thedrifter
01-04-07, 07:16 AM
New Armored Vehicle Saves Lives In Iraq, Protects From IED Blasts
Kevin Harlin
Wed Jan 3, 7:00 PM ET
The venerable Humvee wasn't designed to take the abuse dished out daily on the streets of Baghdad. Force Protection says its vehicles are.
The Ladson, S.C., company (OTC BB:FRPT.OB - News) says its patrol vehicles -- essentially armored bank trucks on steroids -- could save soldiers from one of the main threats they face today: devastating roadside bombs.
A few hundred of its Buffalo and Cougar vehicles are already deployed by U.S., British and Iraqi forces. In December, it partnered with General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - News) to bid on the U.S. military's latest call for a mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicle, or MRAP in military jargon.
If Force Protection wins its more than $1 billion bid to provide up to 3,600 vehicles over 18 months, it will be a massive undertaking for a company that produced just 50 vehicles in December.
General Dynamics
By marrying Force Protection's trucks with General Dynamics' fabricating capacity, the companies together can deliver large numbers of "the strongest, most advanced blast- and ballistic-protected vehicles in the world," Force Protection's Gordon McGilton said in a written statement.
Humvees weren't designed to bear the brunt of an explosion, particularly from underneath. The military is retrofitting those workhorses with armor plating, but casualties continue to mount.
Unlike Humvees, all of Force Protection's vehicles have V-shaped hulls -- a design first pioneered in South Africa that deflects blasts up and around the crew compartment.
That shape, and the heavy armor -- the company considers the exact makeup of the protective skin a military secret -- increase the odds that soldiers inside will survive.
The military suffered its first fatalities inside a Force Protection vehicle in an attack in November. Neither the company nor the military would elaborate, citing security.
But in most attacks the injuries have been minor, and many of the damaged vehicles have been able to return to base under their own power.
"It's the gold standard in protection," said Michael Aldrich, a Force Protection vice president. "We've been hit over 2,000 times now. So the jury has come back in and announced that they like the design and they believe in it."
The U.S. Army took delivery of the first Buffalos in 2003. These massive, 45,000-pound trucks, with 30-foot remote arms, are used to spot and disable improvised explosive devices -- the dreaded IEDs.
The middle-duty vehicle, the 30,000-pound Cougar, first entered service with the Marines in Fallujah in 2004 and is also used for hunting IEDs.
In December, the company raised $152.8 million in a private placement that it said will allow it to ramp up production of its newest and smallest vehicle, the relatively nimble 14,000-pound Cheetah.
Aldrich says the Cheetah will offer the same blast protection and will be able to better maneuver along narrow urban corridors.
As of December, the U.S. Marines already had 69 Force Protection trucks -- four Buffalos and 65 Cougars -- and funding approved for 805 more, Marine Corps Systems Command spokesman Bill Johnson-Miles says.
Johnson-Miles says accounts from Marines who survived blasts in them are a testament to the trucks' durability.
Force Protection's Aldrich said the success in the field has led to calls from NATO nations and the militaries of Middle East countries.
Ultimately the military plans to retire the Humvee completely, Johnson-Miles says. It hasn't yet put out specifications for the next generation of durable multipurpose vehicle. But Force Protection hopes its trucks, or variations on them, will make the grade.
Potential Market
If so, that would open the company to a potential $10 billion market to deliver 20,500 vehicles.
But capacity would have to dramatically improve first.
With General Dynamics' plants in Ohio and elsewhere, Force Protection said it expects to be churning out 200 vehicles a month by the middle of 2007, and up to 300 a month in 2008.
With capacity at its Ladson plant nearly maxed out, the company is looking for a new facility to manufacture its Cheetahs.
C.E. Unterberg Towbin analyst James McIlree says the order prospects look good in 2007, though he cautioned in a research note that the company could hit snags as it tries to ramp up production. He also noted that since the bulk of the business comes from the U.S. military, the company would be in trouble if its trucks lost favor, or were beaten by offerings from better-financed competitors.
McIlree's firm underwrote the company's December private placement.
Joe Maxa, an analyst with Dougherty & Co., wrote in a November research note that the management team at the 10-year-old company had limited experience together.
Force Protection trades as a bulletin board stock, but it has applied for listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market. In December it appointed a retired U.S. Army lieutenant general to its board, giving it the required majority of independent directors.
The company posted earnings of 1 cent per share in the third quarter, on revenue of $42.2 million, up from an 11-cent loss a year ago on sales of $9.3 million. Analysts had expected 4 cents per share in the third quarter.
Maxa attributed most of the shortfall to a delivery timing issue at the end of the quarter, and a delay in Buffalo production due to a customer's design change.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expect 7 cents per share in the fourth quarter, 11 cents for the year and 57 cents in 2007.
Ellie
Kevin Harlin
Wed Jan 3, 7:00 PM ET
The venerable Humvee wasn't designed to take the abuse dished out daily on the streets of Baghdad. Force Protection says its vehicles are.
The Ladson, S.C., company (OTC BB:FRPT.OB - News) says its patrol vehicles -- essentially armored bank trucks on steroids -- could save soldiers from one of the main threats they face today: devastating roadside bombs.
A few hundred of its Buffalo and Cougar vehicles are already deployed by U.S., British and Iraqi forces. In December, it partnered with General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - News) to bid on the U.S. military's latest call for a mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicle, or MRAP in military jargon.
If Force Protection wins its more than $1 billion bid to provide up to 3,600 vehicles over 18 months, it will be a massive undertaking for a company that produced just 50 vehicles in December.
General Dynamics
By marrying Force Protection's trucks with General Dynamics' fabricating capacity, the companies together can deliver large numbers of "the strongest, most advanced blast- and ballistic-protected vehicles in the world," Force Protection's Gordon McGilton said in a written statement.
Humvees weren't designed to bear the brunt of an explosion, particularly from underneath. The military is retrofitting those workhorses with armor plating, but casualties continue to mount.
Unlike Humvees, all of Force Protection's vehicles have V-shaped hulls -- a design first pioneered in South Africa that deflects blasts up and around the crew compartment.
That shape, and the heavy armor -- the company considers the exact makeup of the protective skin a military secret -- increase the odds that soldiers inside will survive.
The military suffered its first fatalities inside a Force Protection vehicle in an attack in November. Neither the company nor the military would elaborate, citing security.
But in most attacks the injuries have been minor, and many of the damaged vehicles have been able to return to base under their own power.
"It's the gold standard in protection," said Michael Aldrich, a Force Protection vice president. "We've been hit over 2,000 times now. So the jury has come back in and announced that they like the design and they believe in it."
The U.S. Army took delivery of the first Buffalos in 2003. These massive, 45,000-pound trucks, with 30-foot remote arms, are used to spot and disable improvised explosive devices -- the dreaded IEDs.
The middle-duty vehicle, the 30,000-pound Cougar, first entered service with the Marines in Fallujah in 2004 and is also used for hunting IEDs.
In December, the company raised $152.8 million in a private placement that it said will allow it to ramp up production of its newest and smallest vehicle, the relatively nimble 14,000-pound Cheetah.
Aldrich says the Cheetah will offer the same blast protection and will be able to better maneuver along narrow urban corridors.
As of December, the U.S. Marines already had 69 Force Protection trucks -- four Buffalos and 65 Cougars -- and funding approved for 805 more, Marine Corps Systems Command spokesman Bill Johnson-Miles says.
Johnson-Miles says accounts from Marines who survived blasts in them are a testament to the trucks' durability.
Force Protection's Aldrich said the success in the field has led to calls from NATO nations and the militaries of Middle East countries.
Ultimately the military plans to retire the Humvee completely, Johnson-Miles says. It hasn't yet put out specifications for the next generation of durable multipurpose vehicle. But Force Protection hopes its trucks, or variations on them, will make the grade.
Potential Market
If so, that would open the company to a potential $10 billion market to deliver 20,500 vehicles.
But capacity would have to dramatically improve first.
With General Dynamics' plants in Ohio and elsewhere, Force Protection said it expects to be churning out 200 vehicles a month by the middle of 2007, and up to 300 a month in 2008.
With capacity at its Ladson plant nearly maxed out, the company is looking for a new facility to manufacture its Cheetahs.
C.E. Unterberg Towbin analyst James McIlree says the order prospects look good in 2007, though he cautioned in a research note that the company could hit snags as it tries to ramp up production. He also noted that since the bulk of the business comes from the U.S. military, the company would be in trouble if its trucks lost favor, or were beaten by offerings from better-financed competitors.
McIlree's firm underwrote the company's December private placement.
Joe Maxa, an analyst with Dougherty & Co., wrote in a November research note that the management team at the 10-year-old company had limited experience together.
Force Protection trades as a bulletin board stock, but it has applied for listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market. In December it appointed a retired U.S. Army lieutenant general to its board, giving it the required majority of independent directors.
The company posted earnings of 1 cent per share in the third quarter, on revenue of $42.2 million, up from an 11-cent loss a year ago on sales of $9.3 million. Analysts had expected 4 cents per share in the third quarter.
Maxa attributed most of the shortfall to a delivery timing issue at the end of the quarter, and a delay in Buffalo production due to a customer's design change.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expect 7 cents per share in the fourth quarter, 11 cents for the year and 57 cents in 2007.
Ellie