South Africa’s globally respected specialist mine protection and demining company Denel Mechem announced, on Thursday, a new-generation version of the renowned Casspir mine protected vehicle, the Casspir NG 2000. Since originally entering service in 1979, the Casspir has seen service around the world with the United Nations, various police forces and private security companies as well as with the South African National Defence Force.

“The basic, reliable features of the Casspir remain the same,” affirmed Denel Mechem GM Ashley Williams. “It has always been the world leader in its class – providing unequalled protection against landmines, roadside bombs and automatic rifle fire. Now we have improved the hull protection by using a higher quality of steel, increased its power, improved the accessibility for passengers and mounted it on a more versatile and reliable vehicle platform.” It can resist the blast of 14 kg of explosives – equivalent to more than two landmines – under each wheel.

The Casspir NG 2000 comes in two versions. One uses a Mercedes-Benz drive train while the other, designated the NG 2000B, uses a Powerstar engine as its platform. The result is improved power and manoeuvrability.

The NG 2000 also has side doors for the driver and crew, an improved rear door and greater comfort for crew and passengers, including air conditioning as a standard fit. The new vehicle has a modular design, so it can easily be adapted to different missions. Thus, in addition to its original role as a mine-protected troop carrier, the Casspir NG 2000 can also be supplied in command-and-control, field ambulance, recovery vehicle and light transport versions.

The Casspir NG 2000 is available in a 6 x 6 version as well as the original 4 x 4 format, with run-flat tyres in both configurations. In both cases, the transmission can be either manual or automatic.

The new vehicle can reach speeds of up to 40 km/h in most off-road environments and has a cruising speed of 100 km/h on roads. With its standard fuel tank it has a range of up to 800 km.

Denel Mechem has production facilities at Lyttelton in Pretoria. The company is part of the State-owned Denel defence industrial group.