The MRAP and Beyond: Contending with the Threat of IEDs in the Battlefield

For all the high-tech innovation that takes place with military weaponry, no weapon has shaped the past two decades quite like the improvised explosive device (IED). These low-cost bombs defined the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. 60% of American fatalities and 50% of those in Afghanistan are deemed to have been the result of IEDs. 

In turn, IEDs have changed the way that modern wars are fought. They defined the era of asymmetric warfare, giving poorly trained insurgents a tool for attacking superior trained, more heavily armed soldiers without having to engage them directly. IEDs meant that troops who might otherwise have travelled on foot or in smaller, lighter vehicles do so instead in large armored vehicles like the iconic Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle (MRAP). 

The heavy duty, four-wheeler MRAPs were first rolled out by the Pentagon in 2007, as part of a program valued at around $50 billion in total. They were highly survivable multi-mission vehicles that were capable of surviving IED attacks, alongside other explosive assaults such as rocket-propelled grenades. Capable of carrying out the job of Armored Personnel Carrier (APC), armored ambulance, convoy protection and more, these versatile armored vehicles performed an invaluable service during their tenure in Iraq and, later, Afghanistan. In addition to protective elements like their armored MRAP seats, their unique selling point was their V-shaped hull, which allowed the vehicles to disperse the blast from improvised explosives that could otherwise injure or even kill troops inside. According to those who rode in MRAPs, sometimes they were unaware they had even driven over a homemade bomb. 

Picking up where the MRAP left off 

Thanks to the MRAP Armor Weight Reduction Spiral (MAWRS) Program, later MRAP models gained armor that was significantly lighter. MRAP production officially ended in 2012, after roughly 12,000 of the vehicles had been deployed in the field. However, the need to contend with the threat of improvised mines on the battlefield has continued ever since.

 The initial MRAP models were succeeded by the MRAP All Terrain (M-ATV) vehicle, a lighter series of vehicles which applied many of the lessons about IED protection from the larger, heavier MRAPs — but offered greater levels of mobility. Another vehicle was the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV). These lighter mine-resistant vehicles were developed to replace aging Humvee vehicles when a multirole light vehicle was called for, while still meeting the rigorous blast test protection standards for IED-protected vehicles.

 Heavier vehicles were used, too. For instance, vehicles such as the Caterpillar D9 large track-type tractor have been called into service to help clear paths and operational terrain of IEDs. Because of the immense size of these vehicles and their highly durable construction, they were capable of surviving blasts that may have crippled even main battle tanks. In some instances, these heavy-duty tractors were operated by remote control to further reduce the risk of their crew being injured in a de-mining mission. 

Not just vehicles 

There were multiple models of each of these classes of vehicle released. However, this is far from the extent of militaries’ attempts to counter the threat posed by IEDs. Robots have also been used to combat improvised explosives. The TALON robot is controlled remotely by an operator who can be up to 1,000 meters away. Weighing under 100 pounds (a far cry from the heavy armored vehicles mentioned above), these robots are equipped with cutting-edge optics, sensors and other tools for seeking out and disabling IEDs. In doing so, TALONs have become the most widely used counter-IED robots in the world, destroying upward of 50,000 IEDs in Iraq and Afghanistan, and proving themselves to be a valuable asset to armed forces in the process. 

Other technologies include the likes of the Counter Remote Controlled Improvised Explosive Device Electronic Warfare (CREW) Duke system, which neutralizes remote control IED devices by blocking signals that would otherwise trigger the improvised explosives blowing up. 

Meanwhile, soldiers who would ordinarily be the most vulnerable to IED attacks have benefited from advances in personal armor. While dismounted troops remain at more risk, the development of new types of armored plate, designed to safeguard the body, can help protect individuals from the fragments emanating from IEDs. 

Working to solve the problem

 Thanks (or no thanks) to their low barrier to entry, both in terms of cost and the lack of skill needed to deploy them, IEDs continue to be an unfortunately widespread part of modern warzones. Fortunately, technologies such as those mentioned here are helping armed forces fight back. There’s still far more work to be done — and even a single death in the battlefield is one too many — but efforts like these are helping nullify the impact of IEDs. 

Here in 2019, improvised explosive devices remain a problem that’s impossible to ignore. Fortunately, the right people are paying attention to it.