The Lenco BearCat
History
Lenco Industries, doing business as Lenco Armored Vehicles, is an American
armored vehicle manufacturer based in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, established in 1981.
[http://securitydriver.com/09/a-strategic-alliance-with-lenco-bearcat/ ] As of the early 2010s, Lenco has produced more than 5,000 armored vehicles for use in more than 40 countries worldwide.
[http://bioamerica-inc.com/v2/media/lenco/Lenco_Armored_Vehicles_Brief.pdf ]
Prior to the introduction of the Lenco BEAR and BearCat, dedicated police armored vehicles did not exist; most tactical units in the late 20th century used unarmored and , repurposed armored transport trucks, or armored personnel carriers and armored cars acquired from military surplus, none of which were specifically designed and equipped for law enforcement applications. One of the closest analogues to the BearCat at the time was the Cadillac Gage Ranger, a small internal security vehicle designed for military police that was sold to civilian police through surplus sales and the Law Enforcement Support Office. While the BEAR was released in 2000 to address this niche, it was based on a Freightliner truck chassis and was rather large.
The first BearCat was designed and completed in August 2001 as a smaller spin-off of the BEAR, with input from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's SWAT as an updated and improved version of their military surplus Cadillac Gage Rangers.
Usage
In law enforcement use, BearCats are generally considered "armored rescue vehicles",
with their primary use being to transport police tactical unit officers to and from hostile situations and to help extract civilians, officers, and casualties who may be stuck in the area.
To suit this purpose, the BearCat is designed to protect its occupants from a variety of
small arms and
.
The BearCat can also be fitted with aftermarket tactical equipment such as a
battering ram, an armored turret, or
CS gas dispensers to be used for offensive purposes (i.e. to provide moving cover during a
shootout or breach a building during a
Police raid or
Police standoff).
Since their introduction, BearCats have been credited with saving lives in armed confrontations on numerous occasions, including by stopping 7.62 mm caliber rounds fired at officers during a shootout in Athens, Texas in 2010;
Design
The BearCat is based on a Ford F-550 Super Duty commercial truck chassis with two available engines (the V10 Triton Gasoline and the 6.7L Turbo Diesel) and a six-speed automatic transmission.
The BearCat features 0.5–1.5-inch-thick armored steel bodywork, completed with .50 BMG-rated
bulletproof glass capable of surviving multiple hits, and blast-resistant flooring.
The BearCat is designed to be customizable with a variety of non-standard features and aftermarket equipment depending on the customer's requirements, including:
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Emergency vehicle lighting
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Emergency vehicle equipment
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A roof hatch for a man-operated gun turret, a CROWS turret, or an unarmed elevated lookout point, with or without bulletproof glass panels and blast shields
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A Mobile Adjustable Ramp System (MARS), an adjustable and retractable top-mounted platform that effectively transforms the vehicle into a modernized siege tower
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A bullbar-mounted battering ram
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Electric
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Protection against chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive threats
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CS gas deployment nozzles
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Radiation detection systems
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A backup camera
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Thermographic camera systems
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and Searchlight
Variants
There are numerous variants of the BearCat designed for specific purposes or customers.
As of 2025, these are the:
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G2 – Base variant for law enforcement
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G3 – Off-road vehicle variant for law enforcement
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G4 M-ATV – Armored military-oriented all-terrain vehicle
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G5 – Improved all-terrain variant for law enforcement
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X3 – Pickup truck variant of the G3
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BombCat/EOD – Bomb disposal variant designed to accommodate a remote-control vehicle
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MedCat/Medevac – Medical evacuation variant equipped with medical litters, oxygen tanks, a lighted work station, and dedicated compartments for medical supplies, akin to an armored ambulance
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FireCat – Firefighting variant of the X3, featuring an armored water tank and a roof-mounted fire hose similar to a water cannon
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SUV – Lower-profile diplomatic security version designed to be similar to an SUV or passenger van, featuring bulletproof glass windows and removing overt features such as the roof hatch and bullbar
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Elevated Tactics – BearCat with a MARS system installed
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Rail Rescue Vehicle – Road-rail variant operated by the MARTA Police Department
Operators
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Australian Federal Police – Specialist Response Group
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New South Wales Police Force – In 2025, five new BearCats were acquired bringing the fleet to six BearCats; the full-time Tactical Operations Unit (TOU) has x2 including 1 with an extendable ramp; x4 are based around the state of NSW for use by the TOU and the part-time Tactical Operations Regional Support (TORS).
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Northern Territory Police – Territory Response Group
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Queensland Police Service – The state has 3 active-use BearCats with an additional announced in 2023,
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South Australia Police – Special Tasks and Rescue Group
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Tasmania Police – Special Operations Group
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Victoria Police – Special Operations Group ×2 (2018 variant) and Critical Incident Response Team x1 (2013 variant)
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Western Australia Police – Tactical Response Group ×2
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Military Police of Goiás State – Batalhão de Operações Especiais
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Ottawa Police Service – Tactical Unit
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Saskatoon Police Service – Emergency Response Team
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Jamaica Constabulary Force
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Attorney General's Office of the State of Durango
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Attorney General's Office of the State of Jalisco
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Attorney General's Office (México) - vehicles used to transfer prisoners and objects in custody.
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Municipal Police of Tijuana – 1 Bearcat LE, belonging to the Special Tactical Unit.
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Moroccan Auxiliary Forces – 88 BearCat armored vehicles in riot control, troop transport, communications, convoy protection, and SWAT variants.
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BCIJ (Bureau Central d'Investigations Judiciaires), Moroccan Domestic Intelligence Unit & Special Forces.
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National Police Corps - Multiple Lenco BEARs and Lenco BearCats in service with the Dienst Speciale Interventies (Special Intervention Service). A police service consisting of both military and police personnel, specialized in counter-terrorism ops, apprehension of high-value or high-risk individuals, aircraft hijackings and hostage situations. Also includes operators belonging to M-Squadron of NLMARSOF, special operations forces of the Netherlands Marine Corps, under DSI command for domestic counter-terrorism operations on Dutch soil, specialized in large-scale and complex interventions.
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Serbian Armed Forces - Military Police
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National Police Agency (South Korea) - Korea National Police Special Operation Unit
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National Police Agency (Taiwan) - National Police Agency Special Operations Group
Federal
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Federal Bureau of Investigation – SWAT Teams
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United States Department of Energy Over 80 Lenco BearCats on (8) DoE Sites
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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
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Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO) – Special Response Teams
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Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) – Special Response Teams
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United States Park Police
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Kennedy Space Center – Emergency Response Team
State/Local
A considerable number of state police, sheriff's offices, and municipal police agencies in the United States operate BearCats for their tactical units, with over 500 BearCats in use across the country in 2013.
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Alaska State Troopers
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Chicago Police Department
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Cleveland Division of Police
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Dallas Police Department
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Denver Police Department
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Des Moines Police Department
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Honolulu Police Department
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Kansas Highway Patrol
[ Budget analysis. Kansas Highway Patrol kslegresearch.org]
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Louisiana State Police
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Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
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Los Angeles Police Department
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Maryland State Police
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Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office
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Michigan State Police
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St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department
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Metropolitan Nashville Police Department
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New Mexico State Police
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New York City Police Department
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Orlando Police Department
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Pasadena Police Department
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Portland Police Bureau
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Prince George's County Police Department
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Prince George's County Sheriff's Office
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Prince William County Police Department
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Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake
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Sacramento Police Department
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San Diego Police Department
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San Francisco Police Department
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Santa Barbara Police Department
Military
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United States Air Force – Air Force Security Forces
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United States Air Force – 60 BearCats for convoy protection
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United States Marine Corps – Marine Corps Security Force Regiment
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United States Army – Military Police Corps Special Reaction Teams
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United States Navy Strategic Weapons Facilities Pacific/Atlantic – Over 100
Non-state actors
External links
