Force Protection to unveil new vehicle to protect troops

Force Protection, the South Carolina manufacturer of mine-resistant vehicles, is unveiling a prototype of its lightest vehicle, the Cheetah.
   
Marine Corps officials will be on hand Thursday to see the new vehicle at a gathering in Ladson.
   
The Marine Corps has asked Force Protection and other companies to re-engineer their vehicles so they are better suited to the mountainous and off-road terrain of Afghanistan.
   
Force Protection, based in Ladson, makes two larger, heavier vehicles called the Buffalo and the Cougar. Mine protected vehicles have “V”-shaped hulls designed to disperse the impacts of
roadside bombs and offer better protection to the troops inside.