Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) |
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Wikipedia: MRAP
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History
The following section is an excerpt from Wikipedia's MRAP page on 19 November 2020, text available via the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) is a term for United States military light tactical vehicles produced as part of the MRAP program that are designed specifically to withstand improvised explosive device (IED) attacks and ambushes. The United States Department of Defense MRAP program began in 2007 as a response to the increased threat of IEDs during the Iraq War. From 2007 until 2012, the MRAP program deployed more than 12,000 vehicles in the Iraq War and War in Afghanistan.
Production of MRAP vehicles officially ended in 2012. This was followed by the MRAP All Terrain (M-ATV) vehicle. In 2015, Oshkosh Corporation was awarded a contract to build the Oshkosh L-ATV as the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, a lighter mine-resistant vehicle to replace the Humvee in combat roles and supplement the M-ATV
Light armored vehicles designed specifically to resist land mines were first introduced in specialized vehicles in the 1970s by the Rhodesian Army, and further developed by South African manufacturers, starting in 1974 with the Hippo armored personnel carrier (APC). The Casspir infantry mobility vehicle was developed for the South African Defence Force after 1980; this was the inspiration for the American MRAP program and the basis for some of the program's vehicles.
In 2004, the TSG/FPI Cougar was designed by a British-led U.S. team, to a U.S. Marine Corps requirement. It became the springboard from which the MRAP program was launched. Because there are only two "armor quality" steel mills in the U.S., the Russian-owned Oregon Steel Mills and the International Steel Group (now part of the Indian firm ArcelorMittal), qualified to produce steel armor for the U.S. Department of Defense, it negotiated to ensure enough steel was available to keep pace with production.
The U.S. military's MRAP program was prompted by U.S. casualties from IEDs during the Iraq War.
The last vehicle from Iraq returned to U.S. This vehicle arrived at the Port of Beaumont, Texas, on 6 May 2012, and was unloaded from the ship on 7 May 2012.
A number of designs of vehicles from various vendors were deployed as part of the MRAP program. MRAP vehicles usually have "V"-shaped hulls to deflect explosive forces from land mines or IEDs below the vehicle, thereby protecting vehicle and passengers. MRAPs weigh 14 to 18 tons, 9 feet high, and cost between US$500,000 and US$1,000,000.
| Date | Document Name & Details | Documents |
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| 8 November 2007 hearing date | Current Status of the Joint Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) Vehicle Program Joint Hearing Before the Seapower and Expeditionary Forces Subcommittee Meeting Jointly with Air and Land Forces Subcommittee of the Committee on Armed Services U.S. House of Representatives |  PDF - 2.7MB - 133 pages |