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Force Protection (FRPT - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr - Rating) has been upgraded to a hold from a sell. The company makes blast-protected vehicles that have been used to support U.S. military forces in Iraq, Afghanistan and other locations around the globe. Force Protection's revenues jumped 287.3% in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2006 compared with the same quarter a year earlier.
This growth appears to have trickled down to the bottom line. The company earned 32 cents per share in this latest quarter after losing 23 cents per share in the third quarter of fiscal 2005. FRPT had been rated a sell since January 2007.
Looks like you called it. It was due sooner or later IMO on a technical basis, but it should continue the climb through yesterday's high in the near future. It may even continue back towards the open today. My bet is that we'll see a 2.2% drop EOD. Any takers? haha
-------------------- Good judgment comes from experience. Unfortunately, experience usually comes from bad judgment.
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New vehicles protect Marines in 300 attacks
By Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY 4/18/2007
In more than 300 attacks since last year, no Marines have died while riding in new fortified armored vehicles the Pentagon hopes to rush to Iraq in greater numbers this year, a top Marine commander in Anbar province said. Brig. Gen. John Allen, deputy commander of coalition forces in Anbar province, said the Marines have tracked attacks on the vehicles since January 2006. The vehicles' raised, V-shaped hulls deflect the force of blasts from homemade bombs buried in roadways.
There's been an average of less than one injured Marine per attack on the vehicles, Allen said. There have been 1,100 attacks on coalition vehicles during the period in Anbar province, the heart of the Sunni Muslim insurgency.
Attacks on other vehicles caused more than two casualties per attack, including deaths, Allen said.
The Marines provided statistics for injuries involving the new vehicles, but they did not release the number of deaths involving Humvees. The Marines do not release causes of death because they do not want to give the enemy combat intelligence.
Pentagon casualty records show that of the 60 combat deaths this month in Iraq, 35 troops have been killed by homemade bombs, which the Pentagon calls improvised explosive devices (IEDs). None was a Marine. At least 16 of the dead were riding in Humvees, according to records and published reports.
IEDs are responsible for 70% of U.S. casualties in Iraq, Pentagon records show.
The Marines operate about 100 of the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles and want an additional 3,000 MRAPs in Anbar province. Marine Corps Commandant James Conway told the Joint Chiefs of Staff last month that he wants to require every Marine traveling outside bases to ride in the MRAPs.
"It's a great vehicle in term of protecting troops," Allen said.
Congress wants more money to buy the vehicles this year. The Senate version of the emergency Pentagon spending bill being debated by Congress would include $4 billion to buy the vehicles.
The vehicles "can and will save lives," says Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., who pushed an amendment for an additional $1.5 billion for the vehicles through the Senate last month. The new vehicles "are a dramatic improvement in the odds of survival" for U.S. troops, he said.
The Pentagon needs more than $8 billion this year and next to pay for about 7,700 vehicles. In January, it issued contracts with nine companies to develop and build the vehicles.
The vehicles' safety is enhanced, Allen said, by raising their hulls a few feet off the ground where the force of a buried bomb is concentrated. Humvees, by contrast, have a lower center of gravity and are thinly protected on the bottom.
The Army, which has most of the 145,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, will have about 1,800 of the vehicles in Iraq by December. It has other armored vehicles, such as tanks, and intends to continue to operate armored Humvees because they are more mobile than MRAPs.
April 23rd, 2007 - South Carolinas's fastest growing company, Force Protection, Inc. (Nasdaq:FRPT) announced today that their Buffalo, Cougar and Cheetah vehicles will be prominently featured during events leading up to the Dodge Avenger 500 May 12th at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina.
"We are extremely excited to have Force Protection's vehicles participate in this year's Dodge Avenger 500 at Darlington. We welcome South Carolina's fastest growing company to the track 'Too Tough to Tame,'" said Chris Browning, president of Darlington Raceway.
"Force Protection is excited to participate in the Dodge Avenger 500. Darlington has always been special to NASCAR and the state of South Carolina. We look forward to a great event weekend," said Force Protection CEO Gordon McGilton.
Force Protection plans to participate in the Darlington Raceway Car Hauler Parade on Wednesday May 9th. Vehicles will be on display at Darlington for the USAC Silver Crown Series race Thursday May 10th, the NASCAR Busch Series race Friday May 11th and the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race Saturday May 12th. The Buffalo, Cougar and Cheetah are scheduled to participate in parade laps immediately prior to the start of the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Dodge Avenger 500 May 12th at 7:00 p.m. The Nextel Cup Series race telecast will be broadcast nationally on the FOX network.
Force Protection Industries, Inc.,* Ladson, S.C., is being awarded $481,414,500 for firm-fixed-priced delivery order (#0003) under a previously awarded contract (M67854-07-D-5031) for additional Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) vehicles. The Government shall purchase 300 Category I Vehicles and 700 Category II Vehicles, for a total of 1,000 vehicles. Work will be performed in Ladson, S.C., and work is expected to be completed by May 2008. Contract funds will not expire by the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured. The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.
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Finally, all my shares are green...from the ones I bought at $2.19 to the ones I bought at $21.94!
I'm still lamenting the loss of 650 shares that I got stopped out of last week! (and subsequent paper profits of over $3000.00 missed) Now I know what people mean when they say their shares were stolen! GRRR!
But I'm happy with my other shares that are looking good today.
So what do you all think will happen this morning? Will that afterhours price hold? FRPT is never easy to call.
Jo
-------------------- "Great Day for Up!"....Dr. Seuss
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FRPT Hits Grans Slam Home Run - from Big Capital Advisors Tuesday, April 24, 2007 FRPT hits Grand Slam Homerun At 5PM on Monday the Marine Corps announced that Force Protection won a $481 million contract to supply over 1,000 more MRAP vehicles. The enormity of this contract can not be underestimated. It is the largest MRAP contract ever awarded and is just the beginning. It officially establishes FRPT as the elephant in the room of MRAP contractors. Although it does not preclude other contractors from getting some of the MRAP business, it clearly shows that FRPT is going to get the lion's share.
Just to put this into perspective, we already know that FRPT has reported the following revenues:
2004 $10.2 mil 2005 $49.7 mil 2006 $196.0 mil 2007 $600 - 700 mil est* * projected as reasonable per Ray Pollard
Now on top of all of the above comes this huge contract. Whether this contract was in Pollard's 2007 estimate or not, I believe that this is just the tip of the iceberg. There is a worldwide paradigm shift towards blast protected vehicles. FRPT is by far the leader in terms of proven vehicles in the field and production capability. As we all know, FRPT's management has done an incredible job of ramping up production capacity and forming relationships with all the right players in the field. It looks like the chickens are coming home to roost.
Now to the chart. FRPT traded up around $3.45 to $25.60 after hours on Monday. It easily took out it's all time high on big volume.
In my opinion if FRPT opens above its old highs and closes strong, we have a monster on our hands.
I'm sure that people will take profits into the gap up and there will be some huge volatility. The key to FRPT will be the ability to hang on during air pockets and to buy on the dips. No matter what standard one uses - from relative strength to alpha - stocks that blast off with great high volume thrusts, tend to keep going and keep outperforming the market proportionately.
In short, with one stroke of the pen, the DOD has put to rest most of the fears that FRPT shareholders were concerned about since multiple bidders were announced for MRAP. FRPT is officially the leader in the field and is going to experience some serious growth.
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You could still get in on a dip. I've been in FRPT for a year and while it is always volatile, it does tend to often open high and then dip in mid-morning (say 10:15 or so)
I've got an order in for $23.50, so we'll see.
Jo
-------------------- "Great Day for Up!"....Dr. Seuss
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Jo, I saw the dip to $16 and was going to get in then but honestly I havent been following it close enough so I didnt understand the dip. I first put this on my watch list at around $7 and forgot about it
Thanks though, ill be watching for a dip!
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Kind of an off day today. I think it was a little pullback and possibly some people sold out in case the war funding bill goes through(which requires early withdrawal). We'll see. Either way I say this stock continues on.
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=DJ Big New Order Tests Force Protection Plan To Outsource Mfg
. By Rebecca Christie Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--Force Protection Inc.'s (FRPT) plan to outsource its way to manufacturing success faces a big test over the next year, thanks to a $481 million, 1,000-vehicle order this week from the U.S. military.
Force Protection won the first major production contract in the Mine-Resistant, Ambush-Protected vehicle program, a new $8.4 billion program that aims to buy more than 7,700 new MRAP vehicles for the U.S. Marine Corps, the U.S. Army and other ground forces.
It will be a huge challenge for the South Carolina-based company. Force Protection built just 300 vehicles in all of 2006 and historically has struggled to add capacity. To succeed, the company will have to integrate a broad new team of suppliers and partners into its production lines for Cougar and Buffalo vehicles.
Analysts said the company has a tough road ahead. Delays and cost overruns are common in programs this ambitious, said Lexington Institute defense analyst Loren Thompson.
"The record of fast reaction production for forces in Iraq is spotty at best, in terms of industrial capability," Thompson said. "There are going to be some manufacturing issues that people haven't anticipated."
Force Protection's team includes major defense contractors such as General Dynamics Corp. (GD) and Armor Holdings Inc. (AH). As these partners begin operations, Force Protection plans to expand from its current production rate of 70 to 80 vehicles per month to 200 vehicles per month, over a six-month span.
"It's kind of like a relay race, where we start running a while in anticipation that the baton is going to come to us," said Mike Aldrich, Force Protection's vice president for marketing and government relations, in a Wednesday telephone interview. He said Force Protection's partners will bring key support not only for manufacturing, but also for setting up the extensive logistics chain that these vehicles will require once they are deployed.
Force Protection's new vehicles will be built in Michigan, North Carolina, Texas and Ohio, as well as in South Carolina. The new contract calls for all vehicles to be delivered by May 2008.
If Force Protection wins more big orders, it could expand its supplier team further. "Frankly, we could add others, like BAE Systems, to increase the production flow if we were asked to. We'll give the design to anybody to try to get the vehicles out the door," Aldrich said.
BAE Systems has worked with Force Protection in the past, on light armored vehicles for the Iraqi government. But the two companies have not yet announced any new alliances.
Force Protection is one of nine companies that the Marines selected in February for MRAP testing. General Dynamics and Armor Holdings also made the list, along with Textron Inc. (TXT), BAE Systems PLC (BA.LN), Oshkosh Truck Corp. (OSK), Protected Vehicles Inc., Navistar International Corp.'s (NAVZ) International Military and Government LLC, and General Purpose Vehicles LLC.
Each company is on contract for four test vehicles - two "category one" and two "category two" vehicles. Seven companies have delivered test vehicles so far, the Marines said.
Force Protection is the only company to complete testing so far, the Marines said. But because the military has such an urgent demand for the new vehicles, the Marines already placed interim orders for 639 vehicles with five of the selected companies.
The Marines said they do not have a uniform plan for how the MRAP program will take shape as testing proceeds. "Each company is different," said Marine Corps Systems Command spokesman Bill Johnson-Miles.
Despite the big challenge of filling the MRAP order, Force Protection hasn't shied away from other new business prospects. The company is mulling a new manufacturing location in the Southeastern U.S. for its proposed Cheetah commercial armored vehicle.
The company also has proposed an upgrade to the 600 or so Buffalo and Cougar vehicles it has delivered to the U.S. military so far. This upgrade, which would cost $100,000 to $200,000 per vehicle, would provide better protection against a particularly deadly type of roadside bomb, Aldrich said. If the military accepts the proposal, the upgrade also could be adapted for the General Dynamics-made Bradley Fighting Vehicles and other U.S. military equipment, he said.
-By Rebecca Christie, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9243; rebecca.christie*dowjones.com
posted
Pure speculation here and a little off topic, but I get the feeling a larger defense contractor(i.e. GD, etc) may attempt to buy FRPT down the road. Any thoughts? I don't think it'd be real soon but I can see it happening.
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Force Protection, New Contract, Not New To The Fight
Reporter: Sarah DeMarco Posted: April 26, 2007 10:55 AM EST
Ladson, SC - More armored vehicles soon to be on their way to Iraq, more lives soon to be saved and more jobs, here at home. Thanks to the Ladson based company, Force Protection and a new government contract, 1,000 trucks are now in the making for the Marine Corp.
It's a constant race to find new defense mechanisms, to protect our troops. Force Protection is up to the fight, says Ray Pollard, the Chief Operations Officer of Force Protection, "that's why we bought our own test range, so we could keep current and try and stay ahead of them." Ahead, of the enemy. Which means putting these guys to work 7 days a week, 22 hours a day, producing possibly the most important piece of protection America can offer. "Every vehicle we've produced, we believe means dozens of young men and woman will come home safely," says Pollard.
Their unblemished track record proves it. The Cougar has sustained more than 200,000 IED hits and mortar attacks without 1 fatality. Their safety, a sign more are needed. Not only now, but for what lies ahead.
"I believe this A-symmetrical war fare we're fighting Thursday happens to be in Iraq, it could be any place. I think next time they will have built these type vehicles in large numbers and distributed them around the world to all our arsenals. So they'll be available for confrontation, no matter where it is," says Pollard.
In contrast to the humvee, which even when armored offers little protection against a buried bomb, the Cougar is higher and heavier. Right now, Force Protection has a production capacity of about 100 Cougars a month. By the end of the year, the company plans to produce closer to 400 a month.
Just last month, Force Protection purchased land in Edgefield and Summerville, both for expansion and testing, those sites will add close to 200 jobs to the 900 already at work. Just a year ago, only 150 were behind the scenes. The Military's latest order costs close to a half a billion dollars and will be delivered by the end of January.
Force Protection, a maker of armored vehicles, saw its shares jump 8.2% in Tuesday trading after it netted a major military contract.
On Tuesday, Force Protection (nasdaq: FRPT - news - people ) announced that it has won a $490 million contract from the U.S. Marine Corps to produce 1,000 new vehicles. The company said it was the largest mine-resistant vehicle contract ever awarded.
At the end of trading Tuesday, shares of Force Protection were up 8.2%, or $1.82, to $23.97.
The order represents a major uptick for the company. Since 2003, the military has used about 350 Force Protection vehicles in Iraq and Afghanistan. Unlike most armored cars, the company's vehicles are built with a unique V-shaped hull, which are designed to withstand improvised explosive device and mine attacks.
Force Protection could reap additional contracts in the near term as the military continues its spending spree. Under the U.S. Marine Corps' Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle program, the Marines plans to acquire 7,700 vehicles, valued at $8.4 billion, by the end of 2008. The company remains optimistic that it will be able to win a bulk of these outstanding contracts.
"We're expecting to get 6,000 more orders," said Michael Aldrich, vice president of marketing at Force Protection, in an interview on Tuesday. "The government has told us repeatedly that if we pass the test and we prove that we can generate capacity and a delivery schedule that meets their needs, then they would deliver the orders. Our optimism is based on experience."
Other armored vehicle makers have tried to adopt the V-shaped design but Aldrich believes that Force Protection retains a competitive edge against the market. "You can't trademark geometry, but all V-shaped hulls are not created equal and we have proprietary technologies," he said.
The expected surge in armored vehicle spending contrasts sharply with the apparent softening in aeronautical defense sales. (See: " Lockheed Martin Fails to Impress.")
On Tuesday, Dougherty & Company raised its price target on Force Protection shares to $29 from $23 and reiterated a
Then this,
General Dynamics Receives $245 Million for Mine-Protected Vehicle Work Monday April 30, 4:45 pm ET Joint venture with Force Protection, Inc., shares $490 million program award
STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich., April 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- General Dynamics Land Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD - News), has received a work order for $244.5 million of a $490 million contract awarded to Force Protection, Inc. (Nasdaq: FRPT - News) on April 24 to produce 1,000 vehicles for the U.S. Marine Corps' Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle program. ADVERTISEMENT
Force Protection and General Dynamics have formed a joint venture, Force Dynamics, to share in the production and program management of the MRAP contact.
This latest MRAP delivery order purchases Force Protection's category I 4X4 and category II 6X6 Cougar vehicles. Manufacturing will be performed in Anniston, Alabama; Charlotte, Michigan; Ladson, South Carolina; Lima, Ohio; Kings Point, North Carolina; and Sealy, Texas.
About Force Protection
Force Protection manufactures ballistic- and mine-protected vehicles through its wholly owned subsidiary. These specialty vehicles are protected against landmines, hostile fire, and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs, commonly referred to as roadside bombs). Force Protection's mine and ballistic protection technology is among the most advanced in the world. The vehicles are manufactured outside Charleston, S.C. For more information on Force Protection and its vehicles, go to http://www.forceprotection.net .
About General Dynamics
General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, employs approximately 82,600 people worldwide. The company is a market leader in business aviation; land and expeditionary combat systems, armaments and munitions; shipbuilding and marine systems; and information systems and technologies. More information about the company is available on the Internet at http://www.generaldynamics.com .
Giving up half to GD to get them all, or aleast 6,000 more, sounds good to me. Good partner to have to be able to get the job done. Maybe they wont be bought-up being GD's partner.
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More fun with FRPT!! This was posted over on IV by Forcite. (you have to have to be a member of Defense news, I think, to see the articlehttp://defense.iwpnewsstand.com/ ) But anyhow after the big drop to $20.11 yesterday, who knew we'd be at $23.35 in a/h today. This stock is crazy!
----------------- Army Eyeing Replacement of All Humvees in Iraq with New Armored Vehicle
May 2, 2007 -- The Army is considering a request from commanders in Iraq to replace every humvee there with a Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle, a move that -- if approved -- could more than triple the size of the MRAP program, which today carries an $8.4 billion price tag.
This proposal comes as the new-start MRAP effort -- which aims to rapidly build and field a large armored vehicle fleet -- elbowed its way on to the agenda of the most senior Pentagon officials this week, including the defense secretary and Defense Department’s high-level Joint Requirements Oversight Council.
Army brass this spring advanced a requirement for 2,500 MRAP vehicles, which have v-shaped hulls designed to protect occupants from roadside bombs, as part of a Marine Corps-led effort to build a fleet of 7,774 MRAPs and field them to U.S. forces in Iraq over the next 18 months.
Commanders in Iraq, however, now believe Army personnel -- which suffer daily attacks from improvised explosive devices -- require a significantly larger MRAP fleet.
“We’ve got a requirement from the field that’s a larger number than [2,500] and we’re going to take a long, hard look at that,” Pete Geren, the acting Army secretary, told the Senate Armed Services airland subcommittee on April 25. “The number that came from the field was 17,000 -- total replacement of the humvee fleet.”
Officials on the Army staff declined requests to discuss details of the services’ MRAP requirement, which could produce a large unfunded wedge in the service’s modernization portfolio. Estimated per-unit MRAP costs -- including the vehicle, communication gear, electronic warfare capabilities, and two years of contractor support -- range from $1 million to $1.3 million, depending on which of three different-sized MRAP variants is procured, sources familiar with program details said.
Still, Geren suggested at the hearing that Army leaders are open to raising the MRAP requirement, noting he “was not confident” with the 2,500-vehicle goal. “Perhaps it should be more,” he said.
In effect, the Army is considering a policy change similar to the Marine Corps’ decision earlier this year to provide MRAP-level protection for all Marines in al Anbar province.
“Under this policy, limited use of Up-Armored [humvees] will be authorized in specific tactical situations where the operational characteristics of [humvee] are required,” Gen. James Conway, Marine Corps commandant, wrote in a March 1 memo on the status of the MRAP program to Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
This Marine Corps policy change, validated by the service’s brass on Feb. 6, propelled its requirement for MRAP vehicles from 1,022 to 3,700.
The Army’s assessment of its total MRAP need comes as the Joint Requirements Oversight Council, the Pentagon’s high-level panel that must approve all new-start weapons programs, was scheduled on May 2 to consider -- and possibly endorse -- the requirement for 7,774 MRAP vehicles.
Even this figure represents recent growth spurred Air Force and U.S. Special Operations Command requirements.
Yesterday, in another sign of the high profile MRAP enjoys in the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Robert Gates received a program overview briefing, according to Marine Corps spokesman Bill Johnson-Miles.
Meanwhile, support for the MRAP program continues to grow on Capitol Hill. The House Armed Services air and land subcommittee today announced it has added $4.1 billion to buy MRAPs in fiscal year 2008, an extraordinary sum -- even in the context of U.S. defense spending -- for an effort that is not a program of record and was not a priority only a year ago.
The House panel’s action follows last week’s commitment by Congress to provide $3 billion for MRAP purchases over the next six months. President Bush, however, vetoed the spending bill that contained the MRAP funds yesterday because of provisions regarding U.S. troop withdrawals from Iraq.
So far, the MRAP program in fiscal year 2007 has spent all but $150 million of the $1.4 billion available to the Marine Corps through congressional appropriations and internal reprogramming actions, according to a Marine Corps spokeswoman.
Nearly $900 million has been used to place orders for 1,639 vehicles on contract, a handful of which are complete.
The current impasse over the fiscal year 2007 emergency supplemental spending package is forcing the Marine Corps to search internally for additional resources for MRAP.
“We are investigating additional reprogramming and realignment funding options to make more funding available to the program before appropriation and receipt of the FY-07 supplemental funding,” said Dedra Jone, spokeswoman for the MRAP program. “Other than orders already placed and planned with funds on hand, we cannot place additional orders until more funding is available.”
Sources said the service is preparing a new reprogramming request worth nearly $500 million to ensure that it has funds on hand to award production contracts over the next four weeks. This would be a second reprogramming action designed to shift funds to the MRAP program this spring. In March, Pentagon Comptroller Tina Jonas approved a $498 million reprogramming for MRAP.
The push to make MRAP funds available comes as the Marine Corps and Army in late May are scheduled to complete testing of prototypes from eight tactical vehicle manufacturers. A key element of the rapid acquisition strategy is to begin awarding contracts as soon as testing is complete. -- Jason Sherman
Date: May 2, 2007
-------------------- "Great Day for Up!"....Dr. Seuss
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This is awesome!! Up nearly 6% today. And I was looking for a target price of about $34 before I sold, but now I'm looking higher. This one has a LOT of upside yet. Even if they don't get a few contracts, the ones they get should be far more than originally thought.
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Force Protection Industries, Inc., Ladson, S.C., was awarded an $8,867,449 firm-fixed-priced contract on May 3, 2007 for five JERRV and five Buffalo up-armored vehicles and associated sustainment and training. The sustainment will consist of 90-day consumables, forward deployment blocks, maintenance workshop blocks, field service representatives, operator and maintenance training. This procurement is in support of the Government of Canada under the Foreign Military Sales Program. Work will be performed in Ladson, S.C., and is expected to be completed by May 2008. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was solicited as a sole source procurement under the terms of an “International Agreement” as cited under FAR 6.302-4. The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity (M67854-07-D-5039).
posted
There goes Armor Holdings. Will General Dynamics ante up and buy FRPT?
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Armor Holdings Agrees to $3.37 Billion Takeover by Global Defense Contractor BAE Systems
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- Armor Holdings Inc., which makes military vehicles and bulletproof vests, said Monday it agreed to a $3.37 billion takeover by global defense contractor BAE Systems Inc. The purchase price of $88 a share in cash represents a 7 percent premium to the closing price of Armor Holdings stock on Friday. The overall price is based on the 38.33 million fully diluted shares outstanding Armor reported as of March 31.
The companies value the entire transaction at $4.1 billion. Unvested stock options sometimes boost the total cost of a deal.
The deal is expected to close in the third quarter and remains subject to shareholder approval and antitrust scrutiny.
Shares of Armor Holdings rose $3.35 to $85.50 in premarket electronic trading.
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U.S. Marines look over a mine resistant ambush protected vehicle, or MRAP, in Iraq.
By Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY WASHINGTON — The Pentagon will phase out its armored Humvees in Iraq and Afghanistan and send in vehicles that better withstand roadside bomb blasts, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday. Replacing the Humvee, the military's main troop-transport vehicle, will be the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle, known as an MRAP. Military officials say the new vehicles provide twice as much protection against improvised explosive devices (IEDs), which cause 70% of all U.S. casualties in Iraq.
Armored Humvees were "the best we had," Gates said. "Now we have something better, and we're going to get that to the field as best we can."
No Marines had been killed in the 300 attacks on Marine MRAPs in Anbar province, USA TODAY reported on April 19. Last week, two Army soldiers were killed when a bomb struck their MRAP in Iraq.
Humvees have had a tortured history since the Iraq war started in March 2003. Few had armor in the early months of the war, but the rise of IEDs led troops to add their own armor. Then Congress pushed the Pentagon to buy armor kits and new, fully armored Humvees. The added armor, though, made it more likely for the Humvee to roll over, and its heavier doors trapped soldiers inside after an attack or accident.
FIND MORE STORIES IN: Iraq | Wednesday | Afghanistan | Army | Pentagon | Gates | US Marines | Humvees | IEDS | MRAP | MRAPS Getting the MRAPs is "the highest priority Department of Defense acquisition program," Gates said in a memo last week to the secretaries of the Army and Navy. In that memo, first reported Wednesday by InsideDefense.com, Gates said he was concerned the Marines has ordered 3,700 of the vehicles, while the Army only sought 2,500. The Army has about 100,000 troops in Iraq; the Marines have 25,000.
Gates and other Pentagon officials plan to meet Friday to determine how many more vehicles the military will buy. "My understanding … is that the Army has been recalibrating its interest and has substantially increased the number of these vehicles they think they can use," Gates said.
The new vehicles feature a V-shaped hull that disperses explosions from below. All services have ordered a total of 7,700 MRAPs for $8 billion over the next 18 months, but Gates indicated the Pentagon could buy many more.
The Army now has 18,000 armored Humvees in Iraq. It originally planned to spend another $2.5 billion this year to buy more, Army budget records show.
Army spokesman Paul Boyce said Wednesday the service has 1,100 mine-protected vehicles in Iraq. The MRAP won't completely replace the Humvee in Iraq or future conflicts, he said.
Gates said production capacity is "nowhere near what it needs to be to meet the demand on the part of either the Army or the Marine Corps."
In January, the Marines awarded testing and development contracts for the MRAP to nine different defense contractors. A Marine contract for 1,000 MRAPs awarded last month indicated the order would be completed by May 2008.
It's about time the Pentagon changed to the MRAP, said Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., who has advocated for buying more of the vehicles. "I am glad they finally get it," he said.
Gates said Wednesday he learned of the Marines' success with the vehicles from a newspaper article he did not identify. "That certainly got my attention."
It also indicates that future U.S. adversaries will mimic the insurgents' use of IEDs, which "have now been recognized as a national Achilles' heel," said Michael O'Hanlon, an analyst at the Brookings Institution. "If you're the military, you'd better fix it."
-------------------- "Great Day for Up!"....Dr. Seuss
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