Profile
- Type
- 4x4 mine-resistant armored personnel carrier
- Conflict side
- Houthi-aligned forces
- Origin
- United States
- Service note
- 2000s MRAP family; documented in Yemen Civil War open-source vehicle imagery
Armored Vehicles
Badger ILAV
The Badger ILAV is a 4x4 International Light Armored Vehicle derived from the Cougar MRAP family, built to move troops with better mine and improvised-explosive-device protection than light trucks. Yemen received a small number before the civil war, and open-source imagery places the type among armored vehicles visible in Houthi-controlled Yemen.
- Conflict side
- Houthi-aligned forces
- Built in
- United States
Service History
- In service
- Delivered to Yemen before the civil war; documented in Yemen Civil War open-source vehicle imagery
- Used by
- Yemeni forces, Houthi-aligned forces
- Wars
- Yemen Civil War
Production History
- Designer
- Force Protection Industries
- Designed
- Mid-2000s Cougar-based ILAV program
- Built in
- United States
- Unit cost
- About $369,572 average unit cost in Army Guide contract data
- Produced
- 2006-2012 ILAV program production and follow-on work
- Number built
- More than 700 ILAV-family vehicles delivered to Iraq, Yemen, and U.S. customers according to Spartan reporting
- Variants
- Base ILAV, ILAV with interrogator arm, Explosive Ordnance Disposal variant, Yemen Light Armored Vehicle
Specifications
- Configuration
- 4x4 wheeled armored personnel carrier
- Capacity
- Seats eight soldiers in the rear compartment in Iraqi service reporting
- Protection
- V-shaped mine-protected hull and thick armored windows for IED and mine-threat environments
- Counter-IED equipment
- Some vehicles fitted with a Ferret mechanical interrogator arm for investigating suspected IEDs
- Known Yemen order
- 18 vehicles reported for Yemen in a 2007 Force Protection order
Conflict Usage
- Yemen Civil War
- Side: Houthi-aligned forcesRole: Protected mobility for armored patrols
Documented in open-source imagery among Yemeni armored vehicles and observed in Houthi-controlled Sanaa; evidence supports limited protected-mobility presence, not a large-scale fleet claim.
Badger ILAV Images
Related Weapon Systems
Oshkosh M-ATV4x4 mine-resistant ambush protected vehicleThe Oshkosh M-ATV is a U.S.-built 4x4 MRAP designed to combine mine and ambush protection with better off-road mobility than earlier heavy MRAPs. Its V-hull, armored crew capsule, blast seats, TAK-4 independent suspension, and long road range make it useful as protected tactical transport, convoy security, and battlefield mobility equipment. In the Russia-Ukraine War, open-source reporting has documented M-ATVs in Ukrainian service as part of the broader flow of Western MRAPs used to move troops under mine, artillery, and small-arms threat.
REVA armored vehicleMine-resistant ambush-protected armored personnel carrierThe REVA is a South African mine-resistant armored vehicle family built around a V-shaped armored hull for troop transport and protected mobility. In the Yemen Civil War, reporting on the UAE-led campaign in Hadramaut documents Reva MRAPs used to mount local pro-government tribal forces alongside other coalition-provided armored vehicles.
BMC KirpiMine-resistant ambush protected armored personnel carrierThe BMC Kirpi is a Turkish 4x4 mine-resistant ambush protected vehicle built around a V-shaped monocoque hull, protected troop seating, and wheeled battlefield mobility. In the Russia-Ukraine War it appears as donated Turkish protected mobility for Ukrainian units, including marine brigades, where its role is moving troops under artillery, mine, and small-arms threat rather than serving as a front-line fighting vehicle.
Bushmaster PMV4x4 protected mobility vehicleThe Bushmaster PMV is an Australian 4x4 protected mobility vehicle built by Thales Australia to move infantry under mine, IED, small-arms, and artillery-fragment threats. In Ukraine it became a prominent Australian military-aid vehicle, valued for protected troop transport and ambulance variants after Canberra committed multiple batches to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Roshel SenatorWheeled armored personnel carrier and MRAP familyThe Roshel Senator is a Canadian 4x4 protected mobility vehicle family built by Roshel, with APC and MRAP variants used by Ukrainian forces for protected movement, border-security missions, and mine-threat environments during the Russia-Ukraine War. Its Ukraine experience helped drive the later MRAP version, which adds a V-shaped blast-resistant hull and STANAG-rated protection.
Al-Jawad armored vehicle4x4 armored personnel carrier / internal security vehicleThe Al-Jawad is a Jordanian 4x4 armored personnel carrier and internal-security vehicle developed by KADDB/JLVM with Jankel input around commercial heavy-duty chassis. In the Yemen Civil War context, open-source evidence identifies it in the Yemeni Army's pre-war infantry mobility inventory rather than as a newly supplied coalition vehicle.Sources
Global MRAP: The International Light Armored VehiclePublisher: Defense Industry Daily | Note: Supports ILAV program background, BAE and Force Protection roles, Cougar-based design, Yemen order context, and capacity/protection details. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Iraqi Army Soldiers get "badgered" in the fieldPublisher: Defense Visual Information Distribution Service | Note: Supports Badger ILAV route-clearance background, Ferret arm use, protected-mobility design, and public-domain image licensing context. | Accessed: 2026-06-20ILAV BadgerPublisher: Army Guide | Note: Supports ILAV Badger classification, Spartan Chassis manufacturer listing, 4x4 configuration, contract data, and unit-cost context. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Defense VehiclesPublisher: Builtmore Contract Manufacturing | Note: Supports Spartan/Builtmore ILAV integration background, ILAV variants, Yemen Light Armored Vehicle naming, and delivery history to Yemen and other customers. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Handbook Of Pre-War Yemeni Fighting VehiclesPublisher: Oryx | Note: Yemen Civil War source documenting Badger ILAV among Yemeni MRAP vehicles fielded in the conflict-era equipment pool. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Houthis ILAV Badger in Sanaa observationPublisher: X / Mohamed Mansour | Note: Yemen Civil War direct-use observation reporting an ILAV Badger used by Houthi-aligned forces in Sanaa; treated as limited open-source imagery evidence. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Iraqi Badger Light Armored Vehicle PhotosPublisher: WarWheels.Net | Note: Supports image provenance for the gallery images, credited by the page as courtesy of the U.S. Department of Defense. | Accessed: 2026-06-20