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In 1984, the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (also called the Humvee) changed the U.S. Army’s tried and true tactical car, the M151 Jeep. It first served in Operation Just Cause throughout the US invasion of Panama in 1989 and gained a lot better recognition a 12 months later within the Gulf War.
The Humvee served as a main tactical car for the higher a part of the following 20 years. As enemy ways modified, the Army added much more armor to one thing that was solely meant to be flippantly armored to start with. Improvised explosive units (IEDs) embedded within the floor had been problematic as a result of they directed assaults on the most susceptible spot on the Humvee – its underside. As the IED menace grew, the navy added further armor to the flat-bottomed Humvees, however that also did not adequately defend the troops inside.
So the navy selected to make use of a completely completely different sort of auto often called an MRAP, or Mine-Resistant, Ambush-Protected armored car, to fight the problem. What makes an MRAP a lot completely different from a Humvee is the design of the undercarriage.
The Rhodesian and South African armies had used early variations way back to the Nineteen Seventies. In 2004, Force Protection, Inc. unveiled its first MRAP primarily based on related designs that used a V-shaped stomach named the COUGAR.
V is for victory. And survival.
In 2006, Marine Corps Systems Command initiated the MRAP Joint Program Office, which introduced collectively U.S. Marines, Army, Navy, and particular operations items to get the MRAPs fielded as quick as attainable. The Department of Defense (DOD) joined the trouble a 12 months later.
The outdated Humvees had flat bottoms, very similar to commonplace business autos. This made them excellent targets for explosives. When a Humvee rolled over an IED, the drive of the blast would hit the underside (that lay horizontal to the bottom) at full energy.
MRAPs —as a substitute of a traditional flat stomach — have a V-shaped armor-plated hull particularly meant to deflect explosions up and away from the car. Military sources declare this presents 10 instances the safety. They even have a raised chassis that helps scale back fragmentation, blast overpressure, and acceleration of an IED explosion. Additionally, they are often fitted with additional layers of armor that may even defend towards RPG rounds.
The are 4 MRAP classes (I, II, III and M-ATV). Category I is the smallest and works in city fight eventualities and for casualty evacuation. Category II is for convoys and troops carriage, whereas Category III sweeps for mines and IEDs. The MRAP-All Terrain Vehicle (M-ATV) is essentially the most cellular of the bunch and was designed to be used in excessive situations.
According to Aeroweb, “Seven different vehicle designs have been purchased from five different contractors, including BAE Systems, Force Protection Industries (FPI), General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS), NAVISTAR Defense, and Oshkosh Corporation.”
…. to be continued
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