Afghan war allies want Iraq war-tested MRAPs - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

Afghan war allies want Iraq war-tested MRAPs

Coalition forces in Afghanistan, in urgent need of protection from roadside bombs, have sought hundreds of the U.S.-produced armored trucks known as Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles, according to Pentagon officials and documents.

So far, the Pentagon has lent or sold 581 new and used MRAPs to allies such as Poland, Romania, the Czech Republic, Jordan and Georgia. Other countries, including the United Kingdom, are buying theirs directly from U.S. manufacturers.

“They saw, as we all saw, how effective MRAPs in Iraq were at saving lives,” said Ashton Carter, the Pentagon’s top weapons buyer. “Although they weren’t all in Iraq, they are in Afghanistan, and they wanted the same capability.”

In February, Defense Secretary Robert Gates pledged U.S. help to NATO allies in combating improvised explosive devices. The aid is vital as more U.S. and allied troops pour into the country to quell the increasingly violent Taliban insurgency. There are about 84,000 U.S. troops there now and 40,000 from allied countries. There will be about 100,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan by the end of the summer.

“MRAPs are the most important part of the equipment that we can make available,” said Carter, the Pentagon’s undersecretary for acquisition, technology and logistics.

The need in Afghanistan is great and expected to grow. Through April, IED attacks had killed 99 U.S. and allied troops this year and wounded 785. MRAPs in Afghanistan have proven to be tens of times safer than armored Humvees from bomb attacks, according to the Joint IED Defeat Organization.

Fifteen Polish troops have been killed by IEDs in Afghanistan, according to records kept by Triton, a British organization that tracks roadside bomb trends for the Pentagon. Twelve troops from Romania have also been killed in Afghanistan by IEDs, Triton records show.

Force Protection builds Cougar MRAPs that have been used by Marines for years in Iraq and Afghanistan. Canada, France, Italy and Hungary are now customers for the vehicle built by the company in South Carolina. The United Kingdom has orders for 500 Cougars, said Tommy Pruitt, a spokesman for the company.

“They see the performance and battle hardiness and survivability,” Pruitt said.

Navistar, which produces a version of the MRAP designed for Afghanistan, will begin sending 70 new trucks to allies in Afghanistan next month.