3SOF

In Iraq, mine and Improvised Explosive Device (IED) warfare has proven to be a huge force multiplier for the terrorists and domestic "insurgents".  A relatively small number of terrorists and insurgents can plant a significant number of IEDs and mines.  If a mine or IED detonates near a vehicle not specifically designed to survive the blast, it is likely that the vehicle will be destroyed and the passengers injured or killed. To date according to reports at least 70% of all military casualties in Iraq are caused by mines or IEDs.

To combat this threat, the US and allied militaries have devoted significant resources to finding the mines and IEDs before they explode and finding the terrorists and insurgents that build and plant the explosive devices. More importantly, the US and allied militaries are forced to devote a large number of resources on defensive actions significantly degrading the combat effectiveness of the military in Iraq.

Military patrols must move very slowly in order to detect mines and IEDs. This slows down patrols limiting the area that may be patrolled. 

Humvees are soft targets – even up-armored Humvees. They can be easily destroyed by mines, IEDs, small arms fire, or RPGs. Since patrols must move slowly, Humvees are not only soft targets but slow moving soft targets. This means that patrols must be large enough to offer strength in numbers. Small patrols consisting of Humvees could be completely destroyed by enemy action.

Logistics are difficult because roads may be mined or there may be IEDs near the roads. Therefore, roads that are used by supply convoys must be heavily patrolled – and the patrols must move slowly enough to make sure that all mines and IEDs are detected.

Roads that have not been recently swept for mines are dangerous for military vehicles not designed to survive mine or IED blasts. It is as a practical matter impossible to patrol all roads for mines. Therefore, insurgents and terrorists restrict US and allied military operations to areas that they have resources to keep relatively clear of mines and IEDs.

In short, the insurgent's tactics are effective and have drastically reduced the tactical effectiveness of the allied militaries in Iraq and to a lesser extent in Afghanistan.

As US tactical effectiveness is degraded, terrorists and insurgents are able to devote more resources to attacking "soft" targets such as civilians, government employees, politicians, and those cooperating with allied rebuilding efforts.

The US military has reacted to the mine and IED attacks by purchasing small numbers of MPVs. The MPVs are used for mine clearing operations and sometimes as the lead vehicle in patrols. They are also sometimes used as troop transports or to carry high value cargos or to transport VIPs.

The problem with the tactic of purchasing limited numbers of MPVs is that this is primarily a defensive tactic. The overall tactical situation is improved but the status quo remains. The US military is able to removed IEDs and mines more quickly. Patrols are safer. However, the majority of vehicles such as up-armored Humvees cannot move freely. Patrols still must be very large and move very slow to protect up-armored Humvees and other unprotected vehicles.

What is the solution to the problem? How do the allied militaries render the terrorists and insurgent's tactic of planting mines and IEDs ineffective? I think the answer is simple. Replace vehicles that are easily destroyed by mines, IEDs and small arms fire with vehicles that are not easily destroyed. The solution is to provide every soldier patrolling in Iraq or Afghanistan with an MPV of some type. This will make IEDs and mines relatively ineffective and allow the military to concentrate on other missions such as protecting civilians, hunting down terrorists and insurgents and generally making it very difficult to be a terrorist in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Can the allied militaries afford to purchase MPVs for every soldier? The answer for the US military is yes. The US military is purchasing "large ticket" items for defense. Many of them are necessary for the future of our nation's defense. Other "large ticket" items such as the "Osprey" vertical take-off plane are perhaps not so necessary yet get funding. None of the "large ticket" items being budgeted will do very much to increase the effectiveness of the military operating in Iraq or Afghanistan. None of them will do very much to reduce the casualties both civilian and military in Iraq or Afghanistan. But there is something that can be purchased for less than many of the "large ticket" items that will increase the effectiveness of the soldiers, reduce casualties and improve operational effectiveness. That "item" is many more MPVs.

The cost of not replacing up-armored Humvees and other vehicles with MPVs is a large number of casualties both wounded and dead. Each time an IED or mine destroys a Humvee, it is a tragedy in human terms as soldiers are often wounded or killed. The costs to tax payers can be large. The Humvee needs to be replaced including the semi-effective up-armor kits. The wounded must be cared for sometimes for the rest of their lives in cases of amputation or other major injuries. It costs to train replacements for those injured and killed.

The cost that is discussed less often is the cost to Iraqi and Afghan civilians. IEDs and mines that are meant for Allied military vehicles often injure civilians. If the mines and IEDs were ineffective in destroying or damaging military vehicles, it is likely fewer would be placed. If soldiers were in MPVs that could survive IED and mine blasts, patrols could be smaller. Smaller patrols would mean that there can be more patrols using the same number of people. Patrols could move faster because they would not have to be as careful in searching for mines and IEDs. Together this would drastically increase the area patrolled. How many Iraqi and Afghan civilians would this save?

Not having enough mine protected vehicles causes the military to sometime use M1 Tanks and Bradley vehicles to move through dangerous areas. These vehicles are made to fight wars and are not the useful in hunting insurgents. They use a large amount of fuel, are very heavy machines that will quickly destroy roads and have hefty maintenance costs. It is arguable that replacing up-armored Humvees with mine protected vehicles will save money simply on logistics costs for the M1 and Bradley vehicles won't need to be used very often and won't incur huge future repair costs to bring them to an "as new" condition.

Force Protection has recently completed the design and company testing of an MPV that may be used to replace the Humvee. It is called the Cheetah. It is a very tough vehicle that is designed to withstand large mine and IED blasts and small arms fire. It has many large bullet proof windows with firing ports. It can be configured with a remotely fired weapon mounted on the roof for added fire power. The Cheetah is able to carry 6 or 8 people depending on the configuration, has a range of 700 miles, has better fuel efficiency than many SUVs and has a top sprint speed of 89 MPH. Unlike the Humvee, the Cheetah was designed from the ground up to survive in IED and mine infested areas. The Cheetah is much less expensive than foreign made MPVs and offers a higher degree of ballistic and blast protection. Force Protection also sells two other MPVs. They are the Buffalo and Cougar. There are more than 200 Cougars and Buffalos in Iraq and Afghanistan and are used in the most dangerous areas. Already they have survived more than 1000 mine and IED blasts without any major injuries.

The future of anti-insurgent warfare exists today and it is fast, well armed and maneuverable mine protected vehicles. The best of such vehicles is made in the United States by Force Protection, Inc.

FPI (Force Protection, Inc) has the stock ticker FRPT.OB and is traded on the OTCBB exchange.

Many new contracts are in the works. Force Protection should get listed on a major exchange sometime in early November. The new contracts and listing are the catalysts that will take it to the next level.

hi amstock,
thanks for the update,
let´s use the alreday existing FRPT thread for posting:
http://www.3stocksonfire.org/trading/index.php?topic=3375.90

(please use the search functionality  )

normal pullback today...
FRPT P&F Bullish Catapult Alerts[/color]
http://stockcharts.com/def/servlet/SC.scan?s=TSA[t.t_eq_s]![t.e_eq_n]![as0,20,tv_gt_40000]![ya_eq_1]

Bullish Catapult Breakout

A triple top breakout followed by a double top breakout is recognized as a bullish catapult breakout. The implication is that there was supply at the triple top level that was keeping prices from going up, but the triple top breakout took some of that supply away. Prices then retraced, allowing more buyers to create demand which continued to power the up move in prices.
link:
http://stockcharts.com/help/doku.php?id=support:pnf_alerts

please read updated analyst information 
link:
http://catalystresearch.biz/files/CFR__FRPT_Note_09_26_06.pdf

EMA 20 should be our first support here IMO 

amstock82 update:
Force Protection, Inc., Growing Fast (Sep 27 update)

In July 2006, FPI announced a major production ramp up, "... Our customers in uniform recognize the unmatched protection our vehicles provide and continue to order them at an unprecedented rate," said CEO Gordon McGilton. "As a result, Force Protection is engaged in efforts to triple its internal manufacturing capacity,...".

Increasing production is nothing new for the company. In 2004 FPI produced 14 vehicles. In 2005 they produced 71 vehicles and in 2006 will produce more than 260 vehicles. The large increase in production was not without its challenges. In 2004, the company was building the vehicle in bays on a one by one basis but that process does not work well for volume production. Therefore in 2005, FPI began building a regular production line for Cougars. In early 2006, FPI had completed staffing the new line and by April 2006 they had reached target production of 20 Cougars per month. In July, 2006 FPI began the process of once more tripling internal production. The current production ramp up is intended to increase production from approximately 20 Cougars and 3 Buffalo per month to approximately 50 to 60 Cougars and as many as 8 to 10 Buffalos per month assuming new contracts continue to be received.

Revenue is growing in line with production and the number of deployed vehicles; in 2004, revenue was $10.3 million, in 2005, revenue was $49.7 million, in 2006, revenue should exceed $210 million and in 2007, revenue should exceed $500 million.

FPI currently produces two major types of vehicles – the Buffalo and Cougar. The Buffalo was designed for use by Military Engineers as a mine clearing vehicle to keep roads and transportation routes clear of mines and IEDs. The Buffalo has no direct competition and was made an official part of the "IED Defeat Task Force." The Cougar has several variations and may be used for a large number of possible missions. It can be used to transport military engineers, as a patrol vehicle, as a troop transport or for command and control.

A third vehicle called the Cheetah has been developed to provide a smaller mine protected vehicle to replace Humvees or the Snatch type vehicles. The Humvee and Snatch are either unarmored or use up-armor kits to provide a limited amount of ballistic and blast protection. The up armor kits are not effective against most mines and IEDs. The Cheetah was designed from the ground up to survive small arms fire, mine and IED blasts.

FPI has a large order backlog. In June BAE and FPI won a bid on a contract to build 378 Cougars for the Iraqi Army and police. The contract may be extended to 1050 vehicles. The ILAV Cougar is FPI's design but both FPI and BAE will build the vehicle and share in the revenue. FPI retains all rights to the Cougar design and BAE will pay FPI a license fee for each vehicle built.

On August 11, a contract was announced to build 85 Cougars for the British military. The version of the Cougar that the British military is purchasing will be called the Mastiff Protected Patrol Vehicles (Mastiff PPV). The contract with spares and manuals was for $62.9 million. First deliveries on the new contract are expected to ship by November 2006 and the contract is expected to be completed by May 2007.

FPI has a smaller backlog of JERRV Cougars and Buffalo vehicles for the US military. This backlog is expected to grow as new contracts are announced for the defeat IED task force. In addition, both the British and the US military are considering purchasing Cheetah vehicles. It is likely that a few Cheetah prototypes will be purchased late this year or early in 2007 to begin testing these vehicles on military proving grounds and perhaps in Iraq and Afghanistan.

FPI's vehicles are easy to repair, economical and practical because wherever possible they rely on commercially available parts and sub-assemblies. The Buffalo chassis is the same one as used in many Mack trucks. For the Cougar vehicles, the Chassis are provided by Spartan Chassis Inc. The drive train, transmissions and motors are provided by manufacturers such as Caterpillar, Mack, Allison, Fabco and Marmon-Herrington. High reliability is ensured by using proven highly reliable parts and sub-assemblies. It ensures the vehicles are economical because FPI is purchasing products already produced in volume. In short, FPI is able to build a highly reliable vehicle by using the best technology from many different vendors and integrating them together. Part of FPI's genius has been their ability to rapidly adapt, design, prototype and manufacture the best in class vehicle faster than their larger competitors.

FPI initially acquired much of the "mine and blast protection" design used in the Buffalo and Cougar from South Africa. A long insurgency was fought by the South African against insurgents and terrorists whose weapons of choice were mines and IEDs. Due to both import and budget restrictions, South Africa could not import armored vehicles. Therefore, for over 40 years, the South Africans developed an armor technology that was very sophisticated but inexpensive enough to be affordable for large scale deployment. The armor allowed South Africa to defeat the insurgency by rendering the insurgent's main weapon -- mines and IEDs ineffective. FPI was granted the exclusive design rights to some of South Africa's latest technology in return for a per vehicle royalty.

FPI's chief scientist is Dr. Vernon Joynt. Dr. Joynt is a pioneer in the field of ballistic and mine protected vehicle design and worked on many of the South African designs. He has over 30 years experience in developing armored vehicles. One of his early accomplishments was the design of the first "wedge shaped" mine protected vehicle for the South African government. Dr. Joynt is leading the effort to both develop and acquire new technology that will improve the blast and ballistic protection on new vehicles. The Cheetah uses new technology developed exclusively by FPI to make it as light as possible while still providing a large measure of blast and ballistic protection. FPI recently acquired the manufacturing and development rights to a new "Blast Manipulation Technology" that may be used on wheeled and tracked vehicles. The new technology substantially reduces the blast effect on vehicles.

Buffalos and Cougars have a history of survivability in "real world" situations. They have already survived over 1000 IED and mine attacks without any reported deaths. No other comparable vehicle has demonstrated that amount of survivability.

FPI has several competitors that also produce mine protected vehicles: Textron offers the ASV; GD builds the RG-31; Australia has the Bushmaster; Germany builds the Dingo. FPI does not believe that any of those vehicles are direct competitors to the Cougar because they don't offer the same measure of ballistic and blast protection or the performance characteristics of the Cougar. None of the competing vehicles have the same record of surviving IED and mine attacks.

The military is likely to continue to acquire new mine protected vehicles. In Iraq, most casualties are caused by IEDs and mines. Mines have not only caused most of the casualties but have significantly degraded the effectiveness of soldiers who must carefully inspect every area they wish to operate in for mines. Roads must be continually patrolled and inspected to ensure that no new IEDs or mines have been planted. Therefore, mines and the threat of mines have been one of the largest problems faced by US forces and also the deadliest threat to soldiers. The solution to this problem is to acquire more mine protected vehicles from manufacturers such as FPI and it appears that the military has begun the process of doing just that.

Latest News:

August 15, FPI reported revenue of $56,074,537 and a net profit of $1,234,015. This is an amazing increase in profit considering that FPI has been rapidly hiring new employees and expanding production. A large part of the total revenue was from the sale of spare parts and other support services which accounted for $12,309,355. The company has over 200 vehicles in Iraq and Afghanistan. This number will be over 700 with the ILAV vehicles included by the end of next year. By the end of 2007, revenue from spare parts and support services will be larger than FPI's yearly sales for 2005. Spare parts and support services are a much higher margin business.

September 7, FPI presented at the Roth Capital Partners Conference. One comment (paraphrased slightly) made at the conference in particular highlights FPI's strategy: "Our aim is to increase capacity to the maximum extent possible. Orders and Sales have never been our problem. Our challenge has always been increasing production and capacity."

good news and nice bounce back 

Force Protection Extends Agreement with South African Technology Partner
Friday September 29, 9:00 am ET

LADSON, S.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Force Protection, Inc. (OTCBB:FRPT - News) today announced that it has reached an agreement with MECHEM, a division of DENEL (Pty) Ltd of South Africa, to extend the term of their relationship for an additional five years effective September 13, 2006.


Under the agreement, MECHEM, an organization that specializes in the supply of landmine detection, de-mining, and unexploded ordnance disposal equipment and services, will continue to work exclusively with Force Protection on all projects relating to the exploitation of its technology.

"We are extremely pleased to continue this important relationship," said Force Protection CEO Gordon McGilton. "As a world leader in the field of humanitarian de-mining, MECHEM has unequaled knowledge and expertise in the detection, removal and defeat of all types of explosive devices. They will be an invaluable resource to Force Protection's expanding R&D initiatives."

Force Protection manufactures the Cougar and Buffalo mine-protected vehicles that have been deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2003. Despite thousands of mine detonations and IED attacks, no fatalities have occurred in a Force Protection vehicle.

&

trustthetape quotation:
Looks like CEUT likes the pull back here in FRPT as well:

FRPT: Force Protection: Firm's Top Pick; focus on defense budget conference, passage should bring flow of orders - CE Unterberg (7.91)
[Update]
CE Unterberg says with the recent pullback in the shares, as well as a
promising (though still pending) FY07 Defense appropriations bill, they are highlighting FRPT as their top pick. Firm believes the stock's recent weakness reflects investor concern over insider selling, and is overdone. Firm believes the selling is primarily from 10b5-1 plans and were set in motion months ago and do not reflect an opinion of upcoming business. Firm believes focus should instead be placed on the defense budget conference report, which includes substantial funding for the Joint IED Defeat Fund and FRPT's Cougar variants.

Firm believes the bill is close to final passage in the Senate and that orders should begin flowing in shortly after the new government fiscal year begins. Firm believes the current stock price is a compelling buying point. Firm reiterates their Buy recommendation and $11 tgt.

update:
Force Protection, Inc. Breaks Production Records in September
Monday October 2, 12:10 pm ET

LADSON, S.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Armored vehicle manufacturer Force Protection, Inc. (OTCBB:FRPT - News) exceeded production records in September as it delivered more than 30 of its Buffalo, Cougar Joint Explosive Ordnance Disposal Rapid Response (JERRV), and Iraqi Light Armored (ILAV) vehicles to the U.S. government.

"In addition to our September vehicle deliveries, we have also verified the successful integration of improved materials such as domestic steel for the JERRV and Buffalo vehicles," said Vice President for Program Management Damon Walsh. "The effect of this testing is to increase the availability of raw materials for vehicle production, which in turn enhances our ability to increase production to meet customer demand."

Force Protection vehicles have been deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2003 without a fatality to a passenger. This unmatched record of success has led to major contract awards from U.S. and Coalition governments who recognize the vital role of the vehicles for their armed forces.

"Force Protection continues to experience the fruits of its efforts to ramp up production of these life-saving vehicles," said CEO Gordon McGilton. "We are currently ahead of schedule in deliveries of the Cougar JERRV and are on track with our Buffalo and ILAV programs. We are fulfilling our commitment to get the highest levels of protection available to the field as quickly as possible."
&

Safe truck, explosive business
Force Protection manufactures trucks that can protect its passengers from a landmine blast.
FORTUNE Small Business Magazine
By Maggie Overfelt, FSB writer-reporter
October 2 2006: 10:57 AM EDT

(FSB Magazine) -- The UN estimates that more than 110 million active landmines lurk beneath roads and fields around the world, and for every mine cleared, 20 are planted. That's a growing market for Force Protection (Charts), a Ladson, S.C., manufacturer of armored vehicles.
Unlike its competitors, Force Protection fits its trucks - such as the Buffalo, pictured - with V-shaped hulls, which deflect the energy blasted from mines up into the sides of the chassis instead of directly at it.

"Soldiers have a much better chance of coming back alive in our vehicles vs. anything else," says vice president Michael Aldrich. In the three years since the trucks were launched, no fatalities have been reported in any Force Protection truck.
Britain, Israel and South Africa have inquired about using the company's trucks, but Force Protection's recent revenue spike - from $6 million in 2003 to more than $200 million so far this year - comes from U.S. government contracts.
About 200 trucks have been shipped to Iraq, and in May, Force Protection won a $445 million multiyear contract from the Pentagon to build 1,000 trucks for the Iraqi army. The first Cougars, four-by-four trucks that fit ten soldiers and can hit speeds of up to 75 mph, were shipped in July.
link:
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fsb/fsb_archive/2006/10/01/8387294/index.htm?source=yahoo_quote

Armor's Next Target?

Matthew Swibel 10.30.06

Not a single serviceman has been killed riding in the 23-ton Buffalo vehicle or the 17-ton Cougar urban fighting vehicle used in thousands of missions on the bloodiest routes in Iraq and Afghanistan. That's a record Humvees fortified by Armor Holdings can't match.
In January 2006 the Army ordered 41 Buffalos from Force Protection Industries, the $50 million (sales) company, which also builds the Cougar and two other models. The Buffalos, which earn rave reviews for protecting convoys from mines and improvised explosive devices, incorporate components from Caterpillar, General Motors, Volvo Group and Mack Trucks.
The Army's fiscal 2007 budget includes $180 million for another 250 to 300 Buffalos over three years. The company recently won a $65 million contract from the British government for 85 Cougar-based vehicles.

Unlike armored Humvees, Force Protection vehicles feature a V-shape hull that sits on the axle. "This leaves the vehicle less vulnerable to blast energy," says Michael Aldrich, vice president of marketing at Force Protection, which forecasts 2006 sales of $200 million. With production at capacity at its main campus in South Carolina, Force Protection is in discussions to set up another assembly line at Armor Holdings' Stewart & Stevenson plant. "Armor Holdings has expertise in this field that makes a partnership look good to both of us," Aldrich says.

Might a partnership lead to an acquisition? "We think they have great products," allows Armor Holdings' Schiller.
http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2006/1030/146a_print.html

This news also today:
http://10qdetective.blogspot.com/2006/10/force-protection-update-would-bernard.html

Lots of insider selling, too.  I'm still holding some shares but am getting concerned that there may be better places for my money to grow.

sold 2/3 the last few weeks (average around , today I will sell the rest or my shares (50% profit)

there are better investment opportunitys in the market now
FRPT will be on my watchlist

cheers
Oliver

of course up again after I have sold 

Looks like it took out some stops only to rise on great volume...I added for the third time on the dip since last time I added was above $8 

Held nicely above the 50dma.

No money left

Dougherty initiates FRPT with a Buy and $10.50 tgt saying they believe demand for the co's vehicles will continue to result in rapid top and bottom line growth for the next several years. Firm ests the co's current backlog is in excess of $200 mln, representing 388 vehicles as of 6/30/06. Firm notes FRPT's opportunities extend beyond the U.S. Military and the co is steadily increasing its capacity to support demand.
(from otc webside, trustthetape)

Link for 10.50 tgt.:
http://www.briefing.com/Investor/Public/MarketAnalysis/Calendars/UpgradesDowngrades.htm


may I kindly ask for some TA advise?

tia
Oliver

My amateur $.02

The stock is still being accumulated and looks to be gaining force.  Also, it just bounced off the bottom bollinger band and the 50% fibonacci (from $5.07 low to $9.43 high).  I think it's holding well and should be considered a buy.  I do own shares and expect it to close right on the 50dma.

I hope I'm not being biased.

GLTA...Jody

nice article:
BAE Delivering a Cougar Variant for Iraq's $445.4M ILAV Contract
Posted 25-Oct-2006 04:14
Related stories: Americas - USA, BAE, Contracts - Awards, Delivery & Task Orders, Engineering Vehicles, Middle East - Other, Other Corporation, Partnerships & Consortia, Warfare - Trends


BAE Systems has now received a $188.3 million in Foreign Military Sales delivery orders from the U.S. Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command, for a total order book to date of 398 Iraqi Light Armored Vehicles (ILAVs). The original contract and associated work began at the end of May 2006, and the total value of the contract could reach $445.4 million and 1,050 vehicles if all options are exercised. The first ILAVs were delivered to Iraq 90 days after contract award, i.e. by the end of August 2006.

What's even more interesting is the vehicle that BAE bid and the Iraqis selected: a design based on Force Protection Inc's v-hulled Cougar 4×4 that has earned such praise from US Marine Corps and Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal teams in Iraq. BAE Systems already made a number of eligible armored vehicles. So why the Cougar?...

After all, BAE's vast array of products include the M2/M3 Bradley, the M113 APC family, the highly-regarded v-hulled RG-31 Nyala 4×4s that are also in battlefield use by American and Canadian troops, and larger v-hulled Casspir personnel carriers that have a long history of effective use in mined war zones.

DID spoke with a BAE executive, whose simple response was that they looked at the Iraqis' stated requirements, looked at what was available on the market, decided that this option would be the best offering, and put the consortium together.

This has not stopped BAE from making competitive moves of its own toward the Cougar/Buffalo's market niche, however, just as Force Protection is making moves toward the smaller mine-resistant vehicle niche of BAE OMC's RG-31/32 offerings. See below for further details.

BAE Systems Land and Armaments is the prime contractor for the ILAV, with subcontractors Force Protection Inc. in Ladson, SC, and Spartan Chassis, Inc. in Charlotte, MI. This consortium will also have the happy result of expanding the manufacturing capacity for Cougar-type vehicles; BAE Systems personnel told DID that work would be going on at Spartan Chassis in Michigan and BAE's manufacturing plants in Anniston, AL and York, PA, as well as Force Protection's South Carolina facilities; note, for instance, the work split in the original May 31, 2006 order.

All contracts are issued by the U.S. Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command in Warren, MI.

Oct 23/06: BAE Systems announces that it has received a $7.8 million Foreign Military Sales contract modification to manufacture 20 additional Iraqi Light Armored Vehicles. The contract modification follows an initial order for 378 vehicles issued in May 2006, and represents another step on the road to 1,050 potential vehicles if all options are exercised. BAE's release notes that work on the contract is ongoing with deliveries scheduled to continue through May 2007. The first ILAVs were delivered to Iraq 90 days after contract award, i.e. by the end of August 2006.

Aug 15/06: UK Land Forces Order 86 'Mastiff PPV' Cougar Vehicles. The Mastiff is another Cougar variant, and will be employed in Iraq and Afghanistan. DID's article also adds relevant background concerning Force Protection's efforts & plans to increase production capacity.

May 31/06: The original ILAV order. BAE Systems Land & Armaments LP in York, PA received a delivery order amount of $180.5 million as part of a $445.4 million firm-fixed-price contract for Iraqi Light Armored Vehicles. Work will be performed in Anniston, AL (50%), and Ladson, SC (50%), and is expected to be complete by May 2007, or by November 30, 2009 if all options are exercised. Bids were solicited via the World Wide Web on May 5, 2006, and 16 bids were received (W56HZV-06-D-VB01).

We'd also like to note two other points of interest:

One is the new Marine Corps Armored Turret System sitting on the BAE photo release of the new ILAV. Good thinking.

The second item is the fact that unlike the RG-31 or Casspir, the Cougar is built in the USA and has just expanded its manufacturing capacity there. While it's a bit early to float merger & acquisition rumors, and the BAE executives we talked to didn't even hint in that direction, BAE Systems is quite open about its desire to be a major trans-Atlantic competitor in all areas of its business. The Airbus sale will give them over $1 billion in cash, and Force Protection vehicles like the Cougar and Buffalo are proving quite popular in the USA and gathering an enviable combat reputation.

With the ILAV order, the Cougar takes an important step forward, moving beyond an EOD specialty vehicle and into the growing niche for mine-protected patrol vehicles. Working with Force Protection to produce these vehicles gives plenty of time for due diligence and corporate culture compatibility checks, and adding the Cougar and Buffalo to its stable would give it a formidable set of options for international competitions against Krauss-Maffei's Dingo, Iveco's MLV/Panther, and ADI's Bushmaster IMV. Not to mention a US option that none of the others could match, as the US military considers what vehicle or vehicle mix should follow the Hummer.
This contract will be worth watching, for a number of reasons.

ANALYSIS UPDATES:

* The field is getting more crowded. In early October 2006, BAE moved to introduce the RG-33L as a Cougar/Buffalo competitor, while Force Protection introduced the 4×4 Cheetah as a smaller vehicle that competes with BAE OMC's RG-31/RG-32. Meanwhile Protected Vehicles, Inc. in North Charleston, SC has introduced their PVI-Alpha, which uses similar design approaches and adds a unique resin armor developed with Battelle. Its founder Garth Barrett headed a firm that was acquired by Force Protection.

* Force Protection (Sept 29/06) - Force Protection Extends Agreement with South African Technology Partner. That partner, Mechem, is a division of South Africa's Denel Pty Ltd. The new agreement extends to September 2011.

* 10Q Detective (Aug 26/06) - Force Protection--Explosive Turnaround Story. In 2001, Force Protection looked like it might go out of business. Things have changed. An interesting business/stock analysis of Force Protection, Inc., which sees them as a potential takeover target. DID adds that we don't do stock recommendations, that this is one source of information among many whose reliability you must evaluate entirely on your own, and that if you buy stocks that's 100% your decision and your risk.

http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/2006/10/bae-delivering-a-cougar-variant-for-iraqs-4454m-ilav-contract/index.php


down again 

wrong again