Lord Lieutenant of Devon presents Queen’s Award to Supacat

Export success for world beating special forces vehicles – made in Devon

One of Britain’s few military vehicle designers and manufacturers, Supacat’s special forces vehicles have a reputation for being among the best in the world.  The company’s recent export success has earned it the UK’s most prestigious business award.  A large order from Australia followed by contracts from Norway and New Zealand for its Special Forces HMT Extenda vehicle grew the company’s overseas earnings from £2.5m to over £32m over the last three years.  The vehicle is one of Supacat’s family of military high mobility and protected vehicles, which include the acclaimed `Jackal` and `Coyote` operated by the UK Armed Forces.

“It’s a huge honour to celebrate this award with all our staff, distinguished guests from local government, our customers, supply chain and professional services providers.  The long cycle involved in developing our products means we’re here because of the hard work started 30 years ago by our founder, Nick Jones, and his team; and the dedication of our current staff will no doubt gain similar recognition in the future”, said Nick Ames.

Privately owned, Supacat, part of SC Group, has been trading for over 30 years in the heart of Devon.  Over the last decade has grown its core defence vehicle business and expanded its engineering services into the nuclear, energy and marine sectors.  With offices in the UK and Australia, Supacat and the wider SC Group employ over 200 people and have exported products and services all over the globe.

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Supacat launches HMT Light Weight Recovery in defence industry first for Light Weight (Air Portable) Recovery vehicle programme

`Supalift` technology increases lifting weight by over 60%

The global defence industry’s most versatile Light Weight Recovery (LWR) vehicle will be unveiled by UK high mobility vehicle specialist, Supacat, at DSEi in London. The 10.5 tonne HMT Light Weight Recovery (HMT LWR) has been developed by Supacat to fill a capability gap to recover vehicles operating in hard to access urban and rural locations as required by the UK MoD’s Light Weight (Air Portable) Recovery Capability (LW(AP)RC) programme.

The 6×6 HMT LWR offers high levels of agility, off-road performance and protection in common with Supacat’s High Mobility Transporter (HMT) family, which includes `Jackal` and `Coyote` now within UK MoD’s Core Fleet. HMT LWR utilises many HMT design features such as the variable height air suspension system, engine and drive line that have been battle proven in numerous theatres. Blast and ballistic protection has been built into the chassis providing the optimum protection for its weight of 10.5 tonnes.

The vehicle is capable of wading through up to 1.5m of salt water, with an additional 0.5m of wave splash. This enables the vehicle to be deployed from landing craft. It can operate at -30 to +50 degrees.

HMT LWR utilises an innovative new Supacat designed technology, `Supalift` (patent pending), which extends the range of vehicles that can be recovered by a light weight recovery vehicle. HMT LWR’s recovery system can be operated both in conventional mode and by the operator engaging `Supalift`, which increases the maximum lifting weight of the recovery system by over 60%. In conventional mode the HMT LWR recovery system lifts a maximum recovered vehicle axle mass of 3.8 tonnes and in `Supalift` mode rises to 6.1 tonnes (specification based on recovering an HMT 400 `Jackal 2`). `Supalift` technology is based on the principle of distributing the weight of the casualty vehicle more evenly over the recovery vehicle.

Phil Applegarth, Head of Supacat, said, “HMT LWR provides customers with a highly versatile and cost effective light weight recovery capability, with the flexibility to recover a wide range of vehicles. We are very proud of our engineering team in developing `Supalift`, which finally makes a light weight recovery vehicle a reality and is a game-changer in extending the lifting capability of recovery systems for defence and other industry sectors”.

HMT LWR is fitted with a specially designed Boniface and Miller Century 2465 hamper and a Rotzler TR80 main winch. These will be fitted as standard but as with all HMT platforms the modular hamper design can be reconfigured to suit any role.

At last year’s DVD show Supacat revealed the concept demonstrator for the LW(AP)RC programme as one of several new variants of the HMT platform. This has since been developed as HMT LWR to full prototype, which will be displayed on Supacat’s DSEi stand N9-360.

“HMT LWR also demonstrates the flexibility of the HMT platform in being configurable to different roles to meet the needs of current and future programmes”, said Phil Applegarth, Head of Supacat.

Supacat unveils high performance SC12 Rib in DSEi debut

Supacat is unveiling the high performance SC12 Rib (Rigid Inflatable Boat) at DSEi where its capabilities will be demonstrated on the River Thames throughout the show. An established prime contractor to the UK MoD, Supacat has teamed with Norwegian boat builder, Goldfish Boat, to offer into the UK market the 12m SC12 and a 9m variant, SC9, which are developments of craft already proven and in-service with NATO Forces.

Supacat will provide the UK based engineering support, project management and through life support functions for SC12 and SC9, marking a further expansion by Supacat into the maritime defence sector. Supacat is able to draw on the marine capabilities of its parent SC Group’s sister businesses, marine engineer Proteum and specialist engineer SC Innovation responsible for the SMV24 multi-role support vessel.

Goldfish has a 24 year history in designing high performance RIBs renowned for high speed, agility and durability to meet the demanding military applications and are backed with an international racing pedigree. The innovative hull design and power integration of SC12 and SC9 create a responsive, manoeuvrable and powerful platform for the user and achieve speeds in excess of 50 knots.

The fully integrated C4ISR system enables rapid decision making and response times providing the user with tactical options through configurable, easily accessible and shareable C4ISR feeds. Human machine interface (HMI) and power delivery enable intuitive and precise boat handling in the most demanding operational conditions.

In-service with NATO Forces Goldfish Boat’s RIBs have proven aerial dispatch and air delivery capabilities, capable of being deployed by CH47, A400M and C17 aircraft, enabling a flexible response and ease of recovery. The platform is adaptable and can be re-configured for mission specific requirements. Deck space can also be reconfigured with the position of equipment and personnel optimised for each mission. SC12 meets the most demanding payload requirements and the design has provision for future growth.

Ben Gaffney, Supacat’s Deputy Head of New Programmes, said, “The SC12 and SC9 represent a step change in maritime capability. The platforms are supremely responsive, deployable and reconfigurable with intuitive, bespoke HMI. The C4ISR system provides the end user with superior situational awareness and the sophisticated craft design will ensure the end user is delivered to target without the high levels of fatigue induced by some inferior designs and in a much better condition to conduct operations”.

Supacat unveils LRV600 at DSEi Demonstrating LRV flexibility and increased capability in 6×6 configuration

Supacat is unveiling LRV600, the 6×6 configuration of its high performance off-road Light Reconnaissance Vehicle (LRV), at DSEi offering users the ability to increase their capability and payload, whilst remaining air portable from inside a CH-47 Chinook.

Developed for rapid intervention operations in harsh environments, the LRV platform has the distinctive design feature of being convertible between 6×6 and 4×4, offering users the flexibility to reconfigure the vehicle to meet different operational requirements within hours by the addition of a 3rd axle module.

LRV600 has a maximum Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) of 5500kg and offers a maximum payload of 2350kg, over 50% more than the LRV400 Mk2 configuration. LRV400 Mk2’s maximum GVW is 4200kg and maximum payload 1500kg. LRV600 is 1m longer at 5.65m but can be shortened to less than 5.5m if required. Both LRV600 and LRV400 Mk2 carry a crew of 3 or 4 and achieve speeds of up to 100mph/160km.

“The Supacat LRV600 demonstrates the unique flexibility of the LRV platform enabling users to convert between 4×4 and 6×6 depending on their mission. LRV600’s increased capability and air portability also sets it apart as a tactical capability for special operations”, said Phil Applegarth, Head of Supacat, part of the SC Group.

LRV 600 will have a new weapon system fitted at DSEi which is a first for land based, special forces vehicles of this type. Working together with the US company, Arnold Defense,

and a team of industry experts, Supacat has integrated the ‘FLETCHER’ 2.75-inch laser guided rocket system in a demonstration of the newly launched FLETCHER concept. The system provides the user with firepower that would otherwise involve calling in air or aviation assets.

In developing LRV Supacat has taken the rolling chassis and automotive systems from the Land Rover Discovery and adapted them for specialist military applications to offer unrivalled performance for a vehicle of its size and weight class.   Using a mass-produced automotive platform delivers reliability, safety and cost efficiencies. In addition, the vehicle is ITAR free and can be supported via the existing globally available spares network enhanced by Supacat’s established military vehicle through life support service. LRV has been developed with a common user interface to its Supacat HMT `Jackal` to maximise inter-operability and minimise training.

LRV has front and rear independent double wishbone air suspension offering variable ride height including bump stops providing a highly stable firing platform.   Powered by a V6 3.0 turbo diesel providing 256 bhp and 600Nm Torque giving a high power to weight ratio, it has an 8 speed automatic transmission and high and low permanent 4WD with centre diff lock.

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