Paramount Marauder

History

Paramount South Africa is offering its Marauder product as part of a new generation of all-terrain wheeled armoured vehicles to perform a variety of military, security and general policing duties. The vehicle is clearly conceived as a capable and reliable performance that can be modified and adapted to various battlefield shapes to suit specific roles.

The design benefits from the South African Army's decades of experience fighting regular and irregular forces.

The overall design is simple and the basic model adopts a four-wheel layout. The engine is mounted in the front compartment, with the driver and passengers just behind the factory. Behind them is a passenger compartment that can accommodate up to eight combat-ready infantrymen or up to 4,500kg of cargo. The standard armor scheme provides protection and mine protection, and vehicle "upgrades" are optional. Depending on the desired role, weapons are as flexible as the chassis itself, ranging from simple small arms to large caliber weapons and compact rocket launchers.

Further optional equipment enables day/night operation. Lengthened chassis variants increase interior space to accommodate more passengers or greater cargo capacity (a third axle is introduced for the 6x6 wheel arrangement).

The inherently high ground clearance gives the Predator excellent off-road maneuverability.

Power comes from 300hp Cummins ISBe4-300 series diesel engine or 240hp MAN D0836LOH diesel engine. This allows the Marauder to have a range of up to 700 kilometers and a road speed of over 100 kilometers per hour.

As a mine-protected vehicle, the Predator can withstand up to 8kg of TNT under the hull and up to 14kg of force under each tire. Each crew member and passenger is seated in an explosion-proof seat to protect the occupants from explosions under or next to the vehicle.

In addition, the cab is equipped with a double spaced armour package for protection up to STANAG level 3. Privacy screens and blocks are also bulletproof to help control glass shards from splashing onto occupants.

Vehicles can perform a variety of roles, including patrol, crowd control, rapid response force support, force protection, convoy protection, reconnaissance, battlefield ambulance, mortar transporter, government/VIP security, and special forces/police support. Due to its standard size, the system can also be used on a Lockheed C-130 Hercules transport aircraft (or similar fixed-wing aircraft) or Boeing CH-47 Chinook twin-rotor transport helicopters (or similar).

The popular BBC show "Top Gear" named the Predator "the most unstoppable vehicle in the world" - that's how the presenter got it.

To date (2016), Marauders have been attacked by forces from Algeria, Azerbaijan, Congo, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Malawi, Oman and Singapore. However, none of the world's major powers introduced type restrictions on production to a total of about 250 units.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Performance

Armor

Depends on weapon.

Changes