The Wildcat is an air transportable light armoured military vehicle designed and built jointly by UK based motorsport company QT Services and terrain vehicle manufacturer Supacat.
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It is a high speed and high mobility off road vehicle being developed to carry out border patrol, reconnaissance, rapid intervention and strike missions.
The Wildcat is controlled by two crew members (driver and commander) seated in the front section of the cab. The gross and kerb weights of the vehicle are 2,580kg and 1,680kg respectively. The fuel capacity is 365 litres.
The Wildcat was first unveiled to the public in July 2011 and entered service in 2012. It is available in petrol and diesel versions.
Design and features of the Supacat Wildcat
The Wildcat has been designed to operate in harsh environments including deserts and rough terrains. It is a lightweight, low cost and a high mobility platform filling the void between quad bikes and heavier vehicles.
It has been designed with tubular space frame chassis enclosed by a fashionable shell structure made up of carbon fibre glass. Designed to be 3.8m long and 1.75m wide, the vehicle will feature doors on either side for crew entry and exit.
The Wildcat boasts infra-red lights, run flats, self recovery hydraulic winch, beam axle with hydraulic shock absorbers, communication systems, differential air locking system, 0.32m rotor, 235/25 R16 tyres, 24V DC electrical system and two steering wheels. It is fitted with an air conditioning system to minimise the crew fatigue.
The chassis mounted steering damper offers power steering by absorbing steering forces caused by the rough terrain.
Development of the Supacat Wildcat light armoured vehicle
QT Services initially built the Wildcat as a 4×4 vehicle for the consumer market. Supacat is modifying the vehicle to a military version for the worldwide defence market. The development of the Wildcat began in 2010.
The modifications include incorporating weapon and communication systems and lightweight armours.
Wildcat LAV armaments
The remote controlled weapon station (RCWS) of Wildcat weighs 30kg and is mounted on top of the vehicle.
The RCWS can be fitted with a 7.62mm general purpose machine gun and daylight or night camera to display the target. The camera can be controlled either by a joystick or a thumb controller.
The vehicle also incorporates an electric smoke grenade launcher to provide 360° coverage. It also features smoke dischargers and weapon mounts.
Self protection armour
The Wildcat is fitted with light armour protection and can be hinged with add-on armour for increasing protection. It is also fitted with ballistic crew seats and ballistic armour.
Propulsion and power
Based on the customer requirements, the Wildcat is powered by a 2.8L TGV diesel or Land Rover 3L V6 diesel or Land Rover 4L V8 petrol engines.
The TGV diesel engine produces 119kW of output power. The V6 diesel and V8 petrol engine generate 234kW and 201kW of output power respectively.
Mobility of the light armoured vehicle
The Wildcat can accomplish a maximum speed of 170km/h. The range of the vehicle is 2,970km.
The vehicle can ford to a depth of 0.6m in rough terrains using hydraulic suspension. The gradient and slope of the vehicle are 45° and 40° respectively.
The vehicle can be halted by using a powerful servo aided braking system integrating large front and rear disc brakes.
It renders smooth road and utmost off-road performance using its automatic and manual gear box.
An onboard jack system facilitates the vehicle to lift itself from grounding situations during combat recovery missions.
The wall to wall turning circle and ground clearance of the Wildcat is 13.2m and 0.5m respectively.
The Global Armoured Vehicles & Counter IED Vehicles Market 2011-2021
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