UK to Purchase Ocelot LPPV

UK troops in Afghanistan will soon have a new ride in the form of the Ocelot LPPV. It certainly sounds better to be riding in an Ocelot instead of a Snatch!

Force Protection Europe has been named preferred bidder to supply the British Army with a new light protected patrol vehicle (LPPV) to equip troops fighting in Afghanistan. The Ministry of Defence said the number of vehicles to be ordered is subject to negotiation.

The Ocelot machine, developed by the U.K. arm of Force Protection and British automotive engineering company Ricardo, beat a rival bid from local supplier Supacat to build a new generation of heavily protected, lightweight and mobile vehicles to replace the much-criticized Snatch Land Rover for patrol work

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The Ocelot can carry a crew of two and four dismounted troops.

The large-scale use of composite armor allows it to offer what the MoD said in a statement here today was "unprecedented levels of blast protection for a vehicle of this size."

The vehicle's gross weight is around 7.5 tons; width is 2.1 meters; length, 5.3 meters. It has a turning circle not far off what a London taxi can achieve.

Force Protection has already supplied many high-protection vehicles to British forces in Afghanistan. Hundreds of Mastiff, Ridgback, Wolfhound and Buffalo machines have been purchased by the British in the last few years.

The Snatch Land Rovers the Ocelot will replace have been largely withdrawn from frontline duties in Afghanistan; the gap is being filled by larger but better-protected machines.

By: Shelldrake