SC Group



SC Group is a British multi-faceted engineering company which prior to a re-brand in September 2015 was known as Supacat Limited. Supacat was established in 1981 and based at Dunkeswell Aerodrome in England. SC Group now comprises of four companies: Supacat, SC Innovation, Proteum and Blackhill Engineering.

SC Group initially specialized in the design and development of military and civil high mobility vehicles. Throughout the last decade the company expanded its portfolio considerably to encompass developing equipment for operation in harsh environments in sectors including marine, renewables, mineral exploration, oil & gas and nuclear power. During 2014, the then Supacat made a series of acquisitions in the commercial marine sector leading to the creation of the now Proteum based in Hamble, UK. At the end of 2014 Exeter-based heavy fabrication specialist, Blackhill Engineering, was acquired.

Supacat Limited rebranded to SC Group on 10 September 2015. SC Group is the trading brand of SC Group - Global Limited. The current Chief Executive is Nick Ames who joined the company in 2003. Nick Jones, original co-founder of Supacat, remains a Director of SC Group.

Supacat
The Supacat brand is retained by SC Group for the group's core defence business. Supacat develops and supports high mobility military vehicles and provides specialist engineering services for defence customers, and recently established itself in Australia.

Supacat Pty Ltd was established in 2011 with an office in Victoria, Australia. In March 2012 Supacat Pty Ltd acquired Australian engineering design services company Unique Solutions Providers for an undisclosed amount. Supacat managing director Nick Ames said at the time: "The acquisition is the first in Supacat’s 30-year history and supports our strategy to access new regional markets and new industry sectors. It enables us to improve support for our vehicle fleets in service with the Australian Defence Force and it complements Supacat’s diversification into the oil & gas and renewable energy sectors." Supacat Australia was named on 4 September 2015 by Rheinmetall Defence as the first Australian company to be part of its Land 400 Phase 2 Mounted Combat Reconnaissance Capability team for which the company will offer Boxer.

All Terrain Mobility Platform
The All Terrain Mobility Platform (ATMP) is a 6x6 marginal terrain vehicle now in its fourth generation. Around 200 ATMPs have been supplied to mainly military users since 1982, these including the armed forces of Canada, Malaysia, Mexico and the UK.

High Mobility Transporter
The High Mobility Transporter (HMT) was designed to primarily meet military needs for a light to medium load carrier. Designed by Supacat Limited with funding provided by HMT Vehicles Limited, Supacat manufactures the HMT under licence from Lockheed Martin UK. The original HMT 400 (4x4) was designed to meet a pending UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) requirement for a surveillance and reconnaissance vehicle (SRV) and the first prototype HMT was introduced in mid-1999. In 2001 a batch of 65 vehicles were ordered for United Kingdom Special Forces.

In 2004, the U.S. Army placed an order with Supacat for an HMT-based patrol-type vehicle that was similar in configuration to the UK's SRV. Forty-seven vehicles, known as Marauder to the user (Delta Force) were ordered. Deliveries ran between 2004-2005. Danish Special Forces have received 15 similar vehicles (for Jægerkorps Special Forces), these designated HMT4×4E (E - Extenda) as they can be reconfigured from (4x4) to (6x6) configuration by the addition of a third axle module. Australia operates 31 Extenda, these known as Narys. In 2014 the Australian Army awarded Supacat a further contract for 89 Special Operations Vehicle - Commando (SOC-Cdo) variants of the Extenda version of the HMT. These will be delivered in four reconfigurable role versions. Norway signed a contract for Supacat HMT Extenda for its special forces in 2015. Quantity is unknown. Deliveries will run between 2016-2019.

Between June 2007 and late 2010 the British Army received around 575 further HMTs, these known as Jackal in 4x4 configuration, and Coyote in 6x6 configuration.

Not all HMTs have been delivered in SRV-type configuration. In August 2003 it was announced that a Lockheed Martin UK-led team had been selected by the UK MoD as preferred supplier for Project Soothsayer, the next-generation battlefield electronic warfare system for the British Army and Royal Marines. An HMT 600 platform was selected as the base platform and 35 chassis were manufactured. Soothsayer was cancelled in mid-2009 and these chassis are currently surplus to requirement. In August 2003, the UK Defence Procurement Agency (DPA) awarded a GBP6 million contract to then INSYS (now Lockheed Martin UK) to design, build and test a system demonstrator of the Lightweight Mobile Artillery System Rocket (LIMAWS(R)) for the British Army. The system was expected to enter service in 2007 and Supacat was to provide the 24 6x4 platforms required for the project. It was confirmed in May 2008 that the LIMAWS(R) project had been cancelled. An 8x6 Supacat vehicle (HMT 800) was the base for the BAE Systems Land Systems portee version of its M777 155 mm/39-cal lightweight howitzer, one of two candidates for the UK MoD's Lightweight Mobile Artillery Weapon System Gun (LIMAWS(G)) project. It was confirmed in September 2007 that LIMAWS(G) had been cancelled. Supacat's HMT 600 is the chosen ground station platform for the UK MoD's Watchkeeper unmanned air vehicle (UAV) project.

HMT operators
 * 🇦🇺 Australia: 31 (HMT Extenda) Special Operations Vehicle-Special Reconnaissance (SOV-SR) used by the Special Air Service Regiment and 89 (HMT Extenda MKII) Special Operations Vehicle-Commando (SOV-Cdo) on order for the 2nd Commando Regiment
 * 🇩🇰 Denmark: 15 HMT Extenda (MK 1) used by Hunter Corps (Jægerkorpset)
 * 🇳🇴 Norway: HMT Extenda (MKII) on order £23m contract unknown number, reportedly for special forces
 * 🇬🇧 United Kingdom: >573 (HMT 4x4, inc. 72 HMT 400) consisting of 65 (from 2003) + 7 (2006) SRV, 242 Jackal 1 (2007-2009), 119 Jackal 2 (2009-2010) and >140 Jackal 2a (2010). Also delivered were 76 (HMT 6x6) TSV-L Coyote (2009-2010) and 35 HMT 600 (6x6) Soothsayer platforms, most of which are being re-roled. UK MoD to retain 400 Jackal and 71 Coyote post-Afghanistan
 * 🇺🇸 United States: 47 HMT 400 used by 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta designated Marauders

Supacat Protected Vehicle 400
The Supacat Protected Vehicle 400 (SPV 400) was developed by Supacat from 2009 as a private venture. A protected light 4x4 vehicle, the SPV 400 features a V-shaped steel chassis hull onto which is fitted a composite crew pod. A production standard SPV 400 was shown mid-2012. This had completed over 21,000 km of trials during which its reliability level was 96 per cent. Further development of the SPV 400 will lead to the SPV 600 that will be a 6x6 vehicle with increased volume and payload and be able to carry out a wider range of missions.

Light Armoured Multipurpose Vehicle
The Light Armoured Multipurpose Vehicle was shown in February 2014 by the Indian company of Tata. The Light Armoured Multipurpose Vehicle was developed with technical input from Supacat.

Light Reconnaissance Vehicle 400
Supacat displayed the Light Reconnaissance Vehicle 400 (LRV 400) Mk1 publicly for the first time at DSEI 2013, the prototype completed shortly before the show opened. The LRV 400 is an open lightweight 4x4 vehicle of the Land Rover Defender class. The LRV 400 was developed based on a combination of market research and customer feedback from the 2011-unveiling of a proof-of-concept closed cab variant. Development of the LRV 400 continues, with details of the latest Mk2 announced at the time of the rebrand. The LRV 400 Mk2 was shown publicly for the first time at DSEI 2015 (15–18 September). The most significant design change for the Mk2 is a switch of the automotive platform to the Land Rover Discovery rather than the rally car platform previously offered.

Bombardier Lynx Snowmobile
The Royal Marines 3 Commando Brigade's Surveillance and Reconnaissance Squadron (SRS) Oversnow Reconnaissance Vehicle (ORV) is Bombardier Lynx snowmobile which has been modified for military use by Supacat.

SC Innovation
SC Innovation provides engineering solutions to support all SC Group non-defence business. SC Innovation incorporates specialist vehicle work with the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and the emergency services together with products and services for sectors such as oil & gas, marine, renewable energy and nuclear. Products include:


 * The Lifeboat Launch and Recovery System (L&RS) was developed specifically for the RNLI and in response to a requirement for an up to date and highly mobile transport system for a new class of lifeboat. The L&RS design incorporates several unique features that include a permanent, software controlled, Four-Track-Drive system to provide mobility in all beach conditions. In addition, the cradle that carries the boat rotates through 360 degrees to enable ‘Bow First’ launch and recovery.
 * The Specialist Utility Vehicle 600 (SUV 600) is a production standard Land Rover Discovery 4x4 that is converted to 6x6 configuration for use in the emergency services and wider utility sectors.
 * The Protected Transit Vehicle (PTV) was developed specifically for use in the oil & gas sector. It provides a fully ATEX Zone 2 compliant passenger and cargo transport capability tailored for use in potentially hazardous explosive and toxic environments.
 * The Specialist Multi-purpose Vessel 24 (SMV 24) has been designed to provide a flexible, multi-role, high performance solution for conducting operations in support of the offshore and other maritime engineering sectors.
 * SC Innovation is a team member of a Fred Olsen led consortium developing a Technology Strategy Board (TSB) supported state of the art wave energy device.

Proteum
Proteum is the marine brand within SC Group and was formed following the acquisition of MDS Marine and Bukh Diesel UK. Proteum represents and distributes a portfolio of marine products and services across the UK and Ireland, these including Bukh, Marine Diesel Sweden, OXE Diesel and Konrad propulsion systems. At the DSEI 2015 defence and security exhibition held in London, 15–18 September, OXE Diesel launched what the company claims to be the first viable high power diesel outboard engine for military users.

Blackhill Engineering


Blackhill Engineering is a heavy fabrication and machining specialist. Supacat Limited acquired Blackhill in late 2014.

Blackhill Engineering Services Ltd. has existed in various forms since the 1950s; originally its main role was to provide an engineering centre for English China Clays (Quarries Division), which looked after capital and revenue repairs, modifications, projects and servicing, for sites all over the United Kingdom and Channel Islands. Early in 1995 the company became privately owned.

Production of SC Group's SC Innovation's Lifeboat Launch and Recovery System (L&RS) is now undertaken by Blackhill Engineering.

In October 2015 Blackhill Engineering issued a press release informing it had been contracted by Supacat, also part of SC Group, to manufacture replacement chassis frames for the Supacat Jackal vehicle.

Television and film appearances

 * Brazil (1985; Supacat ATMP)
 * Top Gear (Supacat Jackal)
 * Top Gear Apocalypse (Supacat Jackal; Top Gear: Apocalypse)