Wrapping Up MRAP

Written by Michael Burnett

To fulfill this need, the Marine Corps Systems Command, based in Quantico, Va., issued solicitations for the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle program. The MRAP vehicle has a V-shaped hull, along with a raised chassis, to protect warfighters from IED attacks as well as small arms fire and mines. MRAP vehicles currently come in three categories. The Department of Defense has designated the Category I of vehicles, which can carry six personnel, for urban warfare missions. Category II vehicles, which can carry 10 personnel, cover a range of missions including troop transport and ambulance services. Category III vehicles, which can carry six personnel, perform IED or mine clearance missions and explosive ordnance disposal.

Presently, five companies hold contracts to produce MRAP vehicles. DoD had ordered a total of 6,415 vehicles from those companies as of press time. The department estimates about 3,500 vehicles should be delivered to U.S. forces in Iraq by the end of December. Procuring and fielding a new vehicle on short notice requires highly agile logistics coordination between the Marine Corps Systems Command and the agencies and companies it has partnered with to acquire MRAP vehicles. The procurement of the vehicles is actually handled by an MRAP Joint Task Force, which is overseen by the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development, and Acquisition (ASN-RDA).

The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) serves as a member of the MRAP Joint Task Force. The Defense Supply Center Columbus (DSCC) in Ohio acts as the DLA Project office for MRAP logistics. According to a DLA press release on August 9, Maritime Supplier Operations Deputy Director Ann Bradway, Army Lieutenant Colonel Jay Proctor and Jeff Gamber of the Land Supply Chain office, lead the DLA support effort for MRAP.

DLA has several focus areas for its support, revolving around the acquisition of both tried and true items as well as new critical parts. For example, DSCC must field a steady supply of tires for MRAP vehicles.

“We will be able to capitalize on our tire privatization contract with Michelin to provide tires for the vehicles as they are built and to maintain a supply after they are delivered to the warfighter,” Bradway said in the DLA release.

In addition, DLA must field about 240 stock items identified by the Marines as MRAP necessities. Gamber estimated that about 24 percent of the National Stock Numbers affiliated with MRAP parts also were in use with existing vehicle platforms, but the remaining 76 percent represent new procurements and first-time acquisitions.

In order to kick off the MRAP program quickly, the Marines have relied on contractors to provide production support but DLA will take control of MRAP supply oversight in the coming months. But DLA has some concerns regarding MRAP vehicles, which stem from how new they are, Gamber said in the release. No information is yet available on the rate of failure for vehicle parts—and many improvements are already in the pipeline for future MRAP vehicles.

Joint Effort

DLA and Marine Corps Systems Command declined requests for an interview for this article, but they did collaborate with the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) to provide answers to inquiries from Military Logistics Forum about the nature of the MRAP procurement. DoD spokesperson Cheryl Irwin declined to address specific known challenges regarding the MRAP vehicle to date.

“This is a very complex and far-reaching program involving the dedication and resourcefulness of many players in many arenas. As such, there have been challenges. We will not, however, provide detailed information regarding those challenges due to competition sensitivities,” Irwin said.

“Sustainment and support are issues being closely examined by the Joint Program Office,” she said. “The partnership between the government and industry is strong, and we support each other to identify and strategize how to overcome hurdles and any impediment to our goal of manufacturing, integrating and fielding quality vehicles.”

The unique acquisition process and teamwork have yielded a great deal of success, however, Irwin acknowledged. The process, which involved some initial risks, has successfully fielded quality MRAP vehicles at a rapid rate “unprecedented in government procurement history,” she said.

“We are saving lives,” Irwin said. “There is no greater success.” The readiness levels of the MRAP vehicles have exceeded target goals so far, Irwin said. They have been performing very well and are meeting mission objectives in Iraq.

Irwin also was not authorized to address specific supply chain inquiries regarding the fielding of MRAP vehicles. “Due to security reasons, we will not provide detailed information regarding vehicle specifications or advanced technology used to provide vehicle survivability and hence protect the lives of our warfighters,” Irwin said. “However, the MRAP Vehicle Joint Program Office, manufacturers, Department of Defense leadership, and all services involved in this complex enterprise are working diligently to exploit every opportunity to rapidly field quality vehicles.”

Contract or Support

Five companies have received contracts to produce MRAP vehicles to date. Those companies are:

• Force Protection Inc. of Ladson, S.C.
• General Dynamics Land Systems- Canada of Ontario, Canada
• BAE Systems Land Systems, based in Arlington, Va.
• Armor Holdings Inc. of Jacksonville, Fla.
• International Military and Government LLC of Warrenville, Ill.

Each company has fulfilled specific roles and niches in fulfilling military demand for MRAP vehicles.

Force Protection has entered into a joint venture with General Dynamics Land Systems, under the name of Force Dynamics, to provide Category I 4x4 Cougar and Category II 6x6 Cougar vehicles. The company also has a sole source contract to provide Category III Buffalo vehicles. As of August, Force Protection was under contract to produce more than 1,900 vehicles under the MRAP program. DoD has awarded Force Protection five MRAP delivery orders since December 2006 with an estimated value of more than $1 billion, the company reported.

In a recent company statement, Force Protection Chief Operating Officer Raymond Pollard pointed to the company’s production processes as distinguishing its MRAP capabilities.

“The significance of this order lies in the fact that, with our partners, Force Protection has found yet another production technique to make these strategic assets faster and more efficiently,” Pollard said. “Remember, we are responding to the warfighter not only with this life-saving technology in a timely manner, but also with the resources necessary to maintain this growing fleet of uniquely protected vehicles at the highest levels of performance.” Force Protection employs more than 60 field service representatives in Iraq and Afghanistan to assist warfighters with training and vehicle maintenance, according to the company.

General Dynamics Land Systems received a MRAP contract to supply RG-31 Mk5 Mine Protected Vehicles to the MRAP Category II effort, the company first announced June 20. The Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM) Life Cycle Management Command, in support of the Program Executive Office for Combat Support and Combat Service Support (PEO CS&CSS), awarded the contract.

Demmer Corporation of Lansing, Mich., and BAE Land Systems OMC of South Africa manufacture the RG-31 Mk5 vehicles under the contract. BAE Systems Land Systems has its own contract for Category I 4x4 RG-33 vehicles under MRAP as well as Category II 6x6 RG-33 vehicles, configured as ambulances. The company touts “90 percent commonality” between the 4x4 and 6x6 vehicles, easing supply chain commands on keeping the vehicles repaired and running.

BAE Systems credited its contract win to its decades of experience manufacturing mine-resistant vehicles in South Africa. The RG-33 vehicles protect against IEDs, small arms, heavy machine gunfire and mines. It has the V-shaped hull design found on MRAP vehicles.

The RG-33 vehicle has a base level of protection against medium machine gun and small arms fire as well as mine blasts. It further has optional armor packages that may include blast-resistant seating, transparent armor and reconfigurable interior stations.

While Armor Holdings Inc. received its own MRAP contract, BAE Systems completed an acquisition of Armor Holdings in August, creating BAE Systems AH Inc.

BAE Systems AH Inc. therefore now produces Cougar MRAP vehicles under a contract from Force Protection. But Armor Holdings also held an MRAP contract for its Caiman vehicles, which possess a great deal of commonality with the U.S. Army Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles. Armor Holdings carried out its vehicle production work at facilities in Sealy, Texas, and Fairfield, Ohio, and that work continues under BAE Systems.

Finally, International Military and Government LLC, a subsidiary of Navistar International Corp., provide Category I MRAP vehicles with its International Maxx- Pro military vehicle technology. As of July, International Military and Government held the largest orders for MRAP vehicles with 1,971 MRAPs under contract. The company has combined its truck production expertise with armor specialization to produce the MRAP vehicles.

“The urgency to rapidly deliver these life-saving armored vehicles to our military forces is clear,” said Daniel C. Ustian, chairman, president and CEO of Navistar International, in a statement. “We are working with the U.S. military and our supply base to increase our production capacity at our facilities to meet the aggressive demand and provide these MRAP vehicles into the hands of our Marines, soldiers and sailors as quickly as possible. Every day of production is critical. We are honored and proud to be providing these mission critical vehicles to the U.S. military.”

International Military and Government developed a modular armor system in conjunction with Plasan Sasa Ltd. of Israel. The MaxxPro has the V-shaped hull of the MRAP vehicles atop an International heavy-duty truck chassis. International has stated its dedicated military vehicle integration facility enables it to produce vehicles quickly to meet military needs.

Future Requirements

The MRAP Joint Task Force is already looking to the future with MRAP II vehicles. In July, Marine Corps Systems Command announced it would seek additional qualified producers of MRAP vehicles to fulfill needs in excess of 20,000 vehicles. “The solicitation (MRAP II) will be based on an enhanced performance specification and statement of work; no drawings are available,” Marine Corps Systems Command said in its solicitation.

“Prospective offerors are cautioned that MRAP II performance requirements have evolved; therefore, candidates under the initial round of MRAP contracts that did not pass government testing must have enhanced the performance of their candidate vehicles sufficient to meet or exceed the enhanced performance requirements of the MRAP II solicitation.” Marine Corps Systems Command anticipated placing vehicle orders as soon as January 2008. After companies successfully meet the requirements of a first-phase review, they must be ready to offer a production-representative vehicle for testing within 60 days after solicitation issuance, according to the command.

The solicitation was made available online at https://www.neco.navy.mil. ♦