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The CRV-6e Bobcat is a Combat Engineering Vehicle variant of the IFV-6c Panther used exclusively by NATO forces in ArmA 3.

Overview[]

  • Roles:
    • Ground vehicle repair
    • Refuelling
    • Vehicle munitions rearmament
« While both IFV-6c Panther and IFV-6a Cheetah are based on the Israeli armored personnel carrier chassis, they serve different roles in combat. The Panther is an APC that boasts strong armor to achieve maximal protection for the transported crew. The standard Panther is armed with an RCWS HMG, 40 mm GMG and smoke grenades and it can take up to 8 soldiers in its cargo area. The Cheetah is a dedicated AA vehicle. The cargo space is taken up by ammunition storage and vehicle is armed with two 35 mm autocannons, four long range surface-to-air missiles and smoke grenades. The CRV (Combat Recovery Vehicle) variant of the IFV-6 also exists and is used by BLUFOR, designation CRV-6e Bobcat.
Field Manual
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Design[]

The Bobcat is designed to serve purely as a support vehicle. Nearby friendly vehicles can be repaired, rearmed and refuelled by the Bobcat.

Armament
For self-defence, the Bobcat is also fitted with an RCWS turret that is armed with a 12.7 mm heavy machine gun and has smoke generators to provide concealment from anti-tank missiles and rockets.

The externally mounted RCWS comes pre-loaded with a single 200-round linked belt and has another three belts left in reserve to reload from (for a combined total of 800 rounds).

Arma3-bobcat-08

Comparison of a Panther APC (top) against a Bobcat CEV (bottom).
Top: The Panther immediately gets its engine disabled and takes heavy hull damage by the first AT mine, forcing its crew to abandon the APC.
Bottom: The Bobcat continues driving along even after it triggers a second AT mine.

Features
Because it shares the same chassis with its APC and anti-aircraft counterparts, the Bobcat offers the same level of protection against small arms and cannon fire. This protection is also extended to resistance against explosives and landmines, which allows it to run through minefields to clear the way for other forces while remaining relatively intact.

Notable Traits
This resistance is due in large part to the bulldozer shovel attached to the front of the Bobcat, which can potentially trigger pressure-sensitive and magnetic mines early if the driver moves forward slowly. Since they will explode away from the underbelly of the chassis, this minimises or altogether removes the risk of damage to the Bobcat itself.

Drawbacks
While the Bobcat possesses armament in the form of a 12.7 mm heavy machine gun, it is only sufficient for self-defence against light infantry or unarmoured ground vehicles. Additionally, even though the Bobcat shares the same armour and engine layout of the Panther APC, it will not last long if exposed to heavy fire; particularly if the opposing force consists of soldiers equipped with anti-tank weapons.

It is also important to note that the shovel does not always reliably prevent larger anti-tank mines from inflicting severe damage to the Bobcat's hull and potentially, its crew too.

Factors such as the vehicle's elevation, speed, and the angle at which the mine was triggered, still has the potential to leak damage onto the Bobcat's critical components. Therefore - at least when it comes to large AT mines, it is best to dispose of them from afar using the 12.7 mm HMG first, and only fall back onto the shovel as a last resort if the HMG cannot hit the mine for whatever reason (e.g. the terrain).

Crew Capacity
The Bobcat has a seating capacity of just three crewmen, consisting of the driver, gunner, and a commander. It is unable to transport any passengers.

Camouflage[]

  • Sand: Standard pattern-less dark tan paint scheme used by all NATO ground vehicles and certain aircraft. This can be universally employed in all types of terrain, but is more suited to arid and forested environments. Any camo nets fixed onto the Bobcat's hull will use a two-tone desert camouflage pattern scheme.
  • Olive: Tropical olive green paint scheme. Only useful for jungle or woodland environments. Camo nets attached to the Bobcat use a two-tone woodland camouflage pattern when this scheme is applied.

Protection[]

The Bobcat has a base armour value of 500 and uses Composite Armour plating. It cannot be fitted with either Explosive Reactive Armour blocks/panels nor slat cages.

The following highlighted positions serve as weak points on the Bobcat:

Arma3-bobcat-hitpoints

LEGEND
Green = Hull
Orange = Engine
Violet = Fuel tanks
Light blue = Treads

Note that in order to inflict actual damage, a munition must first penetrate through the surrounding armour plates and directly hit the component's weak point. Any strikes on non-highlighted parts will cause little (if any) noticeable damage.


Hull[]

The hull is able to resist up to 800 points of damage. Depletion of its integrity will instantly result in a catastrophic kill.

Munition type Damage reduction (%) Velocity reduction (%)
Armour Piercing None 10
High-Explosive 80* 50
High-Explosive Anti-Tank 80* 80
Tandem High-Explosive Anti-Tank 80* 10

(*) Reductions only apply to the explosive component of the munition i.e. Tandem HEAT explosive charge

If the hull has been compromised, no reductions will be applied to the velocity/raw damage of incoming projectiles.

Engine[]

It can only withstand up to 150 points of damage before failure, but takes 20% less damage from high-explosive (HE) type munitions.

Up to 50% of incoming damage will be shared with the Bobcat's "health" pool. Destroying it has a potential to cause a catastrophic kill if the Bobcat's main "health" pool is at less than half of its normal integrity level.

If damaged: Reduces power output, acceleration is decreased and it may become impossible to climb uphill.
If destroyed: Immobilises the Bobcat.

Fuel tanks[]

The twin fuel tanks are able to take up to 250 points of damage before rupturing. They take 40% less damage from HE-type munitions.

At least 30% of incoming damage onto the fuel tanks will be shared with the Bobcat's main "health" pool. A destroyed fuel tank will not cause a catastrophic kill on its own unless the Bobcat is at critical "health" status.

If damaged: Gradually leak fuel over time, but it will stop at a threshold of 70% of the Bobcat's total fuel capacity.
If destroyed: Causes it to rapidly lose its entire fuel capacity over several seconds.

Treads[]

Both treads can resist 650 points worth of damage. They take 20% less damage from HE-type munitions, and no amount of damage inflicted upon them will be shared with the Bobcat's "health" pool.

Destroying either one of the treads will hamper the Bobcat's handling but will not prevent it from moving. Destroying both will severely degrade the Bobcat's handling and can prevent it from moving while on rough terrain.

RCWS[]

The RCWS turret can resist up to 250 points worth of damage. Damage inflicted onto the turret is not shared with the Bobcat's main "health" pool.

Munition type Damage reduction (%) Velocity reduction (%)
Armour Piercing None 10
High-Explosive 60* 50
High-Explosive Anti-Tank 60* 80
Tandem High-Explosive Anti-Tank 60* 10

(*) Reductions only apply to the explosive component of the munition i.e. Tandem HEAT explosive charge

If the RCWS turret's armour plating has been compromised, no reductions will be applied to the velocity/raw damage of incoming projectiles.

Commander viewfinder[]

The commander's optics can only resist 50 points of damage. It is susceptible to small arms fire and does not take less damage from HE-type munitions. Additionally, no damage inflicted onto the viewfinder will be shared with the Bobcat's "health" pool.

Disabling this component will prevent the commander from being able to rotate their optics independently.

Components[]

NOTE: Cosmetic-only component modules with no gameplay effects are deliberately excluded from this section.

  • Camo Net (Hull): Drapes most of the hull with camouflage netting. Partially conceals covered sections from thermal sensors. The RCWS turret and several other components such the crane winch and top of the hull are not concealed.

Armament[]

The gunner exclusively controls the remote weapons turret, which is fitted with the RCWS HMG 12.7 mm heavy machine gun. The gunner has access to variable zoom optics and can toggle a day, night or black-hot/white-hot thermal vision mode:

RCWS HMG 12.7 mm[]

Arma3-vehicleweapons-crv6ebobcat-rcwshmg127mm
Base damage value Aerodynamic friction Initial velocity (m/s) Penetration depth (mm)
30 -0.00086 910 35.49

General-purpose 12.7 mm heavy machine gun.

The RCWS HMG can attain a fire rate of up to 600 rounds per minute and requires 20 seconds to reload a fresh box or to fully rearm from a logistics vehicle. Accuracy-wise, it has a fixed dispersion of 0.0012 rad regardless of distance.

The Fire Control System is only able to automatically zero on stationary targets and requires 1 second to finish adjusting. Manual zeroing is also possible, though only in increments/decrements of 100 m (up to a maximum of 2000 m).

Trivia[]

  • As with its parent vehicle, the Bobcat is based on the real-world "Namer" APC.
    • More specifically, it is a modified prototype variant known as the "Achzaka" ARV. In turn, the Achzaka resulted in the creation of the "Nemmera" ARV which is based on the "Merkava Mark IV" MBT chassis.
  • Both the rear crane and anti-mine bulldozer shovel are completely non-functional in normal gameplay, though the shovel can be animated via scripting and does provide some resistance against buried land mines (such as AT Mines or M6 SLAMs).
    • The capabilities of the bulldozer shovel are demonstrated in both the Armed Assault showcase[1] and Remnants of War campaign[2], with the Bobcat being used to push away vehicle wrecks in both situations and detonating a cluster of anti-personnel mines.
  • During the Alpha and Beta, the Bobcat was not actually featured as a usable asset. In addition, it was not present alongside the Panther in the Beta[3], and would ultimately not be added into the game until its full release (as part of Game Update 1.00).[4]
  • Prior to Game Update 1.12, the Bobcat's side skirts were not animated and would remain static even if it was driving on rough terrain.[5]
  • Before Game Update 1.66, the Bobcat carried significantly less "supplies" for vehicles to rearm with (i.e. a depleted Sandstorm MLRS would consume all of the Bobcat's ammo "supplies" but only gain back half of its rockets).[6]
  • The RCWS turret originally used a 6.5 mm light machine gun despite being clearly modelled with the same RCWS turret as the Hunter HMG. It was refactored with the release of Game Update 1.82, which finally changed it to a proper 12.7 mm-chambered HMG.[7]
  • Until the release of the third party-developed Global Mobilization - Cold War Germany Creator DLC, the Bobcat was the first and only armoured recovery vehicle of its kind in the entire series.
  • Following an overhaul to ArmA 3's thermal imaging systems in Game Update 2.10, the commander's terminal now properly renders its display in green-/black-hot thermal vision when either mode is activated and the user isn't "looking" through it (previously the display could only render in white- and black-hot).[8]

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. ARMA 3 2013 [Video Game], Bohemia Interactive a.s., Armed Assault (showcase), "KERRY: Papa Bear, update, mines defused. Path is clear. Over. PAPA BEAR: Copy that. Outstanding work, Alpha-5. Out. Ok, Kilo-8, move in and clear that wreck out of the way. Get these trucks moving; we're pushing north! Papa Bear out."
  2. ARMA 3: Laws of War 2017 [Video Game], Bohemia Interactive a.s., Remnants of War, Oreokastro Memory, "PATERSON: Bet you wish we had one of those in Takistan, huh? MACDADE: I gotta admit... that's sixty tons of getting shit done."
  3. van 't Land, J.J. 2013, SPOTREP #00008, Arma 3, viewed 9 April 2023, <https://dev.arma3.com/post/spotrep-00008>.
  4. van 't Land, J.J. 2013, SPOTREP #00010, Arma 3, viewed 9 April 2023, <https://dev.arma3.com/post/spotrep-00010>.
  5. van 't Land, J.J. 2014, SPOTREP #00019, Arma 3, viewed 10 March 2024, <https://dev.arma3.com/post/spotrep-00019>.
  6. Kovařič, V 2016, SPOTREP #00062, Arma 3, viewed 28 November 2023, <https://dev.arma3.com/post/spotrep-00062>.
  7. Kovařič, V 2018, SPOTREP #00079, Arma 3, viewed 24 March 2023, <https://dev.arma3.com/post/spotrep-00079>.
  8. van 't Land, J.J. 2022, SPOTREP #00105, Arma 3, viewed 24 March 2023, <https://dev.arma3.com/post/spotrep-00105>.

External links[]

See also[]

Variants[]

Vehicles of ArmA 3
Wheeled AFV-4 GorgonAMV-7 MarshallHatchbackHEMTTHunterIfritKartMB 4WDMSE-3 MaridOffroadProwlerQilinRhino MGS (UP) • StriderSUVTempestTractorTruckQuadbikeUGV StomperVanZamak (MRL)
Tracked 2S9 SochorAWC NyxBTR-K KamyshCRV-6e BobcatED-1D Mini UGV (ED-1E) • IFV-6a CheetahIFV-6c PantherFV-720 MoraM2A1 Slammer (A4 UP) • M4 ScorcherM5 SandstormMBT-52 KumaT-100 Varsuk (X Futura) • T-140 Angara (T-140K) • ZSU-39 Tigris
Rotor-wing AH-9 PawneeAH-99 BlackfootAR-2 DarterCH-49 MohawkCH-67 HuronDemining DroneMH-9 Hummingbird (M900) • Mi-48 KajmanMi-290 TaruMQ-12 FalconPO-30 OrcaUH-80 Ghost HawkUtility DroneWY-55 Hellcat
Fixed-wing A-143 BuzzardA-149 GryphonA-164 WipeoutCaesar BTTF/A-181 Black Wasp IIKH-3A FenghuangMQ-4A GreyhawkTo-199 NeophronTo-201 ShikraUCAV SentinelV-44X BlackfishY-32 Xi'an
Aquatic Assault BoatMotorboatRHIBSpeedboatSDVWater Scooter
(Parenthesis) denote variants.
Karts DLC | Helicopters DLC | Apex DLC | Jets DLC | Laws of War DLC | Tanks DLC | Contact DLC
Arma3-factionicon-nato NATO - Vehicles (ArmA 3)
Wheeled AMV-7 MarshallHEMTTHunterProwlerQuadbikeRhino MGS (UP) • UGV Stomper
Tracked CRV-6e BobcatED-1D Pelter (ED-1E Roller) • IFV-6a CheetahIFV-6c PantherM2A1 Slammer (A4 UP) • M4 ScorcherM5 Sandstorm
Rotor-wing AH-9 PawneeAH-99 BlackfootAL-6 PelicanAR-2 DarterCH-67 HuronMH-9 HummingbirdMQ-12 FalconUH-80 Ghost Hawk
Fixed-wing A-164 WipeoutF/A-181 Black Wasp IIMQ-4A GreyhawkUCAV SentinelV-44X Blackfish
Aquatic Assault Boat (Rescue) • Speedboat MinigunSDV
(Parenthesis) denote variants.
Helicopters DLC | Apex DLC | Jets DLC | Laws of War DLC | Tanks DLC | Contact DLC
Western Sahara
Arma3-factionicon-nato NATO - Vehicles (Western Sahara)
Wheeled AMV-7 Marshall (ATGM, CV, Mortar) • HEMTTHunterQuadbikeUGV Stomper
Tracked CRV-6e BobcatIFV-6a CheetahIFV-6c PantherM2A1 Slammer (A4 UP) • M4 ScorcherM5 Sandstorm
Rotor-wing AH-9 PawneeAH-99 BlackfootAP-5 BustardAR-2 DarterMH-9 HummingbirdUH-80 Ghost Hawk
Fixed-wing A-164 Wipeout
(Parenthesis) denote variants.
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