The Buffalo is a wheeled mine resistant ambush protected (

MRAP Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP; ) is a term for United States military light tactical vehicles produced as part of the MRAP program that are designed specifically to withstand improvised explosive device (IED) attacks and ambushes. T ...

) armored military vehicle built by Force Protection, Inc., a division of

General Dynamics General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American publicly traded, aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Reston, Virginia. As of 2020, it was the fifth-largest defense contractor in the world by arms sales, and 5th largest in the Un ...

. It is the largest vehicle in Force Protection's line-up, followed by the

Cougar The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large cat native to the Americas. Its range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. I ...

MRAP and the

Ocelot The ocelot (''Leopardus pardalis'') is a medium-sized spotted wild cat that reaches at the shoulders and weighs between on average. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. Two subspecies are recognized. It is native to the southw ...

light protected patrol vehicle (LPPV).

History

The Buffalo vehicle was designed based on the successful

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

Casspir The Casspir is a Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle that has been in use in South Africa since the 1980s. It is a four-wheeled, four-wheel drive vehicle, used for transport of troops. It can hold a crew of two, plus 12 additional soldiers an ...

mine-protected vehicle. The Casspir is a four-wheeled vehicle, while 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 A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of an artificial object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpa ...

that directs the force of the blast away from the occupants. Buffalo is also now equipped with BAE Systems' LROD cage armor for additional protection against

RPG-7 The RPG-7 (russian: link=no, РПГ-7, Ручной Противотанковый Гранатомёт, Ruchnoy Protivotankoviy Granatomyot) is a portable, reusable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank, rocket-propelled grenade launcher. T ...

anti-tank Anti-tank warfare originated from the need to develop technology and tactics to destroy tanks during World War I. Since the Triple Entente deployed the first tanks in 1916, the German Empire developed the first anti-tank weapons. The first de ...

rounds. Glass armor is sufficient at 6 inches thickness. Run-flat tires are mounted on all six wheels. The Buffalo combines ballistic and blast protection with

infrared Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from aroun ...

technology to detect the presence of dangerous ordnance and a

robotic arm A robotic arm is a type of mechanical arm, usually programmable, with similar functions to a human arm; the arm may be the sum total of the mechanism or may be part of a more complex robot. The links of such a manipulator are connected by join ...

to disable the explosive ordnance. Personnel operate the Buffalo’s 30-foot robotic arm and claw from within the armored hull via a mounted camera and sensory equipment, to safely dispose of mines and IEDs. In 2004, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

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. In 2009 Force Protection started producing the A2 version, with major changes in the Axle Tech rear axles, Cat C13 engine, Cat CX31 transmission, and suspension, along with additional upgrades to the HVAC system, hood and front bumper. The easiest way to identify an A1 version from the A2 version is that the front bumper of the A2 has a larger profile. The last Buffalo A2 MRAP truck 795 was completed in June 2014. Force Protection was acquired by

Land Systems (GDLS) in 2011 for $350 million.

Variants

* Buffalo H * Buffalo A2

Operators

* - 200 A1 version and approximately 450 A2 version * - 5 plus an additional 10 for delivery in 2009. 19 in service in Afghanistan. Canada ended its mission in Afghanistan in 2011 and is no longer in use in Afghanistan. * - 5 vehicles * *: 20 Cougar JERRV (Buffalo

Explosive Ordnance Disposal Bomb disposal is an explosives engineering profession using the process by which hazardous explosive devices are rendered safe. ''Bomb disposal'' is an all-encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated functions in the milit ...

version) received from US under Coalition Support Fund in 2010.SIPRI Arms Transfers Database
/ref> * - 18 vehicles

Notable appearances in media

The Buffalo appeared as the vehicle mode of the Decepticon Bonecrusher in the movie ''

Transformers ''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Tomy, Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the Autobots and the Decepticons, two alien robot factions at war that can transform into other forms ...

'' (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 wide—they had totally cheated the whole thing in

Photoshop Adobe Photoshop is a raster graphics editor developed and published by Adobe Inc. for Windows and macOS. It was originally created in 1988 by Thomas and John Knoll. Since then, the software has become the industry standard not only in ras ...

.... We had to make an appliance to fit over the existing arm, that wouldn’t bounce around too much because it was about wide." Buffalo vehicles and JERRVs are used by the Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team in the television show "

Bomb Patrol Afghanistan ''Bomb Patrol Afghanistan'' is an American documentary television series that premiered in the United States on G4 in October 2011. The series follows members of a United States Navy EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) unit (Platoon 3-4-2) as the ...

Gallery

Image:Buffalo mine-protected vehicle and GI.jpg, Buffalo mine-protected vehicle and GI File:Counter IED training 130220-A-ZR192-423.jpg, Buffalo showing remote manipulator arm Image:Buffalo IED.jpg, A Buffalo that survived with its cabin intact after an IED attack took its two front wheels and axle off Image:Looking for IED near Shindand.jpg, Buffalo in Italian service File:Buffalo Vehicle Part of Talisman Suite in Convoy in Afghanistan MOD 45153768.jpg, Buffalo in British service with additional slat armour

References

External links

Buffalo series
ForceProtection.net
Buffalo MPCV EOD Technical Data Sheet and Pictures
Army Recognition {{DEFAULTSORT:Buffalo (Mine Protected Vehicle) Armoured personnel carriers Military engineering vehicles of the United States Military vehicles introduced in the 2000s