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The Buffalo enhances ground forces capabilities to counteract mines and IEDs and improves force mobility.
Based on what was originally a South African Army vehicle, the Buffalo has proven to be a tremendous piece of combat engineer equipment to American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. Both U.S. Army and Marine Corps engineer units employ this unique vehicle in defeating enemy mines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Its mission is route security and mobility enhancement. It accomplishes this mission through its rugged survivability in detecting and neutralizing enemy explosive devices. It normally operates on patrol accompanied by armored HMMWVs and other assorted engineer vehicles (such as the Cougar).
The Buffalo was first designed and employed in South Africa (which possessed a family of such vehicles) as a mine removal vehicle. Weighing in at 24 tons, its unique "V" shaped, armored hull with thick blast resistant windows provides considerable blast protection to its standard crew of five to six personnel. (It can carry more.) A large...