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40-480: SC Group is a British manufacturer of military vehicles and related equipment. It was known as Supacat Ltd until 2015. Supacat was established in 1981 and based at Dunkeswell Aerodrome in England . SC Group now comprises four companies: Supacat , SC Innovation , Proteum and Blackhill Engineering . SC Group initially specialised in the design and development of military and civil high mobility vehicles. Throughout

80-429: A given overall thickness than a single plate, but was done because making thicker plates or plates with different metallurgical properties through their thickness (for example Harvey armor ) was prohibitively expensive or too technically challenging. Teak was used to sandwich layers that could not be easily fitted together, or provide a backing to catch splinters. During WWII, in an effort to provide protection against

120-489: A mechanism called thixotropy , the resin changes to a fluid under constant pressure, allowing the armour to be moulded into curved shapes. Later models of the T-64, along with newer designs, use a boron carbide -filled resin aggregate for greatly improved protection . The Soviets also invested heavily in reactive armour , which allowed them some ability to control quality, even after production. Among NATO nations and allies,

160-478: Is Bombardier Lynx snowmobile which has been modified for military use by Supacat. The Brimstone HMT Overwatch was created in 2022 to provide a launch system for the anti tank Brimstone (missile) system specifically for use by Ukraine. Using an extended 6x6 HMT 600 chassis, it was later given the code name Brimstone . SC Innovation provides engineering solutions to support all SC Group non-defence business. SC Innovation incorporates specialist vehicle work with

200-550: Is a 6x6 marginal terrain vehicle now in its fourth generation. Around 200 ATMPs have been supplied to mainly military users since 1982, including the armed forces of Canada, Malaysia, Mexico and the UK. The High Mobility Transporter (HMT) vehicle platform is produced in three variants the HMT 400 (4x4), the HMT 600 (6x6) and the HMT Extenda (configurable between 4x4 and 6x6). A HMT 800 (8x8) variant

240-400: Is a heavy fabrication and machining specialist. Supacat Limited acquired Blackhill in late 2014. Blackhill Engineering Services Ltd. has existed in various forms since the 1950s; originally its main role was to provide an engineering centre for English China Clays (Quarries Division), which looked after capital and revenue repairs, modifications, projects and servicing, for sites all over

280-509: Is a protected light 4x4 vehicle featuring a V-shaped steel chassis hull onto which is fitted a Composite armour crew pod shown at Eurosatory 2012. The Light Armoured Multipurpose Vehicle (LAMV) was developed with technical input from Supacat and was shown in February 2014 by the Indian company of Tata . The Light Reconnaissance Vehicle 400 (LRV 400) MK2 is an open lightweight 4x4 vehicle based on

320-457: Is also available. The HMT was designed in mid-1999 by HMT Supacat Limited later renamed to HMT Vehicles Limited. In 2004, Lockheed Martin entered into a licence agreement with HMT Vehicles Ltd to manufacture and sell the HMT in North America. In 2006, Lockheed Martin (UK) acquired HMT Vehicles Ltd who licensed the design back to Supacat. The HMT 400, the first of the platform to enter service,

360-564: Is used on modern western tanks such as the British Challenger 2 and the American M1 Abrams . The Abrams is also unique in its usage of depleted uranium armour plates in conjunction with composite armour, increasing overall vehicle protection. The Leopard 2A4 is similar in its use of tungsten inserts. All modern third-generation main battle tanks use composite armour arrays in their construction. While many of these vehicles feature

400-652: The Bay of Biscay using specialized Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers from August until November 1943. In November, the United States Army Air Forces turned over the antisubmarine mission to the United States Navy and its Liberators were reassigned to Navy Patrol Bomber Squadron VPB-103 , Fleet Air Wing 7, which continued aerial antisubmarine operations from the station, the AAF aircraft being redesignated under

440-593: The German Army’s Panzerfaust anti-tank weapon, an M4A3 was fitted with an armor “kit” incorporating a mixture of quartz gravel, asphalt and wood flour known as “HCR2.” This add-on armor was successfully live-fire tested in September 1945 against both the German Panzerfaust and 76mm High-Velocity Armor Piercing (HVAP) ammunition. Aside from this early test, the first serious development began as part of

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480-646: The Land Rover Discovery platform which can be transported internally in a Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopter shown at DSEi 2015. A 6x6 variant has also been designed similar to the HMT Extenda. Supacat is offering the LRV 400 for the Dutch Army Defence-wide Wheeled Vehicle Replacement Programme (DVOW). The Royal Marines 3 Commando Brigade's Surveillance and Reconnaissance Squadron (SRS) Oversnow Reconnaissance Vehicle (ORV)

520-579: The M60 Patton , and during the development stage (as the XM60) the siliceous-cored armour was at least considered for use, although it was not a feature of the production vehicles. The first widespread use of a composite armour appears to have been on the Soviet T-64 . It used an armour known as combination K , which apparently is glass-reinforced plastic sandwiched between inner and outer steel layers. Through

560-546: The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and the emergency services together with products and services for sectors such as oil & gas, marine, renewable energy and nuclear. Products include: Proteum is the marine brand within SC Group and was formed following the acquisition of MDS Marine and Bukh Diesel UK. Proteum represents and distributes a portfolio of marine products and services across

600-565: The Second World War , as RAF Dunkeswell . The station was originally planned as a No. 10 Group , RAF Fighter Command , then a No. 19 Group RAF Coastal Command airfield, but was transferred for use by American units. It was first used by the American United States Army Air Forces Antisubmarine Command, 479th Antisubmarine Group , as a base of operations to fly antisubmarine missions over

640-523: The US Army 's T95 experimental series from the mid-1950s. The T95 featured siliceous-cored armour which contained a plate of fused silica glass between rolled steel plates. The stopping power of glass exceeds that of steel armour on a thickness basis and in many cases glass is more than twice as effective as steel on a thickness basis. Although the T95 never entered production, a number of its concepts were used on

680-462: The United Kingdom and Channel Islands . Early in 1995 the company became privately owned. Production of SC Group's SC Innovation's Lifeboat Launch and Recovery System (L&RS) is now undertaken by Blackhill Engineering. In October 2015 Blackhill Engineering issued a press release informing it had been contracted by Supacat, also part of SC Group, to manufacture replacement chassis frames for

720-675: The "density law", which states that the penetration of shaped charge jets is proportional to the square root of the shaped charge liner density (typically copper ) divided by the square root of the target density. On a weight basis, lighter targets are more advantageous than heavier targets, but using large quantities of lightweight materials has obvious disadvantages in terms of mechanical layout. Certain materials have an optimal compromise in terms of density that makes them particularly useful in this role. Some early ironclads used armor composed of multiple layers of thinner armor bolted or welded together. The results were greatly less effective for

760-765: The Australian Army Special Air Service Regiment ordered 31 HMT Extenda vehicles known as Nary designated as the Special Operations Vehicle-Special Reconnaissance (SOV-SR) which due to technical problems did not enter service until 2011. In 2014, the Australian Army 2nd Commando Regiment ordered 89 HMT Extenda MK2 vehicles known as the Special Operations Vehicle-Commando (SOV-Cdo) that will be reconfigurable in four configurations. In 2015,

800-706: The HMT 400 designated as the Jackal and HMT 600 designated as the Coyote totalling 575 vehicles. The British Army has also developed specialist variants of the HMT. Two projects, named Project Soothsayer and the Lightweight Mobile Artillery Weapon System Gun (LIMAWS(G)) were cancelled in 2007. Supacat's HMT 600 is the chosen ground station platform for the UK MoD's Watchkeeper unmanned air vehicle (UAV) project. The Supacat Protected Vehicle 400 (SPV 400)

840-668: The Norwegian Army Forsvarets Spesialkommando ordered an undisclosed number of HMT Extenda vehicles to be delivered from 2017 to 2019. In 2016, the New Zealand Special Air Service ordered an undisclosed number of HMT Extenda vehicles designated as the Special Operations Vehicles – Mobility Heavy (SOV-MH) to be delivered from late 2017. The British Army is the biggest user of the HMT with purchases between June 2007 and late 2010 of

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880-558: The Supacat Jackal vehicle. Dunkeswell Aerodrome Dunkeswell Aerodrome ( ICAO : EGTU ) is an airfield in East Devon , England . It is located approximately 5 mi (8.0 km) north of the town of Honiton and 14 nautical miles (26 km; 16 mi) northeast of Exeter . It is a busy civilian airfield with a mix of light aircraft , microlights and parachuting . Nearby (1 NM (1.9 km; 1.2 mi)) to

920-568: The UK and Ireland , these including Bukh, Marine Diesel Sweden, OXE Diesel and Konrad propulsion systems. The company has two UK offices, these in Poole and Hamble. At the DSEI 2015 defence and security exhibition held in London, 15–18 September, OXE Diesel launched what the company claims to be the first viable high power NATO single fuel policy compliant diesel outboard engine for military users. According to

960-706: The USN/USMC system of the time as PB4Y-1 Liberators. This was the first United States Navy unit to train with the RAF, later followed by VB-105 and VB-110. The Naval antisubmarine squadrons moved to RAF Upottery in November 1944. With the departure of the Americans, the RAF used the airfield from August 1945 to April 1946 for ferrying aircraft to the Middle East by No. 16 Ferry Unit RAF , RAF Transport Command. After September 1946,

1000-437: The armour's multi hit abilities. After making it through the burster plate, the jet penetrates into the first NERA plate, and begins to compress the elastomer. The elastomer quickly reaches maximum compression and rapidly expands, pushing the two steel plates in opposite directions. It is the movement of the steel plates that disrupts the jet, both by feeding more material into the jet's path, and introducing lateral forces to break

1040-609: The armour. Soviet/Russian main battle tanks such as T-90s T-80 Us and the Chinese Type 96/99s use composite armour in tandem with explosive reactive armour (ERA), making it hard for shaped charge munitions such as HEAT projectiles and missile warheads to penetrate the frontal and a portion of their side armour. The most advanced versions of these armours such as the Relikt and Kontakt-5 armour provide protection not only against shaped charges but also kinetic energy penetrators by using

1080-414: The company, the 200 hp outboard has the highest power density of any marine diesel and incorporates a self-contained belt propulsor unit (S-BPU) to eliminate bevel gears and transfer shafts. In addition, the unit uses a conventional automotive engine block adapted for marine use, and unlike most outboards is mounted horizontally to improve reliability and reduce maintenance. Blackhill Engineering Services

1120-560: The composite armour permanently integrated with the vehicle, the Japanese Type 10 and Type 90 Kyū-maru MBTs, French Leclerc , Iranian Karrar , Turkish Altay , Indian Arjun , Italian Ariete and Chinese Type 96 /98 and Type 99 tanks use a modular composite armour, where sections of the composite armour can be easily and quickly switched out or upgraded with armour modules. The adoption of modular composite armour design facilitates far more efficient and easier upgrades and exchanges of

1160-401: The explosive force to shear the projectile apart. Applique armour has also been used in conjunction with composite armour to provide increased amounts of protection and to supplant existing composite arrays on a vehicle. The German Leopard 2A5 featured distinctive arrowhead laminated armour modules that was mounted directly onto the turret composite arrays, increasing protection markedly above

1200-489: The jet apart. The effectiveness of the system was amply demonstrated in Desert Storm , where not a single British Army Challenger tank was lost to enemy tank fire. (However, one was destroyed by friendly fire on March 25, 2003, killing two crew members after a HESH projectile detonated on the commander's hatch causing high-velocity fragments to enter the turret . ) Chobham-type armour is currently in its third generation and

1240-525: The last decade the company expanded its portfolio considerably to encompass developing equipment for operation in harsh environments in sectors including marine, renewables , mineral exploration , oil & gas and nuclear power . During 2014, the then Supacat made a series of acquisitions in the commercial marine sector leading to the creation of the now Proteum based in Hamble, UK. At the end of 2014 Exeter-based heavy fabrication specialist, Blackhill Engineering,

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1280-535: The most common type of composite armour today is Chobham armour , first developed and used by the British in the experimental FV 4211 tank , which was based on Chieftain tank components. Chobham uses multiple non-explosive reactive armour plates (NERA), which sandwich a layer of elastomer (like rubber) between two plates of steel armour. This was shown to dramatically increase the resistance to HEAT projectiles, even in comparison to other composite armour designs. Chobham

1320-405: The previous 2A4 model. Composite armour has since been applied to smaller vehicles, right down to jeep -sized automobiles. Many of these systems are applied as upgrades to existing armour, which makes them difficult to place around the entire vehicle. Nevertheless, they are often surprisingly effective; upgrades with MEXAS ceramic armour to Canadian M113s were carried out in the 1990s, after it

1360-458: The southwest is North Hill, an airstrip run by the local gliding club. Dunkeswell Aerodrome has a CAA Ordinary Licence (Number P674) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction as authorised by the licensee (Air Westward Limited). The aerodrome is not licensed for night use. Dunkeswell Airfield Heritage Centre, is situated to one side of the large propeller memorial. The airfield opened in 1943, during

1400-587: The station was put on care and maintenance status until the end of 1948, when it was sold by the Ministry of Defence. The following units were here at some point: Composite armour HEAT had posed a serious threat to armoured vehicles since its introduction in World War II . Lightweight and small, HEAT projectiles could nevertheless penetrate hundreds of millimetres of the most resistant steel armours . The capability of most materials for defeating HEAT follows

1440-557: Was acquired. The current CEO is Nick Ames who joined the company in 2003. Nick Jones, original co-founder of Supacat, remains a Director of SC Group. The Supacat brand is retained by SC Group for the group's core defence business. Supacat develops and supports high mobility military vehicles and provides specialist engineering services for defence customers. It is a member of Rheinmetall's Challenger 2 Life Extension Project (C2 LEP) team. The All Terrain Mobility Platform (ATMP)

1480-553: Was confirmed to be inside the T-72B's "Super Dolly Parton" armour, but is suspected to be inside the T-80A as well, since it is unlikely the Soviets would put worse armour in their "premier" tank. Chobham armour defeats HEAT warheads by disrupting the high speed jet generated by the warhead. The outer steel "burster" plate detonates the shell and protects the composite array from the blast, increasing

1520-666: Was developed for the United Kingdom Special Forces procured under Project Minacity to replace the Land Rover 110 Desert Patrol Vehicle . A contract was awarded in 2001 for 65 vehicles that entered service in 2003–2004 in Afghanistan following tenders in the late 1990s. In 2004, the U.S. Army Delta Force purchased 47 similarly configured vehicles designated Marauders which were delivered in 2004–2005. In 2006, Danish Army Hunter Corps ordered 15 HMT Extenda vehicles. In 2007,

1560-637: Was realized that it would offer more protection than newly built IFVs like the M2 Bradley . In 2004, American Marvin Heemeyer used an ad hoc composite armour on his Komatsu D355A bulldozer ("which he called the MK Tank and in popular culture, the Killdozer") used in a rampage in response to a dispute with the city he lived in over a zoning issue. The armour, at some places a 1 foot (30 cm) thick, consisted of

1600-509: Was such an improvement that it was soon used on the new U.S. M1 Abrams main battle tank (MBT) as well. The need to mount multiple angled plates, along with an outer steel layer to protect the armour array, gives the Challenger and Abrams their "slab sided" look. The Soviets/Russians had a similar composite armour to the West's own "NERA", with rubber sandwiches between plates of steel. This armour

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