TROOP VEHICLES COMPARED TROOP VEHICLES COMPARED Digg



del.icio.us



Newsvine



Reddit



Facebook WASHINGTON  New military vehicles that are supposed to better protect troops from roadside explosions in Iraq aren't strong enough to withstand the latest type of bombs used by insurgents, according to Pentagon documents and military officials. As a result, the vehicles need more armor added to them, according to a January Marine Corps document provided to USA TODAY. The Pentagon faced the same problem with its Humvees at the beginning of the war. RELATED: Army seeks $20B for protected vehicles The military plans to spend as much as $25 billion for up to 22,000 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles by 2009. Last month, Defense Secretary Robert Gates declared that buying the new vehicles should be the Pentagon's top procurement priority. But the armor on those vehicles cannot stop the newest bomb to emerge, known as an explosively formed penetrator (EFP). The Pentagon plans to replace virtually all Humvees with MRAPs to provide better protection against roadside bombs, responsible for most casualties in Iraq. The document, dated Jan. 13, is called an urgent universal need statement. The statements are written by field commanders in all services, who want commercially available solutions to battlefield problems. Since MRAPs are so much safer against traditional roadside bombs, the document says, Iraqi insurgents' use of EFPs "can be expected to increase significantly." As a result, the Marine commanders in Iraq who wrote the statement asked for more armor to be added to the new vehicles. MORE: Corps refused 2005 plea for MRAP vehicles "Ricocheting hull fragments, equipment debris and the penetrating slugs themselves shred vulnerable vehicle occupants who are in their path," said the document, which asks for 3,400 sets of add-on armor. The Army has tested armor that appears to protect MRAPs from the explosives, said Brig. Gen. Michael Brogan, who confirmed the document's authenticity. Brogan leads Marine Corps Systems Command, the lead agency for the MRAP program. "How rapidly we can engineer that onto these vehicles is yet to be seen because it is significantly heavy," he said. EFPs are explosives capped by a metal disk. The blast turns the disk into a high-speed slug that can penetrate armor. The Army's solution, Brogan said, involves armor that can fracture the slug. Lt. Col. William Wiggins, an Army spokesman, declined to comment specifically on the armor but released a statement that said the Army is developing "effective countermeasures" against the bombs. Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., an MRAP supporter, said the Army had confirmed a successful test of new armor to protect against EFPs. The extra armor will increase the cost of the program, he said. It's doubtful new armor can stop all EFPs, said John Pike, director of Globalsecurity, a Washington-based defense think tank. "Short of victory, they're going to continue to figure out ways to kill Americans," Pike said of the insurgents. "In any war, it is measure and countermeasure." Gates recently watched testing of the vehicles and is aware of the concerns about the armor, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said. The Marines have sent urgent need requests before, such as for improved first-aid kits and new rifle scopes. Share this story: Digg del.icio.us Newsvine Reddit Facebook Enlarge Force Protection Industries The new MRAP troop vehicles, shown here upon delivery to the U.S. government, are facing a stiff challenge from the latest type of bombs used by insurgents in Iraq. Conversation guidelines: USA TODAY welcomes your thoughts, stories and information related to this article. Please stay on topic and be respectful of others. Keep the conversation appropriate for interested readers across the map.