.Afghanistan Diary: MRAPs Suck!
Many months and many billion dollars after they were declared a top priority, the the Mine Resistant Ambushed Protected vehicle, or MRAPs, are starting to hit the road in serious numbers.
In places with a reasonably developed highway system and decent ports – Iraq, for instance -- the MRAP is a decent proposition. It’s tough, survivable and reasonably agile. Problem is, MRAPs are poorly suited for Afghanistan, where the roads are narrow, primitive and poorly maintained. That is, when there are roads.
During my recent embed with Marines in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province, the number one gear complaint was the MRAP: it was too wide for most roads, and the top-heavy vehicles were prone to rollover.
As Captain Charles O'Neill, commander of B Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, told me, a few of the MRAPs had “gone into the wadi” – i.e., rolled over – during operations in Helmand. “The MRAP is an outstanding vehicle for force protection,” he said. “It would do great on paved roads. However, here in southern Helmand province, the roads don't facilitate the MRAP necessarily that well.”
With that experience in mind, the Marines are now re-assessing the requirements for MRAPs in Afghanistan, and they have asked the defense industry to come up with options for an “MRAP light.” Some of the fixes might include better off-road mobility, a more robust suspension and a lower center of gravity. Several MRAP manufacturers are getting set to unveil their versions of a lighter-weight MRAP.
Which begs the question: What will happen to the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle? The JLTV is supposed to be the Next Big Thing, a vehicle that will combine the light weight and mobility of the Humvee and the survivability of the MRAP. But with the Pentagon spending gazillions on MRAP, there’s always been a question of whether the services can afford JLTV.
Bloomberg is reporting one possible outcome: Pentagon officials are going out to allied nations to get them to pony up research and development funds on JLTV. Stayed tuned on this one: it’s bound to get expensive.
Wired
Will we ever find the right truck?
In places with a reasonably developed highway system and decent ports – Iraq, for instance -- the MRAP is a decent proposition. It’s tough, survivable and reasonably agile. Problem is, MRAPs are poorly suited for Afghanistan, where the roads are narrow, primitive and poorly maintained. That is, when there are roads.
During my recent embed with Marines in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province, the number one gear complaint was the MRAP: it was too wide for most roads, and the top-heavy vehicles were prone to rollover.
As Captain Charles O'Neill, commander of B Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, told me, a few of the MRAPs had “gone into the wadi” – i.e., rolled over – during operations in Helmand. “The MRAP is an outstanding vehicle for force protection,” he said. “It would do great on paved roads. However, here in southern Helmand province, the roads don't facilitate the MRAP necessarily that well.”
With that experience in mind, the Marines are now re-assessing the requirements for MRAPs in Afghanistan, and they have asked the defense industry to come up with options for an “MRAP light.” Some of the fixes might include better off-road mobility, a more robust suspension and a lower center of gravity. Several MRAP manufacturers are getting set to unveil their versions of a lighter-weight MRAP.
Which begs the question: What will happen to the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle? The JLTV is supposed to be the Next Big Thing, a vehicle that will combine the light weight and mobility of the Humvee and the survivability of the MRAP. But with the Pentagon spending gazillions on MRAP, there’s always been a question of whether the services can afford JLTV.
Bloomberg is reporting one possible outcome: Pentagon officials are going out to allied nations to get them to pony up research and development funds on JLTV. Stayed tuned on this one: it’s bound to get expensive.
Wired
Will we ever find the right truck?
posted by madtom at 11:40 PM
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