MRAP field report

[dhackney]

I received this through a trusted source. I don't have factual evidence of the date, but the source implied it was recent. Since I don't have first-source evidence on this, you must consider it as "internet sourced information."

IED = Improvised Explosive Device
EOD = Explosive Ordnance Disposal
one click = one kilometer

Subj: Update

We're on our last trip before heading home. This trip hasn't been going so smooth.

I'm driving this time and we are the scout vehicle. The scout vehicle runs ahead of the rest of the convoy about 500 meters and checks for anything out of place.

We came up on a blown out culvert and had to find an alternate route around it which meant going off road. We slowed rolled and found a place to turn off road when all of the sudden there was a loud boom and the front of my truck was gone. We were hit by a command wired IED.

We exchanged small arms fire for about 20 minutes and then waited for EOD to respond.

It blew parts of my truck 70 meters away, including one of my front wheels that weighs about 500 lbs.

EOD determined it was a pressure cooker with about 50 lbs of explosives. It had a command wire that was run about a click up the side of the mountain where the trigger man waited.

Everyone walked away with bumps and bruises, but we all walked away. I can't tell you how happy I was to be in an MRAP. It did it's job perfectly and I can now say I totalled out a million dollar vehicle.

I love you all

[Nadir_E]

The lineage of the MRAP family of vehicles goes back to Rhodesia and South Africa during their wars against insurgents in the 70's & 80's. They designed the chassis/hulls of their trucks & APC's in a V-shape to allow the force of a mine blast to more readily bypass the passenger compartment.

From a design perspective, there was always a battle between protection against mines (resulting in a high vehicle profile) versus protection against direct fire (e.g. Soviet/Warsaw Pact conventional forces) where a low silhouette was more desirable. In places like Iraq and Afghanistan, the direct fire anti-armor threat is fairly low by comparison to the North German plain in the 1980's!

Great to hear that this technology (along with better armor!) is helping keep your loved one alive.

[overlander]

They are proving to be worth their weight in gold.

[crazyjane]

It's been along time since I've posted here as I've been in Iraq as a contractor working on the MRAP's. I have a pic of one that was blown up with appx. 500lbs(or so I was told) of explosives and everyone made it out alive. I don't know how far they were from the blast but those trucks are light years ahead of the armored HMMWV's in the protection area. Off-road another story all together. There was nothing left of the truck as the engine, transmission and front axle was completely blown off. The crew compartment was left laying on the ground and bits all around it.

[howell_jd]

I drove and rode in the IMG MRAP in Mosul for most of 2008. My team had M1151 HMMWVs for the first few months (worn out big time). The MRAP was a big step up (literally). Certainly there are drawbacks - in the open spaces it was FANTASTIC but in built up areas we had a beast of a time maneuvering...left in the dust by IA sometimes. It has a touchy transmission and the 4WD system is flaky too. One of the team's trucks went NMC for a week because of a bus fuse. Other issues include the fan shroud is held on by tiny rivet...hit a bump, fan shroud breaks free, nylon fan explodes and truck overheats. It is a good truck though and saving lives no doubt. I'd hate to be in an MRAP rollover though even with the harness (wearing 80lbs armor, water, ammo, radios, weapons - you're going to have a bad day - in the M1151 you're pinned in).