A Replacement For the Humvee?

In case you hadn't noticed, the Humvee is a wholey inadequate means of protection against road-side explosives over in Iraq. As someone who lives right next to Walter Reed, every weekend I get a pretty intimate view of just how poorly armored these vehicles really are.

Well, in comes Force Protection, Inc., with a potential replacement for ailing jeep replacement.

The Cougar is nothing less than an armored, mil-spec monster truck that while still kind of cool-looking, doesn't seem all too realistic. One look at the size comparisson to the Humvee and you'll understand why. I mean, what real use does the Army have for a jeep that's bigger than a duce-and-a-half (2 1/2 ton truck)? The logistical support required to maintain these things as a Humvee replacement would be absurd.

Anyway, here's the description from the product site:

The Cougar is a family of medium mine-protected vehicles which can be supplied in 4X4 or 6X6 layout. It can be configured for a wide range of tasks including troop carrying (up to 14 in the 6X6), EOD (4 troops and a large EOD robot in the 4X4), command and control, artillery prime mover, recovery and ambulance duty. Cougar is in production.

Technorati tags: Cougar, Humvee, Military Technology