Modern Day Marine Expo / AUSA 2007
The Ceradyne, Inc Bull was developed to address US military’s future requirements for MRAP II. The vehicle uses a standard Military off-the-shelve Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement (MTVR) truck chassis, produced by Oshkosh, applied with advanced armor design and materials providing enhanced protection against mines, small arms, improvised explosive devices (IED) and Explosive Formed Projectiles (EFP) threats.
The vehicle is configured to accommodate six or 10 troops in a highly protected hull. According to Ceradyne, the Bull design has been subjected to, and has withstood, EFP.
The elevated armored cabin is surrounded up to 3/4 of its height with flat thick side armor, protecting the vehicles against most vulnerable standoff attacks by EFP based roadside IEDs. This armor adding to the cab’s integral sloped (V shaped) hull is protecting the Bull from attacks underneath. The integrated flat armor surface increases both ballistic and blast protection by avoiding the weak points and seams created by common add-on armor, associated with earlier solutions. This concept also motivated designers to eliminate side doors, making the Bull accessible only from the rear door. (Emergency escape could be provided through hinged side window panels). All vulnerable elements were removed from the lower section and moved back to the flatbed at the vehicle’s rear, including the fuel tank, air conditioning and auxiliary power unit. In addition to the standard and special armor, the Bull uses thick two-piece armored windshields and small side and rear windows improving surrounding situational awareness. The current model does not have firing ports.
The vehicle is developed by an industry team including Oshkosh Truck Corp., Ceradyne and Ideal Innovations. Sofar the team developed two prototypes, representing the 6 and 10 troop variants. The first two Bulls were delivered to the US Army for testing at the Aberdeen proving ground.
Other topics covered in this review:
- Light but Protected – Near-term HMMWV Replacements
- Bull Offers Maximum protection
- Gearing Up For the Joint Light Tactical vehicle
- JLTV Pathfinder – Combat Tactical Vehicle
- Hybrid Electric JLTV
- Specialized Off-Road Mobility
- Protecting against Blast
- HMMWV Accessories and Upgrades
- Vehicle Recovery in Combat
- Command and Control Systems
- Unmanned Ground Systems & Robotics
- Remote Weapon Systems
- Panoramic Vision Systems
- Advanced Technology for Future Vertical Lift
- Counter IED Technologies
- Weapons & Personal Gear
