Oshkosh To Upgrade US Army's 100 Mine-Resistant Vehicles

Oshkosh Defense has won a $11 million contract from the US Army to upgrade 100 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles.

The MRAP vehicles are more resistant to improvised explosive devices than the older Humvees in which US troops suffered heavy casualties in Iraq.

In August 2015, Oshkosh won a $6.7 billion contract to build the first 17,000 production models of the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, which will replace the iconic Humvee.

Oshkosh won the huge contract that could eventually be worth as much as $30 billion because it has built a reputation in the US defense industry over the past decade, thanks in part to its blast-resistant vehicles.

MRAP vehicles usually have "V"-shaped hulls to deflect explosive forces from land mines or IEDs below the vehicle, thereby protecting vehicle and passengers. MRAPs weigh 14 to 18 tons and are 9 feet in height.

From 2007 until 2012, the Pentagon's MRAP program deployed more than 12,000 MRAPs in the Iraq War and War in Afghanistan.