As the international tactical vehicle market trends toward improved blast protection in lighter, more mobile platforms, the behemoth Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected (MRAP) vehicle was seen as an effective platform with a specific application that had since outlived its usefulness.
The Army did not throw out its requirement for heavily armored trucks, but wanted MRAP-level protection in a vehicle that could perform off road, which it will get in the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV). But the possibility of again being drawn into combat in Iraq and talk of a residual U.S. force in Afghanistan have boosted the hulking MRAP in the Army’s opinion, according to John Akalaonu, Navistar’s MRAP program manager.
“The military recognizes that the global [improved explosive device] threat is not going to go away,” he told Defense Daily at the Association of the U.S. Army’s annual exposition in Washington, D.C. “That makes the MRAP worth resetting in order to prepare for the next battlefield.”
The Army plans to keep about 3,000 Maxx-Pros in its inventory, most of which will go into long-term storage in preparation for a future fight. Some will return to Afghanistan or perhaps Iraq, Akalaonu said.
When Navistar received the MRAP vehicle on display at AUSA, it was in terrible shape. Enemy fire and hard battlefield use had nearly torn the front end from the vehicle.
Inside, it was a “rust bucket,” Akalaonu said. “It had also been pillaged for parts to repair other vehicles in theater.”
It now looks almost new and heavily upgraded from the original Maxx-Pro configuration that was sent to Afghanistan. It rolled off Navistar’s refurbishment line a week before the exposition and will soon be sold back to the government, possibly for redeployment to Afghanistan or another war zone. It is one of 785 MRAPs Navistar is on contract to rebuild and upgrade under a $75 million deal with the Army.
“Basically, we have become a super-advanced body shop for these vehicles,” he added. “We offer a total rework for these vehicles coming out of theater.”
Aside from cosmetic repairs, the company puts each truck through a series of upgrades at its West Point, Miss., facility to include installation of an independent suspension system and survivability upgrades.
“This vehicle is now the most survivable armored vehicle in the world,” Akalaonu said.
Also added is electronic stability control that counteracts the tall vehicle’s propensity to roll over during blast events, he said. Sensors installed throughout the vehicle alert the driver to possibility of a rollover and then both issue alerts and take automatic corrective action to stabilize the vehicle.
Putting battle-damaged MRAPs thru the reset will standardize the vehicles, which are operating side by side with similar models that have a huge range of technological capabilities and configurations because they were rushed into combat over more than a decade of combat.
“This will allow the Army to reach a common configuration that has the added advantage of simplifying the supply chain,” Akalaonu said. “Right now, you can go to Afghanistan and two Maxx-Pros parked next to each other could look the same from the outside but in reality are almost completely different trucks in terms of their capability and what’s inside.”
Army officials also are courting the idea of installing autonomy kits on its vehicles to make them optionally manned in convoy, which are vulnerable to roadside bombs and ambush. Navistar and other companies are investing in autonomy kits, but are waiting on the Army to decide which platforms would benefit from the technology.
“As it stands, that technology makes more sense for a logistics vehicle like a supply truck than it does for MRAPs,” Akalaonu said. “This vehicle [MRAP] is specifically designed to carry people inside. Many of the technologies in it are for keeping the people inside safe, so even if you have no driver, there are still soldiers in the back. We are looking at the technology, but the Army needs to figure out what vehicles they want it in first.”
Several U.S. allies also have invested in MRAP fleets that they desire to reset and upgrade. Foreign Military Sales customers (FMS) that operate MRAPs are interested in a range of possible upgrades to include survivability and lethality retrofits, he said.