Buffalo (mine protected vehicle)
Encyclopedia
The Buffalo mine protected vehicle
Mine Protected Vehicle
Mine Protected Vehicle may refer to:*Armoured personnel carrier*Medium Mine Protected Vehicle*Mine Protected Vehicle India*MRAP...

 is a wheeled armored vehicle
MRAP (armored vehicle)
A Mine Resistant Ambush Protected is a family of armored fighting vehicles design led by the United States Marine Corps in use by the United States Army, Navy, Air Force, and Special Operations Forces with the goal of surviving IED attacks and ambushes - prompted by US deaths in Iraq...

 built by Force Protection Inc
Force Protection Inc
Force Protection, Inc. is a manufacturer of ballistic- and blast-protected vehicles which have been used in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo and other hot spots around the world.-Company:...

. It was designed based on the successful South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

n Casspir
Casspir
The Casspir is a landmine-protected personnel carrier that has been in use in South Africa for over 20 years. It is a four wheeled armoured vehicle, used for transport of troops. It can hold a crew of two, plus 12 additional soldiers and associated gear. The Casspir was unique in design when...

 mine
Land mine
A land mine is usually a weight-triggered explosive device which is intended to damage a target—either human or inanimate—by means of a blast and/or fragment impact....

-protected vehicle. 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
V-hull
The V-hull is a type of vehicle armor design used on wheeled armored personnel carriers , infantry mobility vehicles and infantry fighting vehicles...

 chassis
Chassis
A chassis consists of an internal framework that supports a man-made object. It is analogous to an animal's skeleton. An example of a chassis is the underpart of a motor vehicle, consisting of the frame with the wheels and machinery.- Vehicles :In the case of vehicles, the term chassis means the...

 that directs the force of the blast away from the occupants.

Buffalo is also now equipped with BAE Systems
BAE Systems
BAE Systems plc is a British multinational defence, security and aerospace company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that has global interests, particularly in North America through its subsidiary BAE Systems Inc. BAE is among the world's largest military contractors; in 2009 it was the...

' LROD cage armor
Cage armor
Slat armor is a type of vehicle armor designed to protect against anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade attacks...

 for additional protection against RPG-7
RPG-7
The RPG-7 is a widely-produced, portable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade launcher. Originally the RPG-7 and its predecessor, the RPG-2, were designed by the Soviet Union, and now manufactured by the Bazalt company...

 anti-tank rounds.
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
Infrared
Infrared light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength longer than that of visible light, measured from the nominal edge of visible red light at 0.74 micrometres , and extending conventionally to 300 µm...

 technology to detect the presence of dangerous ordnance and a robotic arm
Robotic arm
A mechanical arm is a robotic, usually programmable, with similar functions to a human arm. The links of such a manipulator are connected by joints allowing either rotational motion or translational displacement. The links of the manipulator can be considered to form a kinematic chain...

 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
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

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

Variants


Operators

- 200/Canadian Forces
Canadian Forces
The Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."...

 - 5 plus an additional 10 for delivery in 2009 19 in service in Afghanistan. - 5 to be delivered November 2008 - 6 vehicles - 12 to be delivered for June 2010, a further 6 for end of 2010.

Film

The Buffalo appeared as the vehicle aspect of the Decepticon
Decepticon
The Decepticons are usually depicted as the antagonists in the fictional universes of the Transformers stoyline and related comics and cartoons, and the enemies of the Autobots and the University of California Davis Aggies...

 Bonecrusher in the movie Transformers (2007), and in the sequel, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is a 2009 American science fiction-action film directed by Michael Bay and produced by Steven Spielberg. It is the sequel to the 2007 film Transformers and the second installment in the live-action Transformers series...

. 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 (355.6 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 m) wide."

See also

  • Buffel
    Buffel
    The Buffel is a mine-protected APC used by the South African Army during the South African Border War. The Buffel was also used as an armoured fighting vehicle and proved itself in this role...

  • Casspir
    Casspir
    The Casspir is a landmine-protected personnel carrier that has been in use in South Africa for over 20 years. It is a four wheeled armoured vehicle, used for transport of troops. It can hold a crew of two, plus 12 additional soldiers and associated gear. The Casspir was unique in design when...

  • Cheetah MMPV
    Cheetah MMPV
    The Cheetah MMPV is built by Force Protection Inc. It is the smallest of Force Protection's line-up, consisting of the...

  • Cougar
    Cougar (vehicle)
    The Cougar is an armored fighting vehicle designed to be resistant to anti-vehicle mines and improvised munitions.It is a family of armored vehicles produced by Force Protection Inc, which manufactures ballistic and mine-protected vehicles. The automotives are integrated by Spartan Motors...

  • MRAP (armored vehicle)
    MRAP (armored vehicle)
    A Mine Resistant Ambush Protected is a family of armored fighting vehicles design led by the United States Marine Corps in use by the United States Army, Navy, Air Force, and Special Operations Forces with the goal of surviving IED attacks and ambushes - prompted by US deaths in Iraq...

  • RG-33
    RG-33
    The RG-33 is a mine-resistant light armored vehicle initially designed by BAE Systems Land Systems South Africa a South African subsidiary of BAE Systems. BAE Systems in the US extensively modified it with additional protection, new power train and suspension systems. It was built in a number of...


External links

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