Got blown up in an RG33 back in 2011; the IED disconnected our crew compartment from the engine compartment, and we ended up on its roof, so we were pointed back the way we were driving looking at our engine. Our spare tire was sent 700-meters over a hill, our Mk19 was sent straight up in the air, and we lost all of our extra personal equipment (they were secured in the exterior storage baskets). We had to MEDEVAC three of the six in my truck, and four of us earned Purple Hearts (just me and my LT didn't get hurt). Got ambushed as soon as the IED went off, but that didn't last long because there were a pair of Apaches nearby already, and they helped us roll the guys up. Damn truck probably saved our lives as best as it could.

I helped put so many of these back together when I was deployed to Afghanistan. I still find it amazing how much punishment theses things can take. Some of the half inch armor was warped from the explosions that it looked like crumpled paper, sometimes only the main body would be left intact, but were still able to be repaired and sent back out.

This video makes me proud to be a MRAP mechanic. First mechanic job ive ever had that felt like my job actually means something.

one major thing you didn't cover about the MRAP was how much more comfortable they were compared to everything that came before it. I absolutely loved my swing/hammock seat as a gunner. 50% of my time was either in that seat or just sitting on the roof in the turret with gun between my legs.

Koos De Wet was the designer of the Casspir and the Buffel and many more including the redesign of the Australian Bushmaster. He deserves more credit.

I know several people, including myself, who are still alive because of these vehicles made by OshKosh. Those things were awesome.

As an OIF '03 veteran, I laugh when I think about the HMMWVs we had when we first crossed the border into Iraq compared to the MRAPs. I'm glad our troops got MRAPs afterwards.

My favourite MRAP is the Force Protection Ocelot (Foxhound) It was designed in conjunction with Ricardo, the Formula 1 technology company. Applying knowledge from F1, specifically fast pitstops and rapid repair, the Foxhound can be repaired from mine damage in a few hours. Many of its parts are universal rather than specific to a quadrant (offside and nearside, front and rear) so you need less spares and can grab any part regardless of which quarter got blown up. The drive train is very modular and can be entirely swapped out in a few hours. And it's fast and handles really well. And it's situationally modular too, you swap out the "back" to create a patrol vehicle or ambulance or whatever, in minutes for that.

Simon - a suggestion for you to expand on a niche within the MRAP universe would be to cover the mine clearing capability of the Husky 1-man mine clearing vehicle. They were essentially an MRAP built for a single driver/operator with the sole mission of finding IEDs. You briefly covered the Buffalo and its mine clearing mission, but the Husky usually worked in tandem with the Buffalo, where the Husky would find the hidden explosive threat and either deal with it directly or back off and let the Buffalo take care of it if the explosive was too large or complex. I spent a year in the Husky cockpit and can tell you from personal experience that there was no safer place in a convoy than the Husky.

After doing route clearance in Iraq September 06 to December 07 I honestly do not believe that I know a lot of my friends would be alive today without these trucks I have seen them take massive hits. I once had a 1555 mm artillery shell along with about 80 lb of HME (home made explosives) go off less than 10 feet from me ended up with a collapsed lung and concussion but I lived

I saw a Cougar JERRV (EOD variant) that took an IED made of 3 russian rockets. All 4 occupants returned, with no critical injuries, to Kandar Air Base. The vehicle, although disabled, was repaired at the base and returned to service.

My first cousin, a Marine, Marty was killed in Falluja by an IED that blew his hummer up. I'm glad they are getting the guys something better.

I am so glad I served at the time MRAPs were just being fielded. No final design had been settled on, so we had maybe 6 different types fielded to my unit. Some similar but made by different contractors, others wildly specialized for specific tasks. Good times!

Thanks for the video. I drove a maxxpro and a up armored caiman while I was deployed to Iraq. Maxxpro has the worst suspension ever made, whoever thought putting coil spring suspension on a truck that weighs that much is an idiot. Every pot hole was a nightmare for this truck. Caiman was like driving a very large sports car, it handled like a dream. With the up armor hanging off the sides it was very top heavy but it was a great truck.

I was a Casspir and Buffel (original one built on Mercedes Unimog chassis) driver in the SADF in 1982-83. The video misrepresents the history somewhat, suggesting that the South African Casspir was the first landmine-protected vehicle when it was simply the pinnacle of design in that era. There were numerous other vehicles before it and the original work on this type of vehicle was undertaken by Rhodesia. If you're interested in the early history, I suggest getting a copy of Peter Stiff's 1986 book Taming the Landmine.

I am in a wheelchair due to an IED, my MRAP, saved our asses in Afghanistan in 2009. God Bless Saint MRAP

My entire company once got stuck in a massive dune. The hmmwv's, the LMTV's, and the MaxxPros. But not me. I was driving an RG33. Flipped the switch into 6-wheel drive and moved right up to the front. Then I spent the next few hours pulling every damn vehicle out lol. Mine was definitely a bit of a death trap though. The pneumatics to open the doors didn't work, so I had to get in and out via the gunners hatch, and it *did not* have a fire suppression system in it either. The HALON bottles had been removed at some point and we couldn't get new ones. But damn I loved that thing.

Great video! I ran as a Vehicle Commander in the arm control seat in the Buffalo for ~15 months from '07-'09. We used it to safely unearth several dozen IEDs and survived the blast from several more. It beat the hell out of the dismounted route clearance missions we also ran during that time.

Simon, if you're going to sing the praises of the MRAP, then you need to deal with the king of IED survivability - the Australian Bushmaster PMV. Not one Aussie life was lost in Afghan or Iraq when an IED was initiated by or near a Bushmaster. There are/were quite a few beaten up vehicles but everyone survived. This is a credit to the advanced engineering and design of the vehicle, not only the armour. Cheers from Down Under!

I survived a bunch of IED’s in Mosul Iraq because of my truck. We had the first generation RG31 gun truck, Buffalo and cougar. I wouldn’t want to go out in anything but that truck.

That cage around the Buffalo is actually to defend against 2-stage penetrator RPGs.

On my third and last deployment to Iraq, we had some MRAPs, that were always parked in the front of our RAS, and on one occasion a MRAP came back after surviving an IED. And yeah that MRAP, kept going out.

Fun fact: during the South african border war the Recces (SOF) were often tasked with going back to an incapacitated Casspir to lay charges and utterly demolish the hull to stop the Soviets getting their grubby mitts on the design and welding techniques.

I was a Buffalo operator during OIF 06-07. Very impressive how much they take and then drive away.

I was working at Camp Pendleton when the Marines received their first deliveries. They signaled their approach by causing all the auto alarms to sound due to the vibration that those vehicles cause by their weight. I was impressed.

I've been blown up in an up armored humvee, an ASV, and an MRAP. I'll take an MRAP any day!

I have to make a comment on the timing of MRAPs for the US. The US Army Combat Engineers were using two Buffalos in Iraq based out of Camp Victory as early as 2004. This was used with different escorts (Bradleys and M1A2s) solo. By late 2005 the RG-31 (direct copy of Mamba) was being used in Afghanistan by Combat Engineers in very limited capacity, usually 3-4 per engineer company. The Cougar was mostly used by EOD. The Engineers continued to used newer iterations of the RG-31 and eventually adopted it as THE vehicle for route clearance with the Mk5E being mixed with the IVMMD and Buffalo. Another caveat: Maxxpro MRAPs were never approved for use by Engineers due to their very limited survivability when the NEW (net explosive weight) exceeded 50 lbs. RG-31 Mk5e could handle 250lbs with ease and no breach of the hull. I mention all this reference to Combat Engineers because it was these Route Clearance Platoons that intentionally sought out IEDs to remove and destroy them from the roads and needed the best protection above all other units during GWOT.

I did convoy protection in Iraq. The MaxxPro was trash, couldn't handle the desert well. But that Caiman? That was a sweet truck. So was the RG33, the short bus. You might want to also check out the M1117 ASV, I'd love a video on those.

I am very proud of the work that I did on the Cougar I and II and the Buffalo Route Clearance vehicle. I was the team lead for the Operator and Maintainer documentation for the Buffalo that topped out at 12,800 pages of technical manual. The inside joke was that there was so much documentation for the vehicle that a paper copy of all 12,800 pages could not even fit inside the very large (8 energy-absorbing seats) crew compartment! Not a week went by that the employees of Force Protection did not receive a letter, email, or text that began, "Your MRAP saved my life (or my husband, son, daughter, etc.) today when we were hit by an IED." Those messages kept us going through some very high-pressured and stressful times. Good video (although more than a few MRAP photos shown in the video attributed to other manufacturers were actually early Cougar I 6x6 MRAPS)!

The Casspir was originally designed for the South African Police (SAP at the time) The army was using the Buffel.

Simon, The so-called “cage armour” is more aptly referred to as Slat-armour and is much more designed to prematurely detonate RPG HEAT rounds at a stand-off distance so the hot metal jet cannot penetrate the vehicle’s armour. The deflection of shrapnel is incidental, and secondary to its primary purpose.

14:40 Bar armour doesn't protect against explosives, it's designed to trigger HEAT warheads early, greatly diminishing their effectiveness both through increased distance to the passengers as well as the air gap not being conducive to the copper jet HEAT creates staying stable and compact before it reaches the inner layer of armour.

The force protection MRAP literally saved my life, I'll forever have a soft spot for these beasts❤💪🏼

Can you please make a more in depth video on the process of mine field clearing? And maybe one on underwater mines?

Hey Simon, if you're taking requests, I'd love to see a video on the Bushmaster, Australia's armoured personnel carrier which has been in service for almost 2 decades and has recently seen action in the Ukrainian Russian war.

Man, I was hit by an IED in the Caiman and RG33 myself. They can take a beating for sure. last deployment was my 4th and final in iraq from 2009-2010. FOB Kalsu, FOB Hammer (for Iraqi Army Training on M1A1 Tanks) and CSC Scania. I was glad when we shut down the bases we need to (Hammer, Scania) before we went home. I help establish most of the bases along Tampa (Scania, Talil AB, Taji, Speicher both at Tikrit and moved later to a stand alone base, Anaconda, Warhorse, Summerall and Caldwell) I dont miss the place as I was in that country for 4 deployments and 45 total months....

Cage armor (slat armor) is not used for shielding against generic explosions. It's used specifically for anti-tank shoulder fired rockets (RPG, etc). The slats only defeat shaped charge projectiles. Also, wheels are not tires and tires are not wheels. Those are two seperate parts of a whole.

The MRAP is a product of the Prototype Integration Facility PIF (Redstone Arsenal Alabama) They gave one of their guys a big chunk of cash to build one in 45 days! He drove off base went to the local drag race track and snapped up every mechanic he could find. Today we have an MRAP that you can remove the engine and transmission and install a new one in 45 minutes! (Think Pit Stop) The mechanics were from around the "Tony International Speedway". I worked around the guys who built it and I have worked on the electronics of the MRAP's and in fact I invented the software diagnostic methods that kept MRAP's in the US fleet. I have been at the Red River Arsenal where they serviced them and did testing etc for the US Army.

I drove the maxxpro plus, Caiman, and rg33. I hated them all because our area in Iraq was mainly farming with very narrow roads. The mraps couldn't go off road because they were all very very top heavy, especially the maxxpro. The weapon also couldn't aim very far down because they were so tall or the turret was close to the front. We tried to take out the Humvees as much as possible and no matter what had one in the convoy. In my opinion the Caiman was the best. Not very top heavy, like the maxxpro, and wasnt a darn bus like the rg33.

I live in southern Illinois where the biggest town population is less than 30,000 and most less than 5,000. I know of at least 3 MRAPs, two used by police departments and one for municipal use. They are generally used when the weather gets too rough for the Chargers and Explorers (flooding mostly).

The V land mine resistant bass concept started in Southern Rhodesian Civil war actually

Great video...as always! At an average cost of 500,000, the US spent $13.87B on MRAPs. WOW! That's a huge program! I am thankful for all the lives saved and injuries prevented. I served long before these wars and I can't imagine running over an IED in anything less.

Being Marine Corps Infantry, Al Anbar Province 07/08 We were always amazed at the different Mraps that we patrolled with, on foot, IN FRONT OF. Motor T did an incredible job to say the 😘Incredible machines. 🇺🇸🇺🇸

I was in Afghanistan in 2011 and the MRAP I was driving took 2 direct hits from RPGs, one of which blew a huge chunk of the front tire off. It barely slowed it down and after fighting through tbe ambush, we were able to drive it back to base about a mile away with no casualties.

I live in a small town in California and we have approximately 1-2 murders a decade yet our sheriffs department has 3 of these.

They should have looked at the South African Ratel IFV, it's unstoppable

And South Africa still plays a huge role in either joint projects with MRAP programs, or straight out exports them! One of the few industries not completely lost in South Africa due to government incompetence

1:30 - Chapter 1 - Designing a war beast 4:25 - Chapter 2 - Origins of the MRAP 10:00 - Chapter 3 - MRAPS of the world 15:55 - Chapter 4 - Weapon of war 19:00 - Chapter 5 - A machine of many roles

I'd love to see an episode into modern British armour. The vast majority of videos you see focus on either American or Russian hardware but the UK, at least prior to 2010, would produce some truly world class systems

By far and wide, the two dominant and most numerous designs were the Maxxpros and the MATVs. Late in the wars, others were considered obsolete, by comparison, and reserved for specific roles only. The MATV deserved a place in this discussion; being one of the most ubiquitous and evolutionary designs.

We were very happy when we got our Maxxpro. So much better than a Humvee. That was, until I drove over a median in Baghdad and got stuck. Had to be pulled out by the Stryker guys we were with. Later we got the Maxxpro Plus. That was a nice improvement. Extra armor and dual rear wheels. Loved the A/C. Really enjoyed driving that until the motor for the rear ramp died and there were no replacements.

We had one of these vet hit by approximately 1500 lbs of explosive in a culvert. It picked the vehicle up like a toy and threw it through the air. When it hit the ground we were certain everyone was dead. Other than a broken leg, and some bruises and small cuts everyone was alive. Just thinking about it makes me almost tear up. Thank you to the designer's and builders of this beast. My friends are still alive because of you. I can never repay that.

I was a gunner in the Caiman Mrap, they also had a smoother ride than the Hmmwv, even though some times being up in the turret it felt like it was going to tip over

05:20 it’s a shame you didn’t show more of that clip. The Casspir is demonstrating how it can withstand a triple-stacked anti-tank mine. When the dust settles, the back door opens and it’s designer, Dr Vernon Joynt, is seen getting out of the vehicle wearing a jacket and tie…

As a MEDEVAC pilot, I saw a huge difference in survivability of troops once going to MRAPS and Stryker vehicles.

My boss had the wheel fall off of his hmmwv. The armor kit added to it weighed more than the entire capacity of the truck, add in 4 guys, gear ammo, m16s and a m2 and the truck was a slow pos. Then the entire wheel sheared off.

I think it’s important to separate mounted from dismounted IEDs, that being said I was like one of five people who DIDN’T get blown up. They might be ugly but we didn’t lose a single person to a mounted IED because of the MRAPs. IEDs that shouldn’t have been survivable were and with only concussions, that and Humvees are the most uncomfortable military vehicle ever made. You hit 60 mph in one and you’ll need a new spine from the rattling

As a South African I just want to say that the pronounciation of the CASSPIR is Casper like the ghost not Cas spear....✌🏼🇿🇦

I remember filling sandbags to put on the floor of the cabs of our 7-tons and LVS'. Then they gave us "armor" that turned out to be 1/4" steel panels for our doors that were just useful enough to not do anything

My second deployment, I was a passenger in the back of a cayman. "MRAP" over trips for several months. It was like being sealed in a huge school bus where you spent time looking across at another soldier than looking outside. Harnesses were required to be worn while in transit incase of an IED.

Dude! You mentioned it, so do a video on the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle!

I tested the MAXXPRO and the MAT-V (later called JLTV) during my time with the Army Evaluation Task Force. Those were good times!

I'd love it if you made a video of the Husky VMMD. It's probably one of the coolest engineered mine detection vehicles, seeing how it was specifically built to be blown apart and just put back together.

You forgot one of the most important MRAP's, The "Husky". It's a One Man Vehicle with No guns, but has Metal detecting panels with Paint sprayers on it to mark IEDs for the Buffalo to dig up. Also, it's designed in a way that you can tow along new Front & Rear sections of it including the drive shaft and steering column, called "Red Packs" if I remember correctly, that you can reassemble in the field if the front or rear of the husky gets blown off. Usually led all Route Cleasance/Iron Claw missions in country. Also, while Mraps good for IED'S (when THE MAXXPRO isn't overheating) and small arms, even with the Addl bolt-on armor is not good against HEAT rounds, which typically lead an "ambush", Ask me how I know.....

12:23 Meh. It's pretty good. It kept me alive from an IED. My back is permanently f'd, but... 1. I'm alive; 2. I still have all of my Original Issue parts; 3. All of the parts still work (for the most part); and, 4. The Number One function is still there, too, so I'm Good... And so are the Ladies...🤣 MATV is Way better, though.

A program showing the British variants along with the extra armour and ecm would be good

Just to clarify, the cage armor wasn't necessarily to protect against close explosions ... It was actually to detonate RPGs away from the skin of the vehicle, thus dissipating the energy and reducing the capability of whatever penetrator design the rocket has. Before these it was fairly easy for a rocket to penetrate the inside of an MRAP, after all they were designed to kill tanks. I know this from experience, after my roommate took a rocket to the head, (rest in peace SSG Haney), we replaced the metal side panels with the thicker and, believe it or not, more resilient bulletproof glass. The replacement RG33 we got after his death had cage armor.

Us Brits developed flail tanks in 1942, which not only cleared mines but also marked the cleared path, and used them with increasing success from the Battle of El Alamein onwards, including the landings in Sicily and Italy, and during and after D-Day across France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Why the American high command sent their sappers onto the Normandy beaches to clear mines BY HAND, under machine gun fire - with a terrible loss of life - rather than using flail tanks is utterly beyond me.

Not to downplay the role of these vehicles with respect to protection from mines, but with the employment of drones carrying shape charge RPGs, I hope that these vehicle manufacturers are designing outer fences to stop direct contact from drone carried ordinance.

I would love to see some more in depth infor on the husky and a clear definition of the difference between MRV (mine resistant vehicle) and a MRAP (Mine resistant ambush protected). Personaly I work closely with Huskys, MMPV type 1 & 2 and Buffalos in a route clearance patrol format and woukd love to see that more recognised as i had no clue that my specialty exaosted untill my career began in 2020

Thank you for your service. Much respect. I was there too, but the IEDs missed me. God be with you and your buddies brother. Leo

I think the rationale for the bar armor is to catch RPGs and detonate the shape charge at distance to defeat them. You didn't cover the single seater MRAP. They look like a road grader, very cool. I used to watch the Route Clearance Patrols rolling out and there was always one of those in the consist.

And let's thank south Africa for giving us the v shape design

You should look into the Austrailan Bush master

The Casspir heritage is unmistakable.

Thanks for sharing.

As a Namibian, it makes me proud to see our Casspir (later upgraded to the Wolf, btw) has contributed to the MRP's genesis. Too bad local production fell to the reverse golden Midas touch.

Fun fact : to launder money our go government military industrial complex has been scrapping brand new MRAPs directly off the assembly line for the last 3 years.

Brilliant video thanks Simon

Those South Africans and Rhodesians created one of the best armored vehicle classes.

If you don't know what an MRAP is, it sounds like it could be tasty

Lets go oshkosh! (Wi resident)

MRAP U graduate. Yes thats a real thing lol. Certified on all US MRAPs. Camp liberty Iraq 08-09 mainly working on the MaxPro+ A1s. Afghanistan 10-12 at camp leatherneck doing battle damage repair on MATVs. Aka Mat-V lol. Then became a subject matter expert on the Oshkosh MatV in 2012 and went all over the world helping troubleshooting issues. 2 years at camp Darby Italy was awesome. I loved the travel but started my own thing and slowed down in 2020. 12 years working on MRAPs great experience.

I saw your video on the Hmmv, and of course it was excellent. Thanks! I'd be interested in seeing one about Joint Light Tactical Vehicles too.

“Interventions” he says. You mean “invasions” don’t ya?

The U.S. "interventions"..... adorable word salad

As always a great show

The susceptibility to RPG fire is another key component to why they don't have holes in the hull. The Oshkosh MATV deserves a mention as well.

The cage armor is designed to prevent rocket propelled grenades (RPGs) because the tight spaces crushes the warhead and prevent detonation

You can find dozens if not 100s of these all over the battlefields in Ukraine showing just how resistant to mines they are :)

My local Sheriff Department got an MRAP years ago. And it has been of vital use to them in a variety of tasks. In one case, it ferried SWAT over broken, rough terrain when a pair of known criminals were located on the edge of the county. The two were known to be armed and extremely dangerous having fought it out with Law Enforcement in the past. Not this time, though, as the MRAP carried the SWAT team right up to as close as they dared to get before the engine gave them away. Once in place, the SWAT dismounted and approached silently. Other officers then approached from the main access way and eventually, they had their complete and undivided attention. SWAT then took the criminals by surprise from behind and quickly secured the situation without a shot being fired. It was over like that. Before and after, the MRAP provided sterling service. It is a pain in the rear to maintain. I think two others were acquired as a result with plans to eventually use the one that gets the most worn out as a parts donor. In addition, my county put enough budget aside for our deputies to learn how to properly drive the MRAP. They get about a week of instruction and have to complete at least 16 hours of driving solo to qualify as drivers. Given our rough terrain and the fact that radios can be cut off due to how isolated some areas are, it is little wonder the county budgeted more for training. Also, the drivers are required to get refresher courses just to make sure they haven't developed any bad habits or during long down times gotten rusty. The MRAP has really made criminals think twice about where they can hide around here.

Very nice. I drove a MAXXPRO in 08 and 09. Stark contrast compared to standing exposed in the back of a humvee in 04 and 05. I remember the big issue was the shift from IEDs to EFPs, as these were basically MRAP killers, they would melt right through the side armorer and take out the driver and crew.

My Police Department has 1 as well as the Sheriff's Office. They have come in very helpful on more than 1 occasion. They work great against small arms and getting us closer to the target, especially when there's no cover or concealment.

I am a bit disappointed that their inability to resist antitank rounds, or their resistance to RPGs was not even mentioned. I know they were never designed for this, so it's not exactly a flaw, but it's probably the main thing on the battlefield that can kill one. A modern ATGM would sadly make short work of any MRAP.

The company I worked for made the front and rear axles for the mrap. Im very proud to be part of something that protected people.

I spent two years of 12hr shifts 6 days a week CNC maching the 'up-armouring' of the Ridge Back and the Mastiff for the British Army so the trucks could be shipped to Afghanistan etal. All those billets wieghed a ton (figuritvely speaking) but as someone who spent years making do with the snatch landrover I appreciated how important the work was.

может быть, просто США не будет оккупировать чужие страны и тогда не надо будет создавать МРАП?

We had the RG-31 and then the RG-32 in Iraq along with the husky and buffalo we did route clearance for 15 months 1900 IED had two Kia in the entire time post from E.F.P IEDs. I was with first Engineer battalion Ssppers clear the way

had an Apperntice Mill Wright 101 st Air Born Vet Crew member of this system, He is a HUGE FAN of this system after surviving the Hummers and Up Graded Hummers, with JTLV's. I recall he told me about operating the Bugger Picker or IED Shovel Truck back hoe kepping F.O.B.s and Supplies running and supported.

I think the Casspir (cuss-prr) deserves a deep-dive episode of it's own. I've grown up in South Africa, and despite obviously deplorable nature of the Apartheid government, I have a deep fascination with their military creations- despite vicious sanctions, the guns, ground vehicles, munitions, and aircraft stood as world-beaters on the global stage. I've grown up here, seen them on the streets, and still have my tin toy Casspir (currently on display in my pub), but I know so little about it. I'd love to learn more about the OG MRAP.