South African Mine-Protected Vehicles

Weapons and Warfare

Casspir APC

The Casspir is an unusual vehicle, being in service in much the same form not only with several South African Police forces but also with the South African National Defence Force in a virtually identical form.

Built originally by TFM (Ply) Limited, the Casspir was originally based on a Bedford heavy commercial truck chassis but this was gradually modified and strengthened so that the Casspir can be taken as an original design.

The Casspir resembles an armoured truck with the armour extending to specially-shaped under-hull plates intended to reduce the effects of land mines and Casspir have repeatedly demonstrated that they can indeed survive heavy mine detonations; some have been specially equipped for detecting and clearing mines from roads in remote areas.

The first Casspir appeared in 1981. Since then over 2,500 have been produced and many have been rebuilt to extend their service lives, as production has…

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