The Marauder is an armoured, mine-protected vehicle that is produced by Paramount Group in South Africa. It was launched during the 2007 International Defence Exhibition (IDEX) and Conference in Abu Dhabi, the largest arms exhibition in the Middle East.
The Marauder was developed for reconnaissance and peacekeeping missions. It carries a crew of up to ten including the driver and commander.
Originally designed to operate in urban, built-up and confined areas it is smaller in both size and weight than the Matador, a similarly armoured vehicle. Vehicle configuration is either 4×4 or a 6×6. The Marauder has a cruising speed of around 100 to 120 km/h (62–75 mph), and a maximum range of 700 kilometres (430 mi).
The Marauder’s double-skin monocoque hull provides protection against projectiles up to STANAG 4569 Level III for the crew compartment.
The Marauder’s payload capacity allows for the fitting of various defence and weapons systems, including light and medium-calibre machine guns, cannon weapon installations, and missile launchers, as well as command, surveillance, and control systems. The vehicle can be configured such that mortars may be fired from the payload platform.
In 2008, for the manufacturing and production of the Marauder, the Paramount Group entered into an agreement with the King Abdullah Design and Development Bureau (KADDB), Jordan’s primary governmental military agency that develops and manufactures defence systems, and which serves as an independent technical advisor to the Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF). As well as being a manufacturer, Jordan was the first customer for the Marauder.The Marauder is also manufactured in Azerbaijan.
In June 2011, the civilian version of the Marauder was featured in British motoring program Top Gear, with Richard Hammond. Among the activities tested were ordering fast-food from a drive-through restaurant, driving off-road, through/over obstacles (solid brick walls and parked cars, respectively) and testing how well it could withstand an explosion (seven pounds of plastic explosives) directed at its underside.
