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Editorial: The MRAP solution

The tradeoff for the superior blast protection provided by Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles is that they are top-heavy and prone to rollover, too tall and too heavy for much of the roadways and infrastructure in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Field commanders want the protection, but they’re asking for better mobility and more stability as the Defense Department sets the requirements for the last 1,600 of some 15,000 MRAPs that were rush-ordered for the Army and Marine Corps. The rest already have been built and fielded to the war zones.

Significant risk remains in operating those vehicles and the services seek to mitigate that through improved operator training and better mission planning.

Still, the MRAP represents an effective response to urgent battlefield requests issued in late 2006. Despite its flaws, the vehicle has proven safer against IEDs than any other combat vehicle.

But this is certain: The enemy is working with zeal to develop explosives capable of penetrating the special V-shaped hull and armor of the MRAP.

One potent threat is the explosively formed penetrator, a sophisticated and powerful bomb that blasts molten metal through armor. From mid April through mid June, EFP bombings in Iraq increased 40 percent. The growing threat of EFPs led to the up-armoring of MRAPs, which added some 5,000 pounds to the vehicles.

Sound familiar? Humvees were up-armored when they proved inadequate to the insurgents’ bomb-making innovations.

The real solution to ending the escalating power of roadside bombs is to harness intelligence and technology to outsmart the cells that manufacture and plant them.

Redesigning vehicles and adding layers of armor are defensive maneuvers and this is a battle that can only be won on the offensive.

DISCUSS: Are we on the offensive?