea if it works!
Panther replacement for close recce ? Our version of the Fennec, with roof mounted RWS, 2 sensor operators behind the driver / commander and mast mounted sensors in the back ???
Hmmm . .. it’s four wheel steering, right? Oh no . . . I’m thinking stooopid things again.
Take a LPPV chassis, turn the diffs upside down and drive it backwards. That way the driver doesn’t have to look over the engine so the body can be of a much lower profile. Fit a turret and you’ve got a scout car and I have o have a lie down
Pete – engine at front = big blog of metal between incoming bullets / RPG and crew.
Engine at back thus good for French version…. sorry that was crass, but…. :-)
Jed, yep, sorry forgot the Panther. With regard to tge Husky and 6×6 Pinz’s. I was assuming they went ahead with the 6×6 version (which has been mentioned).
With regard to the Ridgeback, I was assuming that the Foxhound would enable it replace the ridgeback where it’s weight and mobility is more important. It also would enable an increase in standardisation and reduce the logistics footprint for many scenarios
@Jed
Pah! When I’m fantasising do not introduce logic, damnit!
Anyway, due to the big gap between the rear of the LPPV and the back of the crew pod you have space to put a BIG spaced and reactive armour block between the crew and the incoming RPG . . . and you’ll still be able to drive it afterwards!
Pete, have you seen the Panhard Sphinx
http://www.armyrecognition.com/french_army_france_wheeled_armoured_vehicle_uk/sphinx_panhard_ebrc_armoured_vehicle_reconnaissance_combat_technical_data_sheet_specifications_uk.html
Are you thinking what I am thinking?
I think a mixture of Foxhounds and Bushmasters and its varients(Copperhead) would dispence with most of the British Army’s inventory of light to medium vehicles, the foxhound is just too small for some tasks as mentioned above thats were the Copperhead comes in Mini-DROPS anyone?
BTW love the SPHINX mine resistant too, we should buy them now.
Pete – engine at front = sitting over the wheel arch.
learnt that with the pinzgauer.
Sorry, JBT, you’ve lost me there. Foxelot has the engine at the front and the crew are all between the wheel arches.
i would like to see this used with BAe RG-35 35 acting as the “big brother” seats 15+1 driver already has variants. It throws the engine dilema as it mounted on the side!!!!! good though as engine and gearbox can be removed in 30 mins.
IanB, yep Foxhound and Buchmaster would do it. We must get rid of many of tge existing fleet
A. There are too many
B. Most of them are very poor especially with regard to armour and mine protection
I don’t really understand what happened to Panther. Was it just not protected enough? I thought it was supposed to fulfil this role.
Hopefully the foxhound will prove to be easy to repair if hit (which I understand was one issue with Panther).
sorry pete, i thought you wer talking about moving the driver forward.
my mistake.
Does anyone know anything about the armour on the Foxhound cos if it’s gonna be in Afghanistan before the war ends it better have the ability to take alot of hits
According to Armytechnology.com protection is similar to the Mastiff. In terms of in service date, the site claims:
“About 30 to 40 Ocelot vehicles will be manufactured and delivered by mid-2011 for deployment in Afghanistan.” How up-to-date or accurate this is I don’t know.
The Foxhound is a light vehicle of course so I’m not sure about taking a lot of hits Bendooragh – I think the idea is it can take one hit while keeping the crew as safe as possible.
Sorry I meant army-technology.com which is an industry-sponsored site.
Ref: ” protection is similar to the Mastiff” – in IED blast and mine protection only I think. It is I think 7.62mm proof, but it would obviously require slats / active protection system (or even that airbag system) to protect against RPG. So, as noted it is the “light, Protected” patrol vehicle, and mobility is also part of its overall protection strategy, so lots of 7.62mm hits, but as DomS says, owt else and its about letting the vehicle get wrecked but keeping the occupants alive.
@DomS
with regard to the panther, i believe once all the bowman and ecm kit was in,carrying troops in it was a non-goer!
It can carry troops Paul, just as long as they are naked and greased up like a Chippendale!
To be fair, its role is not carrying troops as such but as a command vehicle, its still another shocking waste of money though
Hi, TD. Looking at the Panhandle Sphinx -very reminiscent of Saladin. Are you envisaging something like that as a replacement for CVR(T) or as a big brother escort for Foxhound etc? Do we need tracked recon in our new-look army, or are wheels the next in-thing?
As I think I’ve said previously on a different thread, the Ocelot/Foxhound will initially have three variants: a patrol machine to replace the Snatch-Vixen; a fire-support option to take over from the existing WMIK vehicles and protected logistics version. Does anyone have suggestions for more variants (apart from those mentioned already)?
I think that at 7.5 tonnes, the vehicle might not be large enough for some logistical tasks. That is where the Copperhead version of the Bushmaster comes in (a very well- protected and mobile vehicle).
On the subject of logistics, I see that the SDSR section on the Army mentioned that “protected support vehicles to move logistic supplies around the battlefield will replace unprotected ones.” I wonder whether that means fitting armoured cabs to those that do not already have them or does it possibly suggest new buys?
I wonder how much money has had to be spent changing all the nameplates, manuals and training powerpoints from Ocelot Foxhound? And then add Force Protections more than adequate profit margins, and for what – are dogs more fierce-sounding than cats?
ctrl-g for find and replace isn’t it? Chances are that the official manuals and training guides aren’t produced yet anyway, so net cost = nothing.