Army rushes orders for mine resistant vehicles to replace Humvees

WASHINGTON -- The US Army is placing rush orders for up to seven times more specially designed armored vehicles to help protect troops in Iraq in a move that could cost more than $20 billion.

"The Army has been approved for the purchase of up to 17,770 MRAP vehicles," Lieutenant Colonel Carl Ey, an Army spokesman, said yesterday, using shorthand for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected replacements for the more than 20-year-old Humvee.

The Army seeks as many of the vehicles -- which feature V-shaped hulls designed to protect occupants from roadside bombs -- as industry can produce through the end of next year, Ey said.

The Pentagon's high-level Joint Requirements Oversight Council approved the request late last week.

The high-mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicle, as the Humvee is officially known, replaced the Jeep, a fixture of US military patrols for decades.

Seven contractors are vying for mine resistant vehicle orders after sending prototypes to military testers.

Navistar International Corp.'s International Military and Government LLC has received the largest single order -- a $623 million deal for 1,200 Category 1 vehicles for the Marine Corps.

Force Protection Inc. has received four orders to produce a total of more than 1,800 of the vehicles. It is partnered with General Dynamics Corp.'s Land Systems business arm, which has received an order of its own for 20 vehicles through a Canadian unit.

Also in line are BAE Systems Plc; Oshkosh Truck Corp.; closely held Protected Vehicles Inc. of North Charleston, S.C.; and Armor Holdings Inc.

BAE is awaiting Justice Department clearance to buy Armor Holdings for $4.1 billion.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates has made rushing the new vehicles to Iraq his top procurement priority.