Navistar produces a Mine Resistant Ambush Protected truck designed for Afghanistan. The company will begin sending 70 new trucks to U.S. allies by the end of June.

WASHINGTON — Coalition forces in , 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 (MRAPS), according to Pentagon officials and documents.

The Pentagon has provided 581 new and used MRAPs to allies such as Poland, , the , Jordan and . Other countries, including the , buy theirs directly from U.S. manufacturers.

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

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

Counter-IED aid to allies includes intelligence sharing, training and equipment.

„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 likely to grow. Summer months have typically had the highest number of roadside bomb attacks. The peak was reached in August 2009 when 1,069 bombs exploded or were discovered. Through April, IED attacks killed 99 U.S. and allied troops and wounded 785. MRAPs in Afghanistan have proved much 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.

Gates required that the equipment and training lent or sold to allies in Afghanistan not come at the expense of U.S. troops, Carter said.

Force Protection builds Cougar MRAPs that have been used by for years in Iraq and Afghanistan. Canada, France, Italy and Hungary are 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. „That is essentially what has driven these foreign military customers to want our vehicles. They see that troops attacked in them tend to come back alive.”

Navistar, which produces a version of the MRAP designed for Afghanistan, will begin sending 70 new trucks to U.S. allies in Afghanistan by the end of June.

The foreign orders help keep production lines open for both companies at plants in South Carolina and Mississippi.

Allies will receive MRAPs with suspensions designed to deal with rugged terrain in Afghanistan, Carter said. That keeps troops from getting jostled on rutted roads.

All-terrain MRAPs „can also avoid those places where the enemy might think you have to go and therefore know where to position an IED,” Carter said.

The vehicles allow U.S. and coalition troops the freedom to travel across the country to fight insurgents and help establish the Afghan government, Carter said.

„Every coalition force that goes out on patrol is one less American patrol that has to go out,” he said. „It’s important that they be able to be safer and effective. That’s in our interest as well.”

Selling MRAPs to foreign militaries appeals to the Pentagon in part because the vehicles are not weapons that could be used to attack another country and destabilize a region, said Loren Thompson, a military analyst at the Lexington Institute and a consultant to defense contractors.

„It’s not like we’re selling them a long-range bomber,” Thompson said.

Read the article on USA Today

U.S. allies to bolster armored vehicle fleets

Navistar produces a Mine Resistant Ambush Protected truck designed for Afghanistan. The company will begin sending 70 new trucks to U.S. allies by the end of June.

WASHINGTON — Coalition forces in , 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 (MRAPS), according to Pentagon officials and documents.

The Pentagon has provided 581 new and used MRAPs to allies such as Poland, , the , Jordan and . Other countries, including the , buy theirs directly from U.S. manufacturers.

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

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

Counter-IED aid to allies includes intelligence sharing, training and equipment.

„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 likely to grow. Summer months have typically had the highest number of roadside bomb attacks. The peak was reached in August 2009 when 1,069 bombs exploded or were discovered. Through April, IED attacks killed 99 U.S. and allied troops and wounded 785. MRAPs in Afghanistan have proved much 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.

Gates required that the equipment and training lent or sold to allies in Afghanistan not come at the expense of U.S. troops, Carter said.

Force Protection builds Cougar MRAPs that have been used by for years in Iraq and Afghanistan. Canada, France, Italy and Hungary are 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. „That is essentially what has driven these foreign military customers to want our vehicles. They see that troops attacked in them tend to come back alive.”

Navistar, which produces a version of the MRAP designed for Afghanistan, will begin sending 70 new trucks to U.S. allies in Afghanistan by the end of June.

The foreign orders help keep production lines open for both companies at plants in South Carolina and Mississippi.

Allies will receive MRAPs with suspensions designed to deal with rugged terrain in Afghanistan, Carter said. That keeps troops from getting jostled on rutted roads.

All-terrain MRAPs „can also avoid those places where the enemy might think you have to go and therefore know where to position an IED,” Carter said.

The vehicles allow U.S. and coalition troops the freedom to travel across the country to fight insurgents and help establish the Afghan government, Carter said.

„Every coalition force that goes out on patrol is one less American patrol that has to go out,” he said. „It’s important that they be able to be safer and effective. That’s in our interest as well.”

Selling MRAPs to foreign militaries appeals to the Pentagon in part because the vehicles are not weapons that could be used to attack another country and destabilize a region, said Loren Thompson, a military analyst at the Lexington Institute and a consultant to defense contractors.

„It’s not like we’re selling them a long-range bomber,” Thompson said.

Read the article on USA Today

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