Mastiff 2 (AFV)
The ‘Mastiff 2′ is a variant of the US Cougar which is currently (As of this article) in operational use by the United Kingdom in Afghanistan beginning its service there in 2006 ˆ as simply the Mastiff. Since its original form as the Cougar, the British have made 50 improvements and modifications to the vehicle to further improve survivability and protection of the vehicle and its occupants. Its main priority for the United Kingdom was to field these as soon as possible on the battlefronts of Afghanistan to fight against the usage of IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) and has a ‘V’ shaped hull to protect the occupants of this vehicle against such attacks and because of this it has ‘anti-mine’ capabilities. The official magazine for the British Army, Soldier Magazine, recently released an article which it stated:
“There has not been a single fatality in one to enemy action in theatre and that proves the survivability is second-to-none.”
Another interesting quote from the article:
“We have seen vehicles that have taken 20 hits but are still going after repairs. Yes they are expensive, but what price do you put on a soldier’s life?”
This is certainly a favourite for the British Army personnel who go out on patrols in Afghanistan. The level of protection is clearly second to none.
Armaments
The ‘Mastiff 2′ is armed with a GPM (General Purpose Machine gun) of which calibre is a 7.62 mm and has a protected shield turret on the roof of the ‘Mastiff 2′ armed with a 12.7 mm (.50 calibre) machine gun for heavy firing purposes. This heavy machine gun can be replaced with a 40 mm grenade launcher (Mk.19) which has an effective range of 1500 m.
Protection
The Mastiff 2, as mentioned before in this article has a V shaped hull which means it deflects blasts away from the vehicle in question. The Mastiff 2 included in further modifications to the design has added heavy metal plates to increase protection of the vehicle and its occupants. The driver of the vehicle also has a thermal imaging camera, where he can detect any threats, which may have been hidden before, which further improves the protection of this vehicle. There is also a cage armour or slat armour which is another addition of protection which helps the vehicle capture RPG (Rocket Propelled Grenades) before it reaches, penetrates then blasts inside the hull itself.
General
The ‘Mastiff 2′ has 3 wheels on each of its sides (6 x 6) and is heavily armoured for the intent of protecting its occupants. It can hold up to 2 people (2 front seats) and an additional 8 people in the back of this huge and well protected vehicle. Its maximum speed is 90kph and has a maximum range of 966km.
3 Responses to “Mastiff 2 (AFV)”
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Good stuff, liked this post!
Hi, i am from turkey so my english is not that goodish. Please dont blame me. I read blogs to make my english better and say that your blog was perfect readable for me, because the english is really clear-thinking and all the article are perfect readable. I will come back, to improve my english even more. Thanks a lot
As for Mastiff, I heard it is a good vehicle in Afghnistan and it do well against explosive ied?
This vehicle has performed very well in conditions in Afghanistan. Especially with it being able to combat vBIEDs with its v shaped hull making the survivability of its occupants its number one job.