Defense Technology International - October 2007 - (Page 51) ARMOR HOLDINGS NO MAINTENANCE HEADACHES WITH MRAP The MRAP program has seen around a dozen different types of vehicles inducted into military service, leading some to speculate that the Pentagon is creating a maintenance and logistics nightmare. But Marine Brig. Gen. Mike Brogan, the program manager, isn’t worried. “We’re going to be able to maintain these vehicles.” “These are trucks. They can be fixed as long as people have parts and manuals,” Brogan said, adding that all MRAP contenders have commercial-grade chassis and dynamic components. To simplify spare parts supply, the military specified common engines, transmissions and axles for the MRAP contenders, he said during a press event at Aberdeen Proving Ground in August. The engines are Cummins, Caterpillar or International diesels. The transmissions are from Allison. Brogan said the services are rapidly training enlisted maintainers. But just in case, every MRAP production contract includes a year of deployed contractor logistics support, with an option for a second year. Talk early this year about a special multi-service MRAP logistics organization was just rumor, according to Pentagon officials. Despite the speed of the acquisition process, MRAP testing has been thorough, Aberdeen commander Col. John Rooney said during the event. His team started with 200 people in November 2006, and since then it has expanded considerably. Rooney runs three 8-hr. shifts, six days a week, putting 24 test vehicles through automotive and ballistic testing. As flaws emerge, the test teams request quick fixes from vendors, often with 24-hr. turnaround. Testing for MRAP I has ended, Rooney said, and testing of new vehicles for MRAP II begins soon. “These vehicles are going to f f t y t s e P e . P : save thousands of lives,” Brogan said. When asked if insurgents can just build bigger bombs to destroy MRAPs, Brogan said they could. But that costs insurgents time and money: military sources say MRAP represents, in part, a deliberate attempt to escalate the “bomb race,” hopefully exhausting insurgent resources. But MRAP is a major drain on U.S. resources, too. The planned 14,000 vehicles might cost as much as $14 billion to buy and support for the first year. Shipping an MRAP by air—as is the goal for the first few hundred vehicles—costs more than $130,000. In the early months of the program, the military considered MRAP to be a temporary reequipment scheme. “At some point we’ll consider turning them over to the Iraqis,” Army Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Sorenson said at a conference last spring. But the latest word is that MRAPs are here to stay. The military is installing network terminals, radio jammers and sensor turrets in the vehicles, transforming them into something more than just trucks. � In urban warfare, EFP IED and blast threats have driven crew protection requirements to new levels. Ideal Innovations, Inc., Oshkosh Truck Corp. and Ceradyne Vehicle Armor Systems have teamed to develop the BULL vehicle protection package. The BULL has set new standards by providing a crew/passenger capsule that withstands the most severe threats. Defeats high intensity threats Category 1: 6-man crew cab Category 2: 10-man crew cab "BULL" vehicle with Oshkosh® chassis 10-man crew cab Visit AUSA Booth 4025 Armor Operations/Washington www.ceradyne.com Tel: (202) 223-9545 mking@ceradyne.com ti www.aviationweek.com/dti 3468-Cer_DTI_Bull_halfhoriz~f.pdf 1 OCTOBER 2007 DEFENSE TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL 9/5/07 3:15:43 PM 51 3526856497 CMYK � http://www.ceradyne.com http://www.aviationweek.com/dti
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