The U.S. Department of Defense in early July announced that 10,000 mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles (MRAPs) have been delivered to warfighters in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many of the MRAPs already in service were delivered overseas by SIU-contracted ships including large, medium-speed, rollon/roll-off vessels known as LMSRs.According to the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps, the MRAP vehicles have raised, V-shaped underbellies that deflect the force of improvised explosive devices and other blasts from below better than other vehicles in use.
In February 2008, the MRAP program office, headed by Marine Corps Systems Command (MCSC), recorded its 5,000th MRAP vehicle acceptance. That milestone was reached less than a year after Secretary of Defense Robert Gates made MRAPs the DoD’s top acquisition priority. Since then, the program has advanced at near-unprecedented speed, doubling production of the life-saving vehicle in just over four months.
Gates said, “This is a significant achievement. This program has gone from zero to 10,000 in just about a year and a half. These vehicles have proven themselves on the battlefield and are saving lives.”
“The many successes of the joint MRAP vehicle program are the result of an overwhelming team effort by the many players in this program,” said Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Michael Brogan, MCSC commander.
“From production to integration, from transportation to fielding, many commands and organizations have played major roles in this program.”
Before being shipped overseas, the MRAPs are equipped with weapons, radios and other gear by the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command center at Charleston, S.C. From that point the U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM) takes over and moves the vehicles by air and sea to the combat zones.
The final contract order for MRAP vehicles is expected later in the summer, bringing the overall total more than 15,000 vehicles in the current build-up.
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