The UK All Terrain Mobility Platform is commonly known by the name of its manufacturer Supacat. It is a lightweight, 6-wheeled vehicle used by airborne and air-mobile forces of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

since 1988.

Description

The Supacat is amphibious and has a low

ground pressure Ground pressure is the pressure exerted on the ground by the tires or tracks of a motorized vehicle, and is one measure of its potential mobility, especially over soft ground. It also applies to the feet of a walking person or machine. Ground pre ...

, enabling it to traverse rough terrain whilst carrying up to eight troops (and two crew), a standard

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

pallet or other stores (ammunition etc.). A

GPMG A general-purpose machine gun (GPMG) is an air-cooled, usually ammunition belt, belt-fed machine gun that can be adapted flexibly to various tactical roles for light machine gun, light and medium machine guns. A GPMG typically features a quick-c ...

may also be fitted to create an effective mobile fire support platform. In addition, the ATMP in British Army service could be fitted with a Milan Firing Post. The Parachute Regiment also conducted a successful proof of concept in 1989 by fitting a Javelin LML to the bed of the ATMP for drop zone air defence. A second ATMP acted as an ammunition limber. It has permanent six wheel drive (6x6) with the front four wheels (two axles) steered conventionally by using a rotating handlebar arrangement. These handlebars also operate the steering brakes, which act independently on each side of the vehicle giving brake steering. The Supacat is built around a steel rectangular hollow section chassis frame, which forms the entire shape of the vehicle and to which all components and attachments are fitted. The 'body' of the Supacat forms a hull that enables the vehicle to float and protects the majority of mechanical components. The vehicle can be configured for a number of roles: *Basic ATMP *FLPT (Fork Lift Pallet Trailer) to lift, handle and carry pallets up to 1.6 tonnes. *SLLPT (Self Loading Lightweight Pallet Trailer) *'Fuel Cat', which is able to carry and pump up to 1000 litres of aviation fuel. It also carries an engine start system for aircraft and is able to tow an APFC (Air Portable Fuel Container). *Mounted crane *Aircraft crash recovery *Radio rebroadcast stations *Casualty evacuation The Supacats were initially taken into service by the United Kingdom in 1988 and have been heavily used in active service. A modified Supacat 6X6 MK III was used in the movie ''

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

''. Supacat re-branded to

SC Group SC Group is a British multi-faceted engineering company which prior to a re-brand in September 2015 was known as Supacat Limited. Supacat was established in 1981 and based at Dunkeswell Aerodrome in England. SC Group now comprises four companie ...

in September, 2015, the Supacat brand retained for the group's core defence business.

Operators

* * *

References

External links

Manufacturer's website
(Supacat, part of SC Group)
UK MoD website
{{ModernUKNonAFVNav, style= wide Wheeled amphibious vehicles Military vehicles of the United Kingdom Off-road vehicles All-wheel-drive vehicles Military vehicles introduced in the 1980s