While the Cougar has been deployed with the Marines since last fall, this order marks the first time that the other services will receive the armored vehicle. Under the contract, funded by the Joint Improvised Explosive Device (IED) Defeat Task Force, Force Protection will manufacture the vehicles and provide program management and logistics support. The first vehicles are expected to reach the field by early fall 2005.

"This joint order clearly reflects the recognition by both military and government leaders that our vehicles provide a better solution to the threat of IEDs, land mines and roadside bombs," said Force Protection CEO Gordon McGilton. "The Cougar has been proven under the most extreme circumstances, transporting troops safely over thousands of kilometers of dangerous roads. We are extremely pleased that many more soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen will be protected by this life-saving technology."

"The Cougar Joint EOD Rapid Response Vehicle was the first hardened engineer vehicle delivered to Marine Expeditionary Forces last October. It has been a success in dramatically upgrading protection levels for Marines involved in highly dangerous activities such as detection and removal of explosive devices used by terrorists," said Mr. Joseph B. Murgo, Program Manager for the Joint EOD Rapid Response Vehicle, Marine Corps Systems Command.

"We are delighted to now work with the Army, Navy, and Air Force to ensure that all service EOD teams will benefit from the critical protection the Cougar provides."

The Cougar H series is a family of medium-sized blast-protected vehicles and is produced in both 4 and 6 wheel layouts. It can be customized for multiple tasks including troop transport, mine and explosive ordnance disposal, command and control, reconnaissance and as a lead convoy vehicle.

The joint contract represents an upgrade in the size of orders placed for the Cougar vehicle built by Force Protection, which has become the nation's leading center for blast protection technology and state-of-the-art research and development to counter improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Force Protection also produces the Buffalo, a mine clearance vehicle that was recently inspected in Iraq by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and has been used to clear thousands of suspected IEDs in and around Iraq.

Force Protection