General Dynamics delivers first MRAP vehicles designed to deflect blasts from IEDs

General Dynamics ^ | Jul 11, 2007

[bnelson44]

General Dynamics Land Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics, has delivered its first Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles to the U.S. Marine Corps from Anniston, Ala., less than 120 days after the company received its first production order for the new product.

The vehicle's unique, V-shaped hull is designed to deflect the force of an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast away from the vehicle, keeping soldiers inside safe and alive. General Dynamics and its our partners, Force Protection, Anniston Army Depot and local subcontractors, are engaged in building these vehicles while increasing its combined production capacity to deliver 1000 vehicles per month.

The 80,000-square foot main General Dynamics assembly site for MRAP vehicles will eventually employ 220 new workers in Oxford, Ala. A supporting production site at the Anniston Army Depot will employ 50 new workers. General Dynamics Land Systems currently employs 240 workers at the depot building Fox and Stryker combat vehicles and the Abrams tank gunner's primary sight. Anniston Army Depot will partner with General Dynamics and perform a share of the MRAP work. General Dynamics also contracted with BR Williams to operate a warehouse in Oxford to support the new production operations.

General Dynamics currently employs approximately 700 workers throughout Alabama. These new positions will increase total General Dynamics' employment in the state to nearly 1000. Force Protection is a ballistics research and manufacturing enterprise, specializing in the development and production of highly-reinforced armored personnel carriers.

[bajabaja]

Just wish these were on hand contemporaneously with the surge. But at least they will be there soon. I hope.

[aft_lizard]

Back during WW2 the gov’t would contract out to many different companies to build military vehicle en masse, they should do that again. It’s not like Ford or Chrysler, or even GM couldnt use the extra cash right now. I believe getting uparmored vehicles to the troops is of the highest priority right now, it certainly would lessen the amount of deaths taken on our side, which could lead to a better opinion of the war here at home. Anyways that is all JMO.

[bnelson44]

The Pentagon has approved the expansion of the MRAP program to over 20,000 vehicles. The US Army plans to increase its fleet of MRAP vehicles from the previously planned 2,300 to 17,700 vehicles. The Marines’s allocation will remain at 3,400 and special operations forces will receive about 300 (170 have already been ordered). This plans will virtually phase out the HMMWV from use in combat patrols and high risk missions. Responding to the urgent requirement, the Army plans to have all 17,700 MRAPs in theater by April 2009. To accomodate this plan all suppliers are expanding their production facilities to speed up deliveries, reaching several hundred vehicles per month by the automn of 2007.

The Defense Department’s Joint Requirements Oversight Council (JROC) endorsed procuring as many MRAPs as industry can provide in fiscal 2008. The top-level panel, which validates military requirements, recommended evaluating the situation in Iraq periodically and adjusting the acquisition plan based on the need. “the department is embarking on an aggressive acquisition strategy to put as many of these armored vehicles into the field as fast as possible,” Bryan Whitman, deputy assistant secretary of defense for public affairs said. Defense Department and military services are reaching out to industry to “incentivize” companies to boost production while reducing the production timetable, Whitman said.

On early July 07 the Pentagon released another batch of orders for armored vehicles, as part of the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) and other armored vehicle programmes. The new orders cover additional orders from Force protection and International Engines and Trucks (IET), for 395 Category I (Cougar) vehicles and 76 Category II vehicles (60 from Force Protection and 16 from International). Further orders for 441 RG-33 based MRAP vehicles were awarded to BAE Systems. Two weeks later (July 13), Stewart & Stevenson Tactical Vehicle Systems, a subsidiary of BAE Systems’ Armor Holdings Inc. received another order for 1170 MRAP vehicles under a second order worth over half a billion US$ ($518 million). Under this contract the company will supply 1,154 4x4 Category I vehicles and 16 Category II (6x6) vehicles to be delivered by February 2008.

http://www.defense-update.com/newscast/0707/news/030707_afv.htm

[bnelson44]

That looks like what Gates is doing, see my previous post.

[null and void]

My fear is they will just build bigger IEDs

Of course! It's all part of the dance.

At some point they'll end up needing so much explosives they will shift to other forms of attack, and/or the mine resistant vehicles will be so bulky they are unusable.

[MNJohnnie]

Great news. Add this to it and it has been a really good weekend for the good guys. These guys are going to go to Congress and lobby on behalf of the guys in Iraq this week

They are all ex military. All ex vets of Iraq and Afghanistan.1 CPT, 2 LTs, 2 Sergeants and 1 Navy Corpsman

Vets for Freedom

http://www.vetsforfreedom.org/default.aspx

Vets for Freedom is a nonpartisan organization established by combat veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Our mission is to educate the American public about the importance of achieving success in these conflicts by applying our first-hand knowledge to issues of American strategy and tactics—namely “the surge” in Iraq. We support policymakers from both sides of the aisle who have stood behind our great generation of American warriors on the battlefield, and who have put long-term national security before short-term partisan political gain.

[null and void]

As someone who fought in Iraq,I still believe the best way to prevent IED attacks is to put a cap into somebody whilst they are in the process of burying them.

Hercules didn't defeat the Medusa until he struck it at its core.

[SevenMinusOne]

Hmmvs have a very needed role and are an incredible useful asset at times - With that said to a degree it is BS that more undated MRAP type vehicles (of differing versions) have not been brought into theater at high enough levels (to date).

Great to see General Dynamics turn these out so quickly now that they are part of the process....

Using more Heavy lift air assets, putting down US only MSR roads, and continually going after the IED makers / financiers would have been very helpful starting back in 04 -

But 20/20 hindsight is always easy.

Good to see more of these MRAP types will be headed down range.....Nothing bad about that and we should be glad it's happening....

[null and void]

They were never intended/designed to be APC’s. The orignial mission was nothing more than transport/battlefield taxi.

[EGPWS]

General Dynamics Land Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics, has delivered its first Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles to the U.S. Marine Corps from Anniston, Ala., less than 120 days after the company received its first production order for the new product.

General Dynamics has more focus and determination than our government has.

Kudo's to you General Dynamics!

[bnelson44]

This is Gate’s number one priority. That is why it is getting done. Don’t discount our government so quickly.

[EGPWS]

Don’t discount our government so quickly.

Don't discount General Dynamic with their efforts toward our defense.

[GreyFriar]

and as soon as one gets destroyed by muliple IEDs, Deomocrp congress critters will decry the waste of money on a useless piece of ‘junk’ and/or hold investigations why it was able to be destroyed in the first place and isn’t invincible to everything including a direct hit by an A-bomb.

[alpha-8-25-02]

THESE SCUM ARE MANUALLY IMPLACEING IED’S BECAUSE THEY DON’T HAVE THE MECHANICAL EQUIPMENT TO PLACE BIGGER.

155 MM IS ABOUT THIER LIMIT.

THEY COULD STOCK PILE MORE THOUGH THEY FEAR DETECTION BECAUSE OF TIME CONSTRAINTS.

[stm]

If you can catch them. We don’t have the manpower to surveil every major road 24/7. Most are emplaced at night and headlights and the noice of vehicles are a quick tip off for them to take cover until the vehicle or convoy passes.

[mamelukesabre]

http://www.blackwaterusa.com/armored/

What happened to this vehicle? Is it still planned for use?

[mamelukesabre]

According to wikipedia, the vehicle shown in these pics on this thread, is called a “Cougar”. Not a buffalo

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cougar_%28vehicle%29

[bnelson44]

I don’t know anything about it. GMW has a “grizzly” but it looks different:

http://www.defense-update.com/newscast/0607/news/240607_grizzly.htm

[bnelson44]

The Buffalo heavily armored EOD vehicle follows the South African monocoque capsule protection concept with US manufactured automotive platform, offering protection from IEDs and up to 45 pound landmine explosion under any wheel and 30 pound mine explosion under the centerline protection. An upgrade package offers protection from Self Forged Fragmentation (SFF) mines. The vehicle is used with US forces in Iraq for route clearing and counter IED activities. Since their deployment to Iraq in 2003 the Cougar and Buffalo vehicles employed with explosive ordnance disposal teams and engineers units have taken about 1,000 IED hits without a loss of life, said Wayne Phillips, a company vice president in charge of Marine Corps programs.

The Buffalo uses steel wheels and disc rollers which allow the vehicle to be driven over and detonate anti-personnel mines without sustaining damage. As a result, unusually large numbers of mines can be neutralized in a short period of time. The vehicle retains all round (including roof) ballistic protection from 7.62mm NATO ball cartridges. This armor is upgradeable to protect against Dragunov AP cartridges. In a recent incident that involved a Buffalo vehicle which ran over an anti-tank mine, the blast tore off a wheel and destroyed an axle on the vehicle. There were no casualties to the crew inside the Buffalo and the vehicle maintained its mobility and drove itself out of the minefield. It was repaired overnight and was back in operation the following day.

Cougar, developed and produced by Force Protection Inc. is a multi-purpose, 12 ton mine protected armored patrol vehicle. The design uses a monocoque, bulletproof and blast-proof capsule fitted with transparent armored glass, which protects the driver and crew from small arms fire, mine blasts and IED. Typical roles for the vehicle are armored, mine protected troop transport for security, stability and peacekeeping missions, protected weapons platform, law enforcement special response vehicle, counter IED an EOD / Range Clearance vehicle. The vehicle can accommodate 10 passengers in a 4x4 configuration and 16 passengers in a 6x6 configuration. Cougar was selected to serve with the US Marine Corps as a Hardened Engineer Vehicle (HEV), to support engineer mine clearing and explosive ordnance disposal teams deployed in Iraq. As of June 2006, there are more than 130 Cougars and Buffalos in Afghanistan and Iraq. Since their deployment to Iraq in 2003 the Cougar and Buffalo vehicles employed with explosive ordnance disposal teams and engineers units have taken about 1,000 IED hits without a loss of life, said Wayne Phillips, a company vice president in charge of Marine Corps programs. The vehicle has proven to be superior to less protected vehicles, such as the up-armored Humvee or armored trucks.

...Cougar is currently the vehicle of choice for the USMC MRAP program.

[mamelukesabre]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grizzly_APC

According to wikipedia, it began production in april of this year.