About 75% of casualties in current combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan are attributed to improved explosive devices. To mitigate the threat from these weapons, the DoD initiated the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle program, which uses a tailored acquisition approach to rapidly acquire and field the vehicles. MRAP is DoD¿s single most important acquisition program. To date, more than $22 billion has been appropriated to acquire more than 15,000 MRAP vehicles, and about 6,600 of the vehicles have been fielded. This report: (1) describes DoD¿s approach for and progress in implementing its strategy for rapidly acquiring and fielding MRAP vehicles; and (2) identifies the challenges remaining for the program. Illustrations.

Rapid Acquisition of Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles

Rapid Acquisition of Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles

As of July 2008, about 75% of casualties in combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan were attributed to improvised explosive devices. To mitigate the threat from these weapons, DoD initiated the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) program in Feb. 2007, which used a tailored acquisition approach to rapidly acquire and field the vehicles. To date, about $23 billion has been appropriated for the procurement of 16,000 MRAP vehicles. This testimony describes the MRAP acquisition process, the results to date, lessons learned from that acquisition, and potential implications for improving the standard acquisition process. The auditor reviewed DoD's plans to buy, test, and field the vehicles and discussed the plans with department and contractor officials.