Lenco BearCat

BearCat
A BearCat pictured in 2007.
Type	Non-military armored vehicle
Place of origin	United States
Production history
Designed	1999
Manufacturer	Lenco Industries (Lenco Armored Vehicles)
Unit cost	US$188,793–300,000[1][2]
Produced	1999[3][4]
Variants	Military, G3, LE, VIP SUV, Medevac LE, Medevac Mil, Riot Control, G4 M-ATV, EOD
Specifications
Weight	16,500–17,550 lb
Length	20 ft
Width	10 ft
Height	8–12 ft
Crew	2 + 10 passengers
Armor	NIJ Type IV,[5] 1.5–0.5 inch steel plate[2]
Main armament	Weapon mountable rotating roof hatch
Secondary armament	Multiple side gun ports
Engine	Caterpillar turbo diesel 300 hp
Power/weight	40 hp/ton
Suspension	4 and 6 wheel configurations
Operational range	Unknown
Speed	75–90 MPH,[6] "capable of highway speeds"[7]

The Lenco BearCat (Ballistic Engineered Armored Response Counter Attack Truck)^[8][9] is a wheeled armored personnel carrier designed for military and law enforcement use. It is in use by numerous military forces and law enforcement agencies around the world.

History

Since 1981^[10] the Massachusetts-based Lenco Industries, known as Lenco Armored Vehicles, has designed and manufactured armored vehicles for law enforcement, military, government and private security forces.^[11] Lenco has produced more than 5,000 armored vehicles for use in more than 40 countries worldwide.^[4][12]

The BearCat is one type of vehicle produced by the company that is in use by numerous U.S. military and law enforcement agencies and it also used by numerous Police Tactical Groups in Australia.^[7] The name BearCat stands for Ballistic Engineered Armored Response Counter Attack Truck as it is the smaller cousin to the Lenco B.E.A.R.^[12] However, this is probably a backronym, as in Chinese 熊猫 are the characters for bear and cat, and together mean panda, alluding to the panda car or the black and white. The Bearcat is based on a Ford F-550 Super Duty Chassis with two available engines (the V10 Triton Gasoline and the 6.7L Turbo Diesel), six-speed automatic transmission commercial truck chassis.^[13] The .5 inch thick mil spec steel armored bodywork is completed with .50 caliber rated ballistic glass capable of multi-hits, blast-resistant floors, gunports, roof hatches/turret and agency specific equipment and/or modifications such as lights/sirens/battering ram/winches/thermal cameras and spot lights.^[14]

The first BearCat was designed and completed in August 2001 as a spin-off product of the larger Lenco B.E.A.R., with input from Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Special Enforcement Bureau (SEB) as an updated and improved version of their military surplus Cadillac Gage Ranger "PeaceKeeper" armored vehicles.^[4]

Usage

BearCats are typically referred to by law enforcement agencies as being "armored rescue vehicles"^[15] with their primary use being to transport tactical (SWAT/Special Reaction Teams) officers to and from hostile situations and to assist with the recovery and protection of civilians in harm's way during terrorist threats, hostage incidents, or encounters with large gatherings of aggressors.^[16][17] The Bearcat is designed to provide protection from a variety of small arms, explosives and IED threats.^[16] Like its larger cousin the B.E.A.R, the Bearcat is able to be fitted with the "MARS" Mobile Adjustable Ramp System which allows tactical officers to gain entry to elevated platforms such as second story windows or aircraft.^[18][19]

Lenco BearCats have been credited with saving the lives of officers in armed confrontations on numerous occasions. In 2010 in Athens, Texas an armed offender fired more than 35 rounds from a semi-automatic AK-74 rifle at tactical police. Not one round penetrated the Bearcat.^[20] In June 2012 a BearCat, belonging to the Central Bucks Emergency Response Team, took 28 rounds from a "high-powered rifle" during a siege with no rounds penetrating the vehicle.^[21] In November 2015, a BearCat was used by police to rescue civilians during the Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood shooting.^[22] The Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office Bearcat was shot between four and seven times with a rifle during an incident on December 29, 2015. Sheriff Whetsel was quoted as saying the Bearcat saved the Deputies' lives.^[23] On June 12, 2016, a Bearcat was used to breach Pulse nightclub after a gunman shot and killed 49 clubgoers and injured 53 others.

Variants

BearCat G3 of Ottawa Police Service

At present there are nine variants of the BearCat, some with unique features and others designed for specific purposes or customers.^[12][24]

• Military – Military version
• LE – Law enforcement version
• G3 – off-road variant for law enforcement
• VIP/SUV – armored vehicle for diplomatic missions
• Medevac LE – armored medical evacuation vehicle (law enforcement) "MedCat" – equipped with two medical litters, oxygen tanks, a lighted work station, and compartments for medical supplies and gear storage.^[25]
• Medevac Mil – armored medical evacuation vehicle (military) "MedCat" – designed for Tactical Combat Casual Care (TC3), equipped with same features as the MedCat LE with four medical litters.^[25]
• Riot control
• G4 M-ATV – armored all-terrain vehicle (Generation 4)
• EOD (Explosive ordnance disposal) – armored vehicle "BombCat" for bomb units with room for a large bomb disposal robot, with fold-down ramp and hydraulically controlled platform for deployment. Also can include roof-mounted zoom camera with scene lighting, thermal camera, CBRNE equipment, and advanced communications sensors upon request.^[26][27]

Features

The BearCat series is customizable with a variety of non-standard features depending on the customers' requirements. BearCats are able to be fitted with moveable elevated platform systems called the Liberator and ARC by Patriot3, Inc., to enable tactical units to access a variety of elevated structures such as multi-story buildings, ships at docks, or aircraft during high-risk hostage or terrorist situations. The LAPD fits one of its four armoured Lenco vehicles with one such system along with many other local and state law enforcement agencies.^[5]

Some of the BearCat's features include:

• emergency lights/sirens
• rotating roof hatch
• optional powered turrets with or without ballistic glass panels and blast shields
• gun ports
• electric winches
• running boards
• protection against chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and high-yield explosives (CBRNE)
• back-up camera
• Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station (CROWS)
• battering ram attachment
• CS gas (tear gas) deployment nozzle
• radiation detection systems
• Thermographic camera systems
• spot/flood lights

Operators

New South Wales Police Force Tactical Operations Unit Lenco BearCat armoured rescue vehicle.

Lenco BearCat owned by the Lee County Sheriff's Office (Florida) SWAT team

Los Angeles Police Department S.W.A.T. 'Rescue 1' B.E.A.R showing a battering ram attachment.

BearCats of various configurations are in use by the following agencies and departments around the world with over 500 in use in the United States alone.^[28]

 Australia

• Australian Federal Police – Specialist Response Group^[15]
• New South Wales Police Force – Tactical Operations Unit ×2 (One each of the 2003 and 2012 variant)^[29][30]
• Northern Territory Police – Territory Response Group^[31][32]
• Queensland Police Service – Special Emergency Response Team ×2 ^[33]
• South Australia Police – Special Tasks and Rescue Group^[34]
• Tasmania Police – Special Operations Group^[35][36]
• Western Australia Police – Tactical Response Group ×2 ^[37][38]
• Victoria Police Special Operations Group^[39]

 Brazil

• Military Police of Goiás State – Batalhão de Operações Especiais^[40]

 Canada

• Ottawa Police Service – Tactical Unit^[41]
• Saskatoon Police Service – Emergency Response Team^[42]
• Vancouver Police Department – Emergency Response Team^[43]

 Morocco

• Moroccan Auxiliary Forces – 88 BearCat armored vehicles in riot control, troop transport, communications, convoy protection, and SWAT variants.^[44]
• BCIJ (Bureau Central d'Investigations Judiciaires), Moroccan Domestic Intelligence Unit & Special Forces.

 Netherlands

• Dutch Police^[4]

 United States

Federal Law Enforcement^[4]

• United States Department of Energy Over 80 Lenco BearCats on (8) DoE Sites^[4][45]
• United States Park Police^[46]
• Kennedy Space Center – Emergency Response Team^[47]

State/Local Law Enforcement

• Alaska State Troopers – 3^[48]
• Boulder County Sheriff^[49]
• Burbank Police Department – S.W.A.T^[50]
• Central Bucks Emergency Response Team^[21]
• Chicago Police Department – S.W.A.T^[51]
• Concord, New Hampshire, Police Department ^[52]
• Dallas Police Department (Texas) – S.W.A.T x 2^[53]
• Denver Police Department – S.W.A.T^[54]
• Erie (PA) Bureau of Police^[55]
• Honolulu Police Department – S.W.A.T^[56]
• Hudson County Sheriff's Department – S.W.A.T^[57]
• Keene, New Hampshire Police Department- S.W.A.T.
• Louisiana State Police – S.W.A.T^[58]
• Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department – Special Enforcement Bureau ×6 (One B.E.A.R, three BearCats, two Parademic or MedCats)^[59]
• Los Angeles Police Department – S.W.A.T ×4 (One B.E.A.R, two BearCats and one MedCat variant)^[60]
• Lower Columbia SWAT, Cowlitz, Clark, Skamania, and Wakhiakum Counties – Washington State. ^[61]
• Miami Dade Police Department – S.R.T^[62]
• Miami-Dade Police Department Special Response Team^[63]
• New Mexico State Police – Tactical Team^[64]
• New York City Police Department Emergency Service Unit ×2^[65][66]
• Northeast Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council (NEMLEC)^[67]
• Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office - S.W.A.T.^[23]
• Pasadena Police Department – S.W.A.T^[68]
• Passaic County Sheriff's Department – S.W.A.T^[69]
• Prince William County Police Department SWAT^[70]
• Salt Lake Unified Police Department^[71]
• San Diego Police Department (California) – S.W.A.T^[72]
• San Francisco Police Department – S.W.A.T^[73][74]
• Santa Barbara Police Department^[75]
• Seaside Police Department (California)^[76]
• Southeast Idaho SWAT team^[77]
• Stockton Police Department (California) – S.W.A.T^[78]

Military

• United States Air Force 91st Security Forces Group^[79]
• United States Air Force Global Strike Command – (6) Air Force Bases – 60 BearCats for Nuclear Missile Convoy Protection^[4]
• Marine Corps Security Force Regiment^[80]
• United States Army BearCats used for US Army Military Base Security^[4]
  • Fort Carson, CO
  • Fort Hood, TX
  • Fort Riley, KS
  • Fort Bragg, NC
  • US Army 8th MP Brigade, Korea
• United States Navy SWFPAC & SWFLANT (Strategic Weapons Facilities / Pacific & Atlantic – Over 100 BearCats for Perimeter Patrol & Security)^[4]

See also

• Non-military armored vehicle
• Vehicle armour

References

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External links

• Lenco Bearcat official site
• Just the Facts!: The BearCat: What it is and what it is not!
• Leno's Garage: Lenco BearCat