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Ocelot is a radically different breed. Unlike mine-protected vehicles based on existing commercial chassis, Ocelot is based on modular flexibility. The Ocelot is produced by the US Company Force Protection, for the requirement of British Ministry of Defense for a new armoured vehicle with high protection, for the troops deployed to the new combat area. The first demonstrator was completed in 2009. The Ocelot is presented for the first time at DSEI 2009. This imaginative, new from the ground up design, integrates V-hull, blast protection technology with a demountable protected crew pod that allows multiple configurations for different roles. The modular crew pod is made with light advanced composite materials that allow Ocelot to meet and and/or exceed UK MoD Light Protected Patrol Vehicle survivability, mobility, payload and gross weight requirements. Developed jointly by Force Protection Europe Limited, the UK subsidiary of the manufacturer of the Mastiff and Ridgback MRAP vehicles, and its partners Ricardo UK Limited, whose whole-vehicle and sub-system design and optimization is successfully deployed in UK MoD programs such as fire support Vixen. In essence, the Mastiff and the Land Rover fire support kit have sired an agile prodigy: the Ocelot.
The 27 April 2010, Force Protection Europe a wholly owned subsidiary of Force Protection Industries, Inc., received a contract from the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence (MoD) for the purchase of two Ocelot vehicles for further testing in respect of the Light Protected Patrol Vehicle (LPPV) program. Designed to meet the British requirement for LPPV the Ocelot is designed for a gross vehicle weight of 7.5 tons, carrying a payload of 2 tons. The patrol version accommodates six soldiers (2+4), the weapon carrier WMIK version (Weapon Mounted Installation Kit) carries 2+2 while the logistical variant seats a crew of two. In addition to the British LPPV competition, Ocelot has also been offered for the Australian Land 121 Project Overlander program. Force Protection Europe Ltd (FPE), a Force Protection, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) group company, announced in September 2010 that it has been selected by the United Kingdom (U.K.) Ministry of Defence (MoD) as the preferred bidder in the Light Protected Patrol Vehicle (LPPV) program. The initial Ocelot vehicles are expected to be available for the training of U.K. forces in 2011. Formal contract negotiations (including final determination of vehicle quantities and price) between FPE and the U.K. MoD will begin shortly. Having recently won a major British competition with its Ocelot vehicle, Force Protection is preparing to go after the American market, according to the company's chief operating officer. Force Protection has briefed U.S. Army and Marine Corps leaders on the Ocelot, but the company wanted to secure a win in the U.K.'s light protected patrol vehicle (LPPV) program before pushing it aggressively in the United States, said Randy Hutcherson, chief operating officer for Force Protection, Ladson, S.C.
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