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Buffalo H
[description]
Service history
Used by United States Armed Forces, United Kingdom, French Army, Canadian Forces, Italian Army
Wars Iraq War, Afghanistan War
Production history
Manufacturer Force Protection Industries
Specifications
Mass 45,320 lb (20,560 kg) (curb weight)[1]
56,000 lb (25,000 kg) (max weight)[1]
Length 27 ft (8.2 m)
Width 8.5 ft (2.6 m)
Height 13 ft (4.0 m)
Crew 2+4

Armor All wheels and centerline mine protected
Engine Mack ASET AI-400 I6
330 KW (450 HP)
Payload capacity 38,680 lb
Transmission Allison HD-4560P automatic
Suspension 6x6 wheeled
Ground clearance 15 in (410 mm)
Fuel capacity 85 gal
Operational
range
300 mi (483 km)
Maximum speed 65 mph (105 km/h)

The Buffalo is a wheeled mine resistant ambush protected (MRAP) armored vehicle built by Force Protection Inc.

History[]

The Buffalo vehicle was designed based on the successful South African Casspir mine-protected vehicle.[2] While the Casspir is a four wheeled vehicle, the Buffalo has six wheels. Buffalo is also fitted with a large articulated arm, used for ordnance disposal. Both vehicles incorporate a "V" shaped monohull chassis that directs the force of the blast away from the occupants.[3]

Buffalo is also now equipped with BAE Systems' LROD cage armor for additional protection against RPG-7 anti-tank rounds.[4] Glass armor is sufficient at 6 inches thickness. Run-flat tires are present in all tires. The Buffalo combines ballistic and blast protection with infrared technology to detect the presence of dangerous ordnance and a robotic arm to disable the explosive ordnance. Personnel operate the Buffalo’s 30-foot robotic arm and claw from within the armoured hull via a mounted camera and sensory equipment, to safely dispose of mines and IEDs.

In 2004, the United States had a limited number of Buffaloes in service, with an order for 15 more, at a cost of $10 million.[5] On June 6, 2008 Force Protection, Inc delivered its 200th Buffalo to the U.S. Military.[6]

Variants[]

  • Buffalo H
  • Buffalo A2[7]

Operators[]

Notable appearances in media[]

The Buffalo appeared as the vehicle aspect of the Decepticon Bonecrusher in the movie Transformers (2007), and in the sequel, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Production designer Jeff Mann stated, "We found this image of a mine-sweeping vehicle that had a huge arm with what appeared to be a fork on the end. So we called the people who owned it, hoping there was a chance we could rent it or buy it, but when we got the data, it turned out the fork was only 14 inches (360 mm) wide—they had totally cheated the whole thing in Photoshop.... We had to make an appliance to fit over the existing arm, that wouldn’t bounce around too much because it was about 10 feet (3.0 m) wide."[16]

The Buffalo and JERRVs vehicles are used by the Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team in the television show "Bomb Patrol Afghanistan".[citation needed]

See also[]

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Buffalo fact sheet, Force Protection. (requires login)
  2. Buffalo Armoured Vehicle. armedforces-int.com
  3. "Combat engineers comb streets of Iraq for IEDs". United States Department of Defense. August 2005. http://www.ng.mil/news/theonguard/2005/2005-08.pdf. 
  4. BAE’s LROD Cage Armor. Defense Industry Daily
  5. "Buffalo helps protect from bullets, blasts". Department of Defense. 2004-09-10. http://www.dix.army.mil/PAO/Post04/post111904/bullets.htm. 
  6. "200th Buffalo MRAP delivered to military". Upi.com. 2008-06-06. http://www.upi.com/Security_Industry/2008/06/06/200th_Buffalo_MRAP_delivered_to_military/UPI-15781212771850/. Retrieved 2011-10-29. 
  7. http://www.asd-network.com/press_detail/18127/Buffalo_A2_Undergoes_Testing_at_White_Sands.htm
  8. "Buffalo vehicle coverage on". Defenseindustrydaily.com. 2007-05-08. http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/2007/05/canada-bringing-buffalos-cougars-to-afghanistan/index.php. Retrieved 2011-10-29. 
  9. "Force Protection, Inc. IN THE NEWS: Canadian Forces to Receive Additional Force Protection Vehicles". Forceprotection.net. http://www.forceprotection.net/news/news_article.html?id=270. Retrieved 2011-10-29. 
  10. "Force Protection – Orders for an Additional 48 EROC Vehicles: Blast-Resistant Buffalo and Cougars – Industry News Release". Canadian American Strategic Review. November 2008. http://www.casr.ca/doc-news-force-protection.htm. Retrieved 2008-11-04.  mirror
  11. (French) [http://www.ttu.fr/francais/Articles/tf700.html La Task Force 700 se prépare au théâtre afghan, 06/28/2008, TTU
  12. French Military Orders Buffalo Vehicles from Force Protection, 07/23/2008[dead link]
  13. "Major U.S. Arms Sales and Grants to Pakistan Since 2001". http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/196190.pdf. 
  14. SIPRI Arms Transfers Database
  15. "Force Protection Receives Multiple Buffalo Vehicle Orders". Business Wire. 2008-11-13. http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20081113005694/en. Retrieved 2011-10-29. 
  16. "The Making Of The Transformers Movie - Production Design: The Robots, The Vehicles, The Sets". ENI. 2007-06-15. http://enewsi.com/news.php?catid=190&itemid=11213. Retrieved 2007-09-13. 

External links[]


All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at Buffalo (mine protected vehicle) and the edit history here.
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