SUBJECT: Mine-Resistant, Ambush-Protected vehicle (MRAP)
The Purpose of this paper is to address the Mine-Resistant, Ambush-Protected (MRAP) vehicle and its fielding issues, all its hazards. This paper will also talk about the efforts to mitigate the hazards from current usage in the field. The protection this vehicle can provide almost doesn’t out way the lives it can take with the hazards involved with it.
Some background on the MRAP and what it was made for. The MRAP was designed in a way to help defeat some of the deadliest things on the road during a deployment and these are improvised explosive devices IED’s. MRAPs come in multiple different weights and shapes of vehicles produced by a variety of domestic and international companies …show more content…
Soilders needed to be trained and get familar with this vehicle. The vehicle was considered by the troops to be too bulky and top heavy. MRAPS in 2007- 2008 had roughly 38 rollovers and it happens because of only a few reasons. While some were caused by driver error, most were caused by low shoulders and roads that can’t support the weight of the MRAP. This leads us to some hazards to consider and with the rollovers comes drowning, which has happened in the MRAP RG-31.
There are multiple hazards with the MRAP. One Hazard is when an IED goes off with a high velocity projectile it and if it breaks the ballistic glass on the vehicle it creates a powder. This causes a potential health hazard for the recovery personnel and the people inside the vehicle. The hazardous material can cause adverse health effects including asthma, skin rashes, allergic reactions, allergic sensitization, cancer and other long term diseases.
Another less obvious hazard is the antenna on top of the MRAP. With the height of the MRAP plus the antenna it stands about 16 feet tall. This height allows the vehicle to come in contact with the power lines that can cause and electrical arc. This can cause personnel to get electrocuted inside or out of the vehicle. Electricity can kill people instantly and is something to overlook at …show more content…
The lighter and smaller version would reduce the amount of personnel it would carry. This would help increase stability while preserving survivability. Making it shorter and lighter will help it traverse through different terrain with less risk of rollovers and getting stuck. Modifying the driver training will also help mitigate the driver error on rollovers as well.
Mitigating the electrical shock hazard would take extra training and knowledge on what you need to look for. Another way is to do risk management and apply it as it pertains to the being in the MRAP and driving it. The routes were assets for low hanging wires along the route and brief before convoys to avoid. To also make alternate routes to use and or even bypass to limit the hazard of electrical shock.
The last mitigation is for the hazardous chemical from the powder in the air from the windows being broken in an attack. Multiple companies were competing to come up with additional armor to combat this since this hazard was hard to reduce. Advanced armoring designs and concepts were fielded to see what worked best. The risk of the hazard still didn’t out way the life inside the vehicle that it could
The Purpose of this paper is to address the Mine-Resistant, Ambush-Protected (MRAP) vehicle and its fielding issues, all its hazards. This paper will also talk about the efforts to mitigate the hazards from current usage in the field. The protection this vehicle can provide almost doesn’t out way the lives it can take with the hazards involved with it.
Some background on the MRAP and what it was made for. The MRAP was designed in a way to help defeat some of the deadliest things on the road during a deployment and these are improvised explosive devices IED’s. MRAPs come in multiple different weights and shapes of vehicles produced by a variety of domestic and international companies …show more content…
Soilders needed to be trained and get familar with this vehicle. The vehicle was considered by the troops to be too bulky and top heavy. MRAPS in 2007- 2008 had roughly 38 rollovers and it happens because of only a few reasons. While some were caused by driver error, most were caused by low shoulders and roads that can’t support the weight of the MRAP. This leads us to some hazards to consider and with the rollovers comes drowning, which has happened in the MRAP RG-31.
There are multiple hazards with the MRAP. One Hazard is when an IED goes off with a high velocity projectile it and if it breaks the ballistic glass on the vehicle it creates a powder. This causes a potential health hazard for the recovery personnel and the people inside the vehicle. The hazardous material can cause adverse health effects including asthma, skin rashes, allergic reactions, allergic sensitization, cancer and other long term diseases.
Another less obvious hazard is the antenna on top of the MRAP. With the height of the MRAP plus the antenna it stands about 16 feet tall. This height allows the vehicle to come in contact with the power lines that can cause and electrical arc. This can cause personnel to get electrocuted inside or out of the vehicle. Electricity can kill people instantly and is something to overlook at …show more content…
The lighter and smaller version would reduce the amount of personnel it would carry. This would help increase stability while preserving survivability. Making it shorter and lighter will help it traverse through different terrain with less risk of rollovers and getting stuck. Modifying the driver training will also help mitigate the driver error on rollovers as well.
Mitigating the electrical shock hazard would take extra training and knowledge on what you need to look for. Another way is to do risk management and apply it as it pertains to the being in the MRAP and driving it. The routes were assets for low hanging wires along the route and brief before convoys to avoid. To also make alternate routes to use and or even bypass to limit the hazard of electrical shock.
The last mitigation is for the hazardous chemical from the powder in the air from the windows being broken in an attack. Multiple companies were competing to come up with additional armor to combat this since this hazard was hard to reduce. Advanced armoring designs and concepts were fielded to see what worked best. The risk of the hazard still didn’t out way the life inside the vehicle that it could