At the customary September 16th Independence Day military parade, the Mexican Army (Ejército Mexicano) premiered a new armored vehicle it recently acquired, the Ocelotl, from the Nahuatl word for jaguar. (In articles about the vehicle, I’ve seen it spelled both “ocelotl” and “ocelot”.)
The Ocelotl is already being deployed, to two simultaneous Mexican Army operations:
Sinaloa – Ocelotl vehicles have been sent to the state of Sinaloa to deal with the conflict between two factions of the Sinaloa cartel. On October 10th, 100 Special Forces soldiers arrived to Sinaloa with 10 Ocelotl vehicles.
Michoacan – Ocelotl vehicles have been sent to the state of Michoacan to deal with the problem of cartel extortion of lemon producers, which has caused packing facilities to be shut down.
The Ocelotl armored vehicle is produced by the Streit company, headquartered in the United Arab Emirates. It is a modified version of Streit’s Cobra 4 LAMV (Light Armored Multipurpose Vehicle).
Here are some characteristics of the Ocelotl armored vehicle:
- Automatic transmission with V6 Turbo Diesel engine.
- An 80 liter tank, allowing it to travel 400 kilometers without refueling.
- Maximum speed of 140 kilometers per hour.
- Able to withstand explosives and high-caliber weapons.
- A 360-degree rotating turret in which various weapons can be mounted.
- Capacity to carry 11 soldiers .
The parade is over and this may be the Ocelotl’s trial by fire. How will it acquit itself ?
Interesting vehicle—curious to see how it performs in the field.