Force Protection, Inc.: Difference between revisions

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{{Infobox company

{{Infobox_Company |

| company_name name = Force Protection, Inc. |

| logo = Force Protection logo.png

company_logo = [[Image:Frpt logo.gif]] |

| type = [[Division (business)|Division]]

company_type = Public |

| foundation = {{start date and = [[Ladsonage|1996}}, SC]]in ([[1996]])San |Diego, California

| founder = Frank Kavanaugh

| ___location = [[Ladson, SC]]South |Carolina

key_people = [[Gordon McGilton]], CEO |

| key_people = Frank Kavanaugh ([[chairman]])

num_employees = 750 |

| num_employees = over 1000<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite news |last=Eisler |first=Peter |date=2007-10-02 |title=The truck the Pentagon wants and the firm that makes it |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/military/2007-08-01-force-protection-mraps_N.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071018075849/https://www.usatoday.com/news/military/2007-08-01-force-protection-mraps_N.htm |archive-date=2007-10-18 |work=USA Today}}</ref>

| products = mine- and blast- protected vehicles |

homepage = [http://www.forceprotection.net/ www.forceprotection.net]|

| subsid = [[Force Protection Europe]]

| homepage = [http://www.forceprotectiongdls.netcom/ www.forceprotectiongdls.netcom]|

}}

'''Force Protection, Inc. is the world's'' was leadinga manufacturer of ballistic- and blast-protected vehicles, from the United States which have been used to support armed forces and security personnel in [[Iraq]], [[Afghanistan]], [[Kosovo]] and other hot spots around the globeworld. The company was acquired by [[General Dynamics]] in 2011.

==Company==

Headquartered on a sprawling campus near Charleston, South Carolina, Force Protection also has become the nation's leading center for blast protection technology and research to counter improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

The company traces its roots to Sonic Jet Performance, Inc., a California [[speed boat]] company founded in 1997. When the boat business hit tough times after the [[September 11 attacks]], a new investor, Frank Kavanaugh, stepped in and looked to alter the direction of the business. Kavanaugh financed and secured the rights to a new line of products in support of the company's Mission to Protect and Save Lives. Around that time, the team identified an insolvent company in [[South Carolina]] called Technical Solutions, building a prototype of a mine-resistant vehicle the [[Buffalo (mine protected vehicle)|'Buffalo']] and attempting to build a smaller vehicle the Cougar/Tempest [[MRAP]] (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected). Technical Solutions was struggling and required a new strategy and additional resources. The products were designed using commercial components, and utilized a strategy to allow them to be rapidly rebuilt in the field.

Kavanaugh, the company chairman and largest investor, rebranded the company as 'Force Protection', and added rapid design capability, a focus on product quality, large scale production, and technical talent including the addition of Dr. Vernon Joynt, an internationally recognized blast expert.<ref name="npr-mrap">{{cite news |last1=Raz |first1=Guy |title=New Mine-Resistant Vehicles Aimed at Foiling IEDs |url=https://www.npr.org/2007/05/18/10241461/new-mine-resistant-vehicles-aimed-at-foiling-ieds |access-date=December 22, 2023 |work=All Things Considered |publisher=NPR |date=May 18, 2007}}</ref> Over a 3-year period, the new management team retooled the vehicles and developed the production capability of the business to almost $1.3 billion in annual sales - by integrating high-quality US automotive components with an innovative and effective blast resistant chassis.

Built for a variety of missions and designed for rapid adaptation, Force Protection's specialty vehicles provide the solution for a 360-degree battlefield where the "front line" is on all sides. From the soldier on the ground to government and military leaders in Washington, the message is clear: Force Protection offers a proven, tested solution to the problem of IEDs, land mines, roadside bombs, and hostile fire.

The heavily armored trucks featured a [[V-hull]] design that deflected underbody blasts away from the passenger compartment, and with Joynt's expertise the products were enhanced to address side-blast from IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) that had become a primary cause of injury and death for soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. The base designs secured from Mechem ([[South African government]]) resulted in two U.S. models: the Buffalo, a huge, mine-clearing truck, and the Cougar, which was smaller and more versatile, and through the company's research and development efforts with Joynt several innovations and improvements such as the Cheetah, and [[spaced armor]].

Modern warfare continues to evolve. There is increasing, critical need for technology that can protect against emerging threats to your assets. Force Protection produces the technology that provides this protection. It saves lives.

Force Protection initially struggled with its first small MRAP contracts in 2002 through 2005. At first the company had less than a dozen people on its early production line. At times the prototype approach took five weeks to build one Cougar. The [[United States Department of Defense]] fined Force Protection more than $1.5 million for initial delivery delays. Kavanaugh focused on moving from a prototype production environment to sustainable volume production methods.<ref name=autogenerated1 />

The team overcame these issues, developed agreements with other defense industry manufacturers such as [[Armor Holdings]] and [[BAE Systems]], as well as a joint venture company with [[General Dynamics]] ("Force Dynamics"), to merge Force Protection's proprietary designs with the manufacturing capacity necessary to meet increasing demand. Force Protection received several contracts as part of the MRAP program, supplying blast resistant vehicles to American forces in Iraq, but with Kavanaugh's departure in 2007 the remaining team lost focus and chose not to introduce an innovative JLTV category vehicle known as Cheetah. This led ultimately to the sale of the company to General Dynamics as orders were increasingly placed with rival companies.<ref>[http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/more-mraps-1200-maxxpro-mpvs-from-navistar-03344/ More MRAPs: Navistar’s MaxxPro Maintains the Pole Position - Defense Industry Daily<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

==Product Line==

*[[Cheetah MMPV|Cheetah]] – Thirteen Cheetah [[prototype]]s were produced in 2005 and available in 2006 & 2007. Intended for [[Urban area|urban]] operations, [[reconnaissance]], and forward command and control, no contracts were signed for the Cheetah.

*[[Cougar (MRAP)|Cougar]] – The Cougar is a medium-sized [[Land mine|mine]]-protected vehicle for command and control, [[artillery]] prime mover, recovery and [[ambulance]] duty. The Cougar has been in service with a number of armed forces since 2002.

**Cougar H [[Four-wheel drive|4×4]] can carry 4 troops and an EOD robot.

**Cougar HE [[Six-wheel drive|6×6]] can carry up to 12 troops.

*[[Buffalo (mine protected vehicle)|Buffalo]] – The Buffalo is designed principally for route clearing activities, asset protection, urban weapons systems, and command and control. The Buffalo has been in service with a number of armed forces since 2003

*[[SPECTRE light vehicle|SPECTRE]] – The SPECTRE light vehicle (formerly JAMMA) prototype. Offered to [[USSOCOM|SOCOM]] in 2012, no contracts were signed.

*[[Ocelot (vehicle)|Ocelot]] – The Ocelot, which is designed and built in the United Kingdom by [[Force Protection Europe]], is a light protected patrol vehicle (LPPV) ordered in 2010 to replace the UK military's [[Snatch Land Rover]] .<ref>{{cite web |title=Force Protection Europe |url=http://www.forceprotection.net/about/force_protection_europe.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100701040046/http://www.forceprotection.net/about/force_protection_europe.html |archive-date=2010-07-01 |publisher=Force Protection}}</ref>

== See also ==

*[[ILAV]]

==References==

{{reflist}}

==External links==

*[http://www.gdls.com/businesses/force-protection.php General Dynamics Land Systems - Force Protection website]

*[https://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=FRPT Yahoo! - Force Protection Inc. Company Profile]

*[https://www.usatoday.com/news/military/2007-08-01-force-protection-mraps_N.htm Extensive article from the USA Today about Force Protection Inc.]

{{Automotive industry in the United States}}

[[Category:Companies based in South Carolina]]

[[Category:Former defense companies of the United States]]

[[Category:Military vehicle manufacturers]]