Smaller, lighter MRAPs headed to Afghanistan

[unhappycamper]

Smaller, lighter MRAPs headed to Afghanistan
By William H. McMichael - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Oct 23, 2008 5:50:48 EDT

The Pentagon is speeding deliveries to Afghanistan of armored vehicles designed to protect troops against roadside bomb attacks — smaller, lighter versions of what are known as MRAPs.

The MRAPs — the acronym stands for mine-resistant, ambush-protected — are being sent as U.S. forces report an increase in the number of roadside bombs being used by insurgents against coalition forces in Afghanistan.

“There is a desire on the part of commanders there to get more MRAPs into theater,” said Defense Department spokesman Geoff Morrell at a Pentagon news conference.

Morrell did not know how many more will be delivered, and the U.S. Transportation Command declined to discuss the numbers involved. But Morrell noted that an additional 822 new, lighter MRAPs being built by Navistar Defense will be fielded beginning in November. Commanders say Afghanistan’s rugged terrain demands off-road mobility, which presents a challenge for the older, heavier MRAP models.

There are now 1,122 MRAPs deployed in Afghanistan, Morrell said. He said he knew of no plans to transfer to Afghanistan any of the 9,341 MRAPs now in Iraq, where U.S. forces are slowing drawing down in size. But officials are looking at whether any MRAPs that have been offloaded in Kuwait awaiting delivery to Iraq can be diverted to Afghanistan, he said.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/10/military_mraps_afghanistan_102208w/%2e