DoD Buys More Armor

One of the niche markets that has developed over the last seven years with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is the up armoring of vehicles for the US military. The major threat that developed in Iraq was the roadside bomb which attacked the US troops at their most vulnerable as they moved from place to place in the country. There is never enough rotary or fixed wing lift available so there were large quantities of vehicles moving every day. Originally the logistics vehicles used by the US were unarmored. Troops improvised armor while the US rapidly designed and developed armor kits for the standard vehicles. American Defense Systems is a small company that makes armor and hardening systems. They make a kit for bulldozers and the US Army, as CNNMoney.com reports, just bought another 22 sets.

Of course the ultimate solution was the Mine Resistance Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle and Congress began buying thousands of these in 2006. BAE, Force Protection and Navistar won the majority of the work; but other companies like American Defense made parts or kits and so on. Of course, when the war in Iraq and Afghanistan ends the US military will not want or plan to use these heavy, armored vehicles. The Marines and Army are already discussing not using them in future engagements as they are hard to move strategically, support and are not very tactical. This means that the niche market will slowly wither away. The Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) will be the new replacement for a lot of these systems; and while the proposed systems are heavier then a HUMVEE they are lighter then MRAP. This means that American Defense and other companies will have to find other markets or support a smaller vehicle base.

Updated to fix acronym and show that Navistar instead of Oshkosh won MRAP contracts.