South African private-sector defence group Milkor has launched three vehicles at the Africa Aerospace and Defence 2024 exhibition, held late last month at Air Force Base Waterkloof, in Centurion, south of Pretoria.

These are the Bushcat armoured personnel carrier (APC), the Vanguard mine- resistant ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicle and the Frontier agile vehicle family.

Hitherto, the company only offered one vehicle, an APC, designated simply as the Milkor 4 × 4. The Bushcat was developed from the Milkor 4 x 4, incorporating all the lessons learnt from the company’s customers who operate that vehicle.

“We used an IVECO truck chassis as the basis for the Bushcat, which makes both maintenance and access to spares easy,” explains Milkor marketing and communications director Daniel du Plessis to Engineering News & Mining Weekly. “It comes in various versions, such as APC, police riot control, police special operations, command vehicle, border surveillance, and field ambulance. It competes in the middle of the market, and is aimed at the African market – that’s its intended niche.”

The Bushcat is a 4 × 4 vehicle, protected to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation-developed, but now internationally accepted, Standardisation Agreement (STANAG) Level 3a and 3b, for blast protection, and to STANAG 2, regarding ballistic protection. This means that it is protected against land mine explosions under any of its wheels (STANAG 3a) or under the centre of its body (STANAG 3b), and, ballistically, it can withstand 7.62 × 39 mm armour-piercing incendiary ammunition fired from a range of 30 m, or shrapnel from a 155 mm artillery shell detonating 80 m away.

It has a gross vehicle mass (GVM) of 12 000 kg, can carry a crew of two and eight passengers, and can be fitted with a crewed or remotely operated weapon station or turret. It has a maximum speed of 110 km/h and a range of 1 000 km.

“The Milkor Vanguard is a new vehicle, a purpose-designed and built MRAP,” he reports. “It’s also a 4 × 4, but bigger, heavier, better protected than the Bushcat. But the Vanguard is still air transportable in a [Lockheed Martin] C-130 [Hercules].”

The Vanguard also comes in different versions – troop carrier, command vehicle, border surveillance, field ambulance and riot control. It is protected against blast to STANAG 4a and 4b, and has ballistic protection to STANAG 3. Its GVM is 19 500 kg and it also carries two crew and eight passengers. It can be fitted with a crewed or remotely-operated turret. The vehicle has a maximum road speed of 100 km/h and a maximum off-road speed of 80 km/h and also has a range of 1 000 km.

The Frontier agile vehicle family is based on the proven and globally-available Toyota Landcruiser chassis, but the Frontier has a 6 × 6 version as well as the 4 × 4 model. It comes in civil (for example, firefighting) as well as policing, border guard and other paramilitary, as well as military, versions. It can be protected or unprotected, as the customer requires. Paramilitary and military versions of the 6 × 6 Frontier include troop carrier, long-range patrol vehicle, rapid response vehicle, and vehicle-mounted weapon system (such as multiple rocket launcher) vehicle. The 4 × 4 version can come in utility vehicle, border surveillance vehicle, and rapid response and raiding versions.

The Frontier 6 × 6 has a GVM of 8 700 kg and can carry up to 12 people, depending on variant. It has a maximum speed of 120 km/h and a range of 750 km. The 4 × 4 has a GVM of 5 700 kg, and can again carry up to 12 people. Its maximum speed and range are the same as for the 6 × 6. Both types of the Frontier can mount weapons stations (but not full turrets).