Praising The MRAP

Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter presents Vice President Joe Biden with a model of a mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicle after a transition ceremony at the Pentagon, Oct. 1, 2012. DOD photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo

Pentagon Salutes Itself for Armored Truck It Didn’t Want In The First Place -- Danger Room

In a saner world, the Pentagon wouldn’t throw itself a party to celebrate its purchase of thousands of bomb-resistant trucks it didn’t want in the first place. The story of the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle (MRAP) is a story of a bureaucracy that was first indifferent to the specialized, armored truck; then got pushed into buying it; and then congratulated itself for all the lives it saved in Iraq and Afghanistan. Yet on Monday afternoon, officers, bureaucrats, and even the vice president packed into the Pentagon auditorium to pat themselves on the back for the success of all the MRAPs the Pentagon resisted.

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More News On The MRAP

Biden, Carter Applaud ‘Team MRAP’ as Production Ends -- US Department of Defense
Official says MRAPs made the difference in wars -- Air Force Times/USA Today
US hails war vehicle that saved lives, bypassed bureaucracy -- The Australian/AFP
Pentagon shuts MRAP production line -- DoD Buzz
Biden hails success of bomb-resistant military vehicles -- Washington Times
Biden, Carter praise MRAPs during Pentagon ceremony -- Stars and Stripes
VP Biden Heaps Praise on MRAP -- National Defense

WNU Editor: David Axe has a must read article on the MRAP. That link is here.

MRAPs Have Saved Lives In War Zones

Official: MRAPs Made Difference In Wars -- USA Today

Data collected from roadside explosions in Afghanistan and Iraq show troops in Mine Resistant Ambush Protected trucks are as much as 14 times more likely to survive the blast than those riding in Humvees, the Pentagon's No. 2 official told USA TODAY.


Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter told the newspaper that the $47 billion spent on the armored trucks have saved lives, allowed troops to gain the upper hand, and will counter the threat from improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Asia where they are being shifted.

Carter is scheduled to preside at a ceremony today at the Pentagon to honor those responsible for building and fielding the trucks. Vice President Biden, an early supporter of the truck when he was in the Senate, is also expected to attend.

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Previous Post: MRAPs Have Saved More Than 2,000 American Lives In Afghanistan

My Comment: They have fortunately saved lives .... one can only imagine how high the death toll and casualty rate would have been if it was not for these vehicles.

MRAPs Have Saved More Than 2,000 American Lives In Afghanistan

Estimate Of Lives Saved By MRAPs Lowered -- Navy Times/USA Today

WASHINGTON – Armored trucks designed to protect troops from roadside bombs and adapted to conditions in Afghanistan have saved more than 2,000 American lives there, far fewer than the Pentagon estimated last year, according to data released to USA Today.

The Pentagon began speeding Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2007 to help counter insurgents’ weapon of choice, the improvised explosive device (IED). IEDs remain the top killer of U.S. troops. Makeshift bombs account for more than 50 percent of U.S. troop deaths, according to the Pentagon.

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My Comment: So .... only 2,000 American lives have been saved. I do not know about you, but 2,000 is still a very good number.

MRAPs Have Saved 'Thousands' Of Troop Lives

Image from India tech News

Gates: MRAPs Save 'Thousands' Of Troop Lives -- USA Today

Armored trucks designed to withstand roadside bomb blasts have saved "thousands of lives" and prevented at least as many maimings since being sent to Afghanistan and Iraq, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said in an interview with USA TODAY.

Gates, who retires Thursday, said he pushed to get more Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles to the front after a 2007 article in USA TODAY reported that no Marines had been killed in 300 attacks on MRAPs in Iraq.

"Nothing was happening," said Gates, who pushed the Pentagon bureaucracy to speed production of the vehicles.

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My Comment: MRAPs have been a game changer in today's wars .... and has changed how ground warfare is conducted.

How The MRAP Vehicle Works

How The MRAP Vehicle Works -Or- Saving Soldiers’ Lives With Better-Protected Vehicles -- How Stuff Works

One of the big problems that the Army learned the hard way in Iraq is that a standard Humvee doesn’t offer a lot of protection for the soldiers inside. It is possible to retrofit a Humvee with more armor (even stick-on steel panels were an option), but there are still vulnerabilities. If a Humvee can be disabled with a small bomb, it is then a sitting duck.

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My Comment: An interesting collection of videos .... check them out.

Rare IED Success: MRAPs Cut U.S. Death Rate In Afghanistan

The MATV vehicle (left) and its predecessor, the MRAP, (right) have cut the rate of U.S. deaths causeed by IEDS, or roadside bombs. | Thomas L. Day / Macon Telegraph / MCT

From McClatchy News:

KABUL — Canadian reporter Michelle Lang spent her last moments in a Canadian Light Armored Vehicle rolling down a muddy path in Kandahar province on the day before New Year's Eve.

The improvised explosive device that killed Lang and four Canadian soldiers flipped the 23-ton LAV upside down, according to the Canwest News Service, Lang's employer. The Canadian LAV-III and LAV-25 closely resemble the American Stryker, an armored vehicle that U.S. soldiers have nicknamed the "Kevlar coffin."

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My Comment: The key sentence in this report is the following ....

.... In 2003, there were 81 recorded IED incidents in Afghanistan. In 2009, there were 7,228 ....

An 90x increase in IED attacks in 6 years. I suspect that 2010 will be even higher.

Armored Airbags to Protect Vehicles from RPGs and Roadside Bombs

Airbag Armor You know what this vehicle could use?
Airbags Christian Marquardt, 7th Army JMTC

From Popular Science:

Despite the vehicles' armor, rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) can still take out Humvees and MRAP vehicles with ease. But a company wants to change that equation with airbags that neutralize incoming RPGs and prevent them from exploding.

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Afghan Insurgents Learn To Destroy Key U.S. Armored Vehicle

The MaxxPro was built to fill the Maine Corps' order for Category I Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles. International Military and Government, LCC (IMG) / MCT

From McClatchy News:

WASHINGTON — Taliban-led insurgents in Afghanistan have devised ways to cripple and even destroy the expensive armored vehicles that offer U.S. forces the best protection against roadside bombs by using increasingly large explosive charges and rocket-propelled grenades, according to U.S. soldiers and defense officials.

At least eight American troops have been killed this year in attacks on so-called Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected vehicles, or MRAPs, and 40 more have been wounded, said a senior U.S. military official who, like others interviewed on the issue, declined to be further identified because of the issue's sensitivity.

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Update: Armored troop carriers called unsafe for duty -- Washington Times

My Comment: Anything can be defeated with enough firepower behind it. The Taliban are simply using better tech and firepower to achieve their goals.

Military Looks Ahead To New Vehicles For Use In The Middle East

From Daily Tech:

Military looks ahead to new vehicles for use in the Middle East

Pentagon officials announced the United States government will soon send the first batch of Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) all-terrain vehicles to Afghanistan.

"We have pulled out all the stops to collapse the schedule and get these vehicles into theater," MRAP program officer Marine Brig. Gen. Michael Brogan said to the Marine Corps Times. "We are doing everything that's require to ensure that they are safe, that the risk assessments are complete, that they're fully integrated and flown into Afghanistan."

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My Comment: These vehicles are a vast improvement over the vehicles that were first brought into the Afghan theater.

A New Vehicle To Provide Protection Against IEDs

Thales Australia has unveiled the Hawkei lightweight Protected Mobility Vehicle (PMV-L) the company is developing to meet the Australian Defense Forces Land121 program. Photo: Thales Australia

Local Defence Contractor Unveils New Protection From IEDs -- The Australian

DEFENCE contractor Thales believes it has the solution to the changing nature of land-based warfare -- embodied by improvised explosive devices -- that has inflicted so many casualties on convoys of allied troops in Afghanistan.

It is an Australian designed and developed armoured vehicle able to carry six troops at more than 110km/h with a range of about 1000km, unveiled in Canberra.

Thales calls it the Hawkei, after the largest Australian snake in the death adder family.

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My Comment: It looks very stylish .... lets hope that it will have an impact against IEDs.

Safety Of Combat Military Vehicles Examined

From Science Daily:

Science Daily (July 30, 2009) — A Queen's University Belfast academic is working on research that could help protect the lives of military based in Afghanistan.

Professor Wei Sha from Queen's School of Planning, Architecture and Civil Engineering has been testing how safe vehicles with titanium alloys are when attacked by bullets or explosions.

Professor Sha's research examines the damage tolerance of the popular material titanium. It is the first research of its kind to reveal the reasons behind the deformation and damage of titanium alloys under strong impact or fast applied force.

Military based in Afghanistan currently use land rovers which have titanium alloys.

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My Comment: It appears that more research and study is necessary.

Marines Engineer Afghanistan-Worthy MRAP

MRAP

From Military Family Network:

The Marines are working to build an Afghanistan-worthy mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicle.

With 8,000 Marines on their way there now, the Marine Corps wants an off-road version of the MRAP that is now fielded, said Marine Corps Commandant James T. Conway at a news conference here today.

While the MRAPs work well to save lives, the bulky, 16-ton vehicle does not work so well where there are not improved roads. In Afghanistan, where there are few improved roads, the vehicles have been known to get bogged down.

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My Comment: Such a vehicle is going to be needed in Afghanistan.

Defense Department Designs 'Baby MRAP' for War in Afghanistan

The MRAP All Terrain Vehicle is designed to handle Afghanistan's rough terrain
and protect against IED's. BAE Systems

From FOX News:

Ask any soldier who's been to both countries: Afghanistan is not Iraq. It's a different war against a different enemy in a different country with an entirely different terrain and altitude.

One thing is the same, though. The Improvised Explosive Device — the deadly "IED" roadside bombs that blew up Humvees and the soldiers inside them along the dusty roads of Iraq — is an equally effective weapon in the rocky steeps of Afghanistan.

When the Humvee proved unable to withstand IED attacks in Iraq, the U.S. military built a new vehicle — the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) — to replace it. And like a neglected sibling, the troops in Afghanistan automatically acquired the MRAP as a hand-me-down. It's the wrong vehicle for the new war.

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Pentagon Ignored Danger Of Roadside Bombs, Report Finds

The Defense Department plans to buy roughly 1,600 MRAPs by the end of the year. The plan is to increase stability while preserving the vehicles’ survivability — their V-shaped hull, ground clearance and armor, the official said. SGT. MARK B. MATTHEWS / ARMY

From The McClatchy Newspapers:

WASHINGTON — The military ignored steps before the invasion of Iraq that could have prevented the staggering number of casualties from roadside bombs, the Pentagon's acting inspector general charged Tuesday.

The IG's report says that the military knew years before the war that mines and homemade bombs, which the military calls "improvised explosive devices," would be a "threat . . . in low-intensity conflicts" and that "mine-resistant vehicles" were available.

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My Comment: Almost 2,000 dead, thousands wounded .... and it is only recently that they the decision was made to allocate mine-resistant vehicles in the Iraq theater. What a waste.