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the Pentagon has yet to officially announce its decision, only
three vendors will receive follow-on orders expected by early
December 2007. According to Pentagon officials, the three vendors
that already received the current orders will continue to get
future business as they could sustain 1,200 vehicles per month.
These vendors include International Military & Government
(IMG) company and Force protection International (FPI) will
both become exclusive providers for Category I (4x4) vehicles,
while FPI and BAE Systems will continue to deliver the heavier
Category II (mostly 6x6) vehicles. BAE Systems' Category II
(RG-33) vehicles were recently selected through a mini MRAP
competition as the preferred design for 400 ambulance variants
which the department is now purchasing. Sofar the Pentagon accelerated
orders of Category I vehicles but since these vehicles will
be more difficult to receive armor upgrades, the current preference
is leaning toward heavier Category II platforms.
Streamlining the Family
The decision eliminates General Dynamics' RG-31 Mod 5 from
the race, as well as BAE Systems' Stewart & Stevenson with
its Caiman vehicle. Other drop outs earlier in the program included
Textron systems (ASV), Oshkosh (Alpha) and Protected Vehicle
International (Golan), some of these manufacturers actually
delivered some vehicles under low-rate production orders but
could not commit to mass production in time.
While the MRAP has already demonstrated its ability to meet
the current threat in theater, the planned introduction of heavier,
more effective armor protecting against Explosive Formed Projectile
(EFP) IEDs will consume more payload capacity than most current
MRAPs can offer. Some of the EFP armor enhancement concepts
require significant excess payload capacity of the MRAP, though
none of the current designs have as much payload capacity as
the Defense Department would prefer. Category II vehicles, such
as the RG-33 and Cougar currently offer the largest payload
capacity in this class. The MaxxPro and 4x4 Cougar are also
provide significant excess payload capacity to accommodate add-on
armor but these would probably require more effort to eliminate
some of the weight to meet the required threat level. Eventually,
EFP enhancements are expected to become available and installed
on all MRAP vehicles.
While the Pentagon tries to maintain MRAP configuration at
a reasonable level, the vehicles are evolving and the next batches
expected in 2008 (not yet included in current budget allocations),
could include some enhancements that could render some of the
MRAP II requirements obsolete. More changes are expected to
reflect initial combat and operational lessons are provided
by the troops using the first MRAPs. In fact, the program office
allows the manufacturers of all current MRAP vehicles to bring
them up to the MRAP II standard, in parallel to the MRAP II
competition.
The MRAP production surge has already created conflicts in
the demand for hardened and ballistic steel between MRAPs and
other programs such as Strykers, Bradleys and Frag Kit 6 armor
enhancements. A major limitation was the restriction DOD imposed
on its suppliers, to buy hardened and ballistic steel only from
US manufacturers. The department is currently processing a waiver
that will temporarily allow vendors buying hardened and ballistic
steel from foreign suppliers.
Gearing for Mass Production
During a briefing at the Pentagon, a senior defense official
outlined the growing pace for MRAP production and fielding.
By October 2007 the Pentagon placed ordered for roughly 8,800
MRAP vehicles. By early December, the Pentagon plans to release
more orders for 6,500 additional vehicles, maintaining uninterrupted
production through May 2008. If all DOD budget requests for
additional $8.2 billion are answered, by the end of 2008 the
US military expects to have over 15,274 MRAPs in theater, at
an estimated cost of $24.5 billion (Fy-09) – covering
acquisition and sustainment. DOD has drafted and is working
with the White House to formally request the funds necessary
to order those additional vehicles through a budget amendment.
At present, only 400 are in theater. Production rate has almost
caught up with schedule but will have to increase rapidly in
the months ahead. In September, only 309 vehicles were delivered,
of which only about 101 were actually flown to Iraq. By the
end of October 419 more are expected to be produced. The maximum
available airlift capacity could deliver 360 vehicles per month.
By November and December manufacturers are required to double
and even triple production rate to meet the unofficial goal
of 1,500 MRAPs in theater by year's end.
Expensive Delivery
Sofar only few hundreds were actually delivered. The reason
for the prolonged process is not with production but due to
the preparation of the completed vehicles for combat service.
As they leave the production lines at the various manufacturers,
MRAPs are transported overland to Space and Naval Warfare Systems
Center (SPAWAR) at Charleston, SC where they are outfitted with
weapon stations, CREW IED jammers, radios and a range of other
equipment supplied by DOD through parallel acquisition programs.
Each system must be tailored to each of the vehicle types through
a particular installation, which requires prolonged evaluation,
design and testing process, to ensure the vehicle can perform
its intended mission without interference to other systems on
board. This process usually takes months, even years but through
the high priority MRAP acquisition it was trimmer to about three
weeks. Vehicles which already went through this process and
are more familiar to the teams at SPAWAR are processed more
rapidly, typically within 10 days for a Cougar. The Pentagon
expects that by reducing the number of MRAP variants and configurations,
it could save significant time in outfitting the MRAPs for combat
duty.
This process takes the MRAP as far as Charleston's gate. Delivering
the combat-ready MRAP to Iraq and Afghanistan already became
the biggest challenge of the program, as these vehicles are
too high for transportation inside the US Navy cargo ships (this
limitation was overlooked in the MRAP preliminary design and
is addressed with priority in the follow-on JLTV program). The
only alternative is to fly them. The only benefit of this luxury
option is the rapid delivery to the user. Each C-17 or C-5 can
deliver only two vehicles. The Pentagon considers leasing Russian
An-124 aircraft to accelerate delivery as they run out of airlift
capacity by November 07.
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