Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle (MRAPV), also known as MRAP vehicle, is a type of

armoured personnel carrier An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world. Acc ...

that is designed specifically to withstand land mines,

improvised explosive device An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional warfare, conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached t ...

(IED) attacks, and

ambush An ambush is a surprise attack carried out by people lying in wait in a concealed position. The concealed position itself or the concealed person(s) may also be called an "". Ambushes as a basic military tactics, fighting tactic of soldi ...

es to save troops' lives. Most modern

infantry mobility vehicle An infantry mobility vehicle (IMV) is a four-wheel drive armored personnel carrier (APC) serving as an armed military transport, military patrol, reconnaissance or security vehicle. Those IMVs are distinct from 8-, 6-, and 4-wheeled APCs (su ...

s also have a certain level of MRAP capabilities.

History

Specialized light armored vehicles designed specifically to resist land mines were first introduced in the 1970s by the

Rhodesian Army The Rhodesian Security Forces were the military forces of the Rhodesian government. The Rhodesian Security Forces consisted of a ground force (the Rhodesian Army), the Rhodesian Air Force, the British South Africa Police, and various personnel ...

, and were further developed by

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

n manufacturers starting in 1974 with the

Hippo The hippopotamus (''Hippopotamus amphibius;'' ; : hippopotamuses), often shortened to hippo (: hippos), further qualified as the common hippopotamus, Nile hippopotamus and river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic Mammal, mammal native to su ...

armored personnel carrier An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world. Acc ...

(APC).Heitman, Helmoed-Römer. ''South African Armed Forces''. Buffalo Publications 1990. p 44. The first step by the

South African Defence Force The South African Defence Force (SADF) (Afrikaans: ''Suid-Afrikaanse Weermag'') comprised the armed forces of South Africa from 1957 until 1994. Shortly before the state reconstituted itself as a republic in 1961, the former Union Defence Fo ...

(SADF) was the Bosvark, a

Unimog The Unimog (pronunciation in American English: ''YOU-nuh-mog''; British English: ''YOU-knee-mog''; German: , ) is a Daimler Truck line of multi-purpose, highly offroad capable AWD vehicles produced since 1948. Utilizing engine-driven power tak ...

fitted with a shallow mine-deflecting tub on the chassis to protect the crew. Then came the first generation of purpose-built vehicles, including the Hippo and various other light vehicles. They were essentially armoured V-shaped hulls mounted on truck chassis. The next generation was represented by the

Buffel The Buffel (English: ''Buffalo'') is an infantry mobility vehicle used by the South African Defence Force during the South African Border War. The Buffel was also used as an armoured fighting vehicle and proved itself in this role. It replaced ...

, a Unimog chassis with a mine-protected cab and a mine-protected crew compartment mounted on it. These early vehicles overloaded their chassis and they were clumsy off-road. The

Casspir The Casspir is a Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle that has been in use in South Africa since the 1980s. It is a four-wheeled, four-wheel drive vehicle, used for transport of troops. It can hold a crew of two, plus 12 additional soldiers an ...

Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle was developed for the SADF after 1980; this was the inspiration for the American and other military MRAPV program and the basis for some of the program's vehicles.

Design

These vehicles have good off-road mobility, and armor protection against small-arms fire, IEDs, and antipersonnel mines. These armored vehicles generally have a distinctive V-shaped hull (for mine protection) and a wheeled chassis.

List of MRAP vehicles

Dedicated MRAPV

* ATF Dingo 2 *

BAE Caiman The Caiman is a mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicle with a V-hull design based on the Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) and Low Signature Armored Cab (LSAC), initially developed by Stewart & Stevenson and now produced by BAE Sy ...

– part of the American MRAP program * BMC Vuran *

BMC Kirpi BMC Kirpi ( Turkish for "Hedgehog") is a Turkish made Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle manufactured by BMC. ''Kirpi'' provides significant protection against mine and ballistic threats. It combines standard and add-on armor providing p ...

Gaz Tigr The Tigr () is a Russian Four-wheel drive, 4×4 multipurpose all-terrain infantry mobility vehicle manufactured by Military Industrial Company, first delivered to the Russian Ground Forces, Russian Army in 2006. Primarily used by the Russian Arm ...

Cougar The cougar (''Puma concolor'') (, ''Help:Pronunciation respelling key, KOO-gər''), also called puma, mountain lion, catamount and panther is a large small cat native to the Americas. It inhabits North America, North, Central America, Cent ...

– part of the American MRAP program *

CS/VP3 MRAP The CS/VP3 MRAP () also known as the CS/VP3 Bigfoot is a MRAP developed by Poly Technologies and manufactured by Changan Automobile in China. It was unveiled in China at the China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition 2012 in Zhuhai, C ...

Ezugwu MRAP The Ezugwu MRAP is a Nigerian-made mine resistance and ambush protected vehicle (MRAP), designed by the Nigerian Defence Industry of Nigeria (DICON) and the Command Engineering Depot (CED). Named after Major General Victor Ezugwu, the Ezugwu MR ...

First Win The First Win is a Thai Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle with an all-welded steel monocoque V-hull produced by Thai defense contractor Chaiseri. The First Win is designed to provide high level protection against a variety of battlefield ...

Golan Armored Vehicle The Golan Wheeled Armored Vehicle () is a prototype Israeli MRAP made by the Israeli Rafael Advanced Defense Systems jointly with Protected Vehicles Incorporated. The mission of the Golan is to provide maximum protection to its passengers and cr ...

International MaxxPro The International M1224 MaxxPro Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle, MRAP (Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected) is an armored fighting vehicle designed by American company Navistar International's subsidiary Navistar Defense along with the Israe ...

– part of the American MRAP program * Kalyani M4 * Kamaz Typhoon – part of the Russian Typhoon program * Mine Protected Combat Vehicle –

Rhodesia Rhodesia ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state, unrecognised state in Southern Africa that existed from 1965 to 1979. Rhodesia served as the ''de facto'' Succession of states, successor state to the ...

IMV from 1979 * Nexter Aravis * Force Protection Ocelot *

Oshkosh M-ATV The Oshkosh M-ATV is a mine-resistant ambush protected (MRAP) vehicle developed by the Oshkosh Corporation for the MRAP All Terrain Vehicle (M-ATV) program. Intended to replace Humvee#Expanded capacity, M1114 HMMWVs (Humvee), it is designed to pro ...

– part of the American MRAP program * Protolab Misu *

RG-31 Nyala The RG-31 Nyala is a 4×4 multi-purpose Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle manufactured in South Africa by Land Systems OMC (a division of Denel SOC LTD), located in Benoni, South Africa and in Turkey by FNSS Defence Systems. It is base ...

RG-33 The RG-33 is a mine-resistant light armored vehicle initially designed by BAE Systems Land Systems South Africa (formerly Land Systems OMC), a South African subsidiary of BAE Systems. BAE Systems in the US extensively modified it with additio ...

(6×6) * Sisu GTP * Toofan – Iranian MRAP infantry mobility vehicle * Unicob * Zastava M20 MRAP

Infantry mobility vehicle with MRAP capabilities

AMZ Żubr The AMZ Żubr is an infantry mobility vehicle produced by AMZ-Kutno which is used by the Polish military. "Żubr" is also the Polish word for wisent. It was designed by AMZ-Kutno and began production in 2008. The Żubr was designed for enhance ...

* Bushmaster IMV * COMBATGUARD * Didgori series * Grizzly APC *

Hunter TR-12 The Hunter TR-12 is a multi-purpose infantry mobility vehicle designed to carry troops to dangerous areas. Design The Hunter TR-12's crew compartment is a monohull mounted on an independent chassis. It provides Level B6 (Standard EN 1063) prot ...

* Iveco LMV – several thousand ordered by Italian and other European militaries *

Kozak (armored personnel carrier) Kozak may refer to: * Kozak (surname) * Kozak consensus sequence The Kozak consensus sequence (Kozak consensus or Kozak sequence) is a Nucleic acid sequence, nucleic acid motif that functions as the protein Translation (biology), translation init ...

* M16 Miloš * Nurol Ejder * Mahindra Armored Light Specialist Vehicle *

Mungo ESK The Mungo ESK (Einsatzfahrzeug Spezialisierte Kräfte) is an air-transportable, armoured multirole transport vehicle operated by the Airmobile Operations Division and the Rapid Forces Division of the German Army. The Mungo is based on the Mul ...

* Oshkosh L-ATV – selected to meet US military's JLTV requirement on 25 August 2015 *

Otokar Cobra The Cobra () is a armoured tactical vehicle developed by Turkish firm Otokar. The vehicle has some subsystems from the Humvee. The Cobra is the first generation of the Cobra family of vehicles, a second generation named Otokar Cobra II is also pr ...

* Otokar Cobra II *

(4×4) * Shota * STREIT Group Spartan *

Varta VARTA (; ) is a German company manufacturing batteries for global automotive, industrial, and consumer markets. History VARTA was founded by in 1887, and established in 1904 as a subsidiary of Accumulatoren-Fabrik AFA. After World War I, ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mrap (Armored Vehicle) Wheeled armoured fighting vehicles Wheeled armoured personnel carriers Military engineering vehicles Military vehicles introduced in the 2000s Iraq War terminology