MRAP Vehicles

Keeping Our Troops Safe in the Line of Fire

It's no secret that every day our troops in the Middle East face many challenges. One of the greatest threats to their safety is improvised explosive devices (IED), often used by subversive forces in unconventional warfare.

Mine-Resistant-Ambush-Protected (MRAP) vehicles are helping defeat that very threat. The MRAP family of vehicles provides operating forces multiple mission-role platforms capable of mitigating IED, underbody mine, and small arms fire (SAF) threats, the greatest casualty producers in terrorist attacks.

SAIC's support team plays a key role by integrating electronic equipment into these vehicles and transporting them to Iraq to ensure our troops have the best equipment available. The MRAP program is one of the DoD's top acquisition programs. Why? These vehicles are helping our troops fight, win, and — most importantly — survive.

New and Improved Vehicles

The MRAP vehicles serve as replacements to armored high-mobility multi-purpose wheeled vehicles (HMMWV) overseas. The new vehicles' V-shaped hulls deflect shrapnel, providing more effective protection for service members inside.

MRAP vehicles support urban combat operations, multimission operations (such as convoy lead, troop transport, and ambulance), mine/IED clearance operations, and explosive ordnance disposal. Our team prototypes and integrates into each MRAP platform a suite of government-furnished equipment, including radios, electronic warfare devices, intravehicle communication systems, and command and control equipment.

Tall Order, Big Effort

The Secretary of Defense made the MRAP program his top acquisition priority in May 2007 to help ward off the increasing threat to our troops' safety. Just a few short months later, in September, the Joint Requirements Oversight Committee (JROC) approved a total requirement of more than 13,000 vehicles.

End-To-End Support

SAIC supports Space and Naval Warfare (SPAWAR) Systems Center Charleston (SSCC)'s task to prototype, integrate, and logistically support command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR) systems for MRAP vehicles for the Joint Program Office (JPO). We also support interoperability testing, orchestrate transportation of the vehicles to theater, and deprocess in theater.

Agility To Meet Changing Requirements

The MRAP team handles every aspect of the activities, from engineering to receipt and final inspection in theater. This requires agility to meet changing requirements and demands associated with the project of this magnitude.

The challenges we have faced on the MRAP project include meeting a strict delivery schedule on a high volume of vehicles, while maintaining configuration management across multiple vehicles and C4ISR variants. The combination of SAIC's systems engineering and integration expertise and our capabilities as a leader in C4IT, engineering, and logistics support provide a full range of resources to solve our customers' most difficult mission challenges.

Recognition for our Efforts

Visits to the MRAP Vehicle Integration Facility by Gates, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. James Cartwright, and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughhead are a testimony to the significance of the work being done. Each of the distinguished visitors have toured the facility and expressed thanks for the team's hard work.

We've also received specific recognition for our efforts from John J. Young Jr., Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics.

Image Gallery

The following images provide different views of the MRAP vehicle and configurations.