The Caiman is an armored vehicle with a V-hull design based on the Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) and Low Signature Armored Cab (LSAC), initially developed by Stewart & Stevenson . Stewart & Stevenson was later acquired in 2005 by Armor Holdings , which developed the Caiman from the FMTV and LSAC designs. The Caiman completed testing by the US Military at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds in July 2007. On 13 July 2007, Armor Holdings received a prime contract award by the US Navy on the behalf of the US Marine Corps for $518.5 million under the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle program.
In August 2009, the U.S. Army announced that Oshkosh Defense had been awarded the FMTV A1P2 rebuy production contract. This award did not include the Caiman.
In September 2010 BAE Systems has been awarded a $629 million contract from the U.S. Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) Joint Program Office (JPO) to upgrade 1,700 Caiman MRAP vehicles to Caiman Multi-Terrain Vehicle - Caiman MTV standard. The upgraded vehicle integrates a refurbished and improved armored capsule from an existing vehicle with a new high-power automotive power train, chassis and independent suspension made by ArvinMeritor. The Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) is a series of vehicles, based on a common chassis, that vary by payload and mission requirements. The FMTV is derived from the Austrian military Steyr 12 M 18 truck, but substantially modified to meet U.S. Army requirements, these including a minimum 50 per cent U.S. content.Since the first FMTVs were fielded in January 1996 the family has been expanded and the overall design enhanced considerably. The FMTV was originally manufactured by Stewart and Stevenson (1996-2006) , then by Armor Holdings (2006-2007), then by what is now BAE Systems Platforms & Services until 2011. It is currently manufactured by Oshkosh Corporation. On 13 October 2016 the U.S. Army solicited proposals for the FMTV A2 rebuy competition. Meritor, Inc. is an American corporation headquartered in Troy, Michigan, which manufactures automobile components for military suppliers, trucks, and trailers. Meritor is a Fortune 500 company.In 1997, Rockwell International spun off its automotive business as Meritor. In 2000, ArvinMeritor was formed from the merger of Meritor Automotive, Inc., and Arvin Industries, Inc.
The RG33 is a family of mine-protected vehicles manufactured by BAE Systems. The RG33 4x4 and 6x6 are in production in the United States for the US Marine Corps mine-resistant ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicle programme. BAE Systems manufactures three of the US Marine Corps' five variants of MRAP vehicles: the Caiman, the RG31 and the RG33.The RG33 is manufactured in several configurations including the category I 4x4, category II 6x6, the heavy armored ground ambulance (HAGA) and the special operations command (SOCOM) vehicle. The RG33 series is in the medium weight class, providing survivability, advanced mobility, mission flexibility, rapid availability and vehicle commonality.
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