Blast-Resistant Trucks Head to Iraq, Slowly

March 14, 2007 — -- In Ladson, S.C., the military industrial machine is in overdrive as hundreds of welders and steelworkers labor at a white-hot pace to deliver better armor to U.S. troops in Iraq.

There is huge demand for blast-resistant vehicles that protect troops from improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, and the craftsmen at the Ladson-based company Force Protection are working to hard to deliver.

"We are seeing commanders on the ground saying, 'We know what works. Get it to us,'" said Mike Aldrich, vice president of Force Protection, which manufactures blast- and mine-protected armored vehicles.

Military officials say they understand the need for more armored vehicles and are working to deliver them to the front lines.

"I believe I have a moral imperative to provide these vehicles to our troop. We are turning the crank as quickly as we can to provide those assets to the operational forces," said Brig. Gen. Michael Brogan, commander of the Marine Corps Systems Command.

The vehicles built in Ladson -- the Cougar and the mine-clearing Buffalo -- are proving to be the best protection yet against the deadly scourge of IEDs. The trucks' success is due largely to a fundamental change in thinking and design.

In contrast to the low-riding, flat-bellied Humvee, which -- even when armored -- offers little protection from a buried bomb, the Cougar is heavier and higher. Its wedge-shaped bottom deflects the energy and debris that typically come from an IED blast, and forces them outward away from the troops inside the vehicle's reinforced capsule.

"What is different about these vehicles is right here from the rear, you can see the pronounced V of the steel hull," Aldrich said.

One group of Army explosives experts just back from Baghdad has experienced the protective power of the the Cougar firsthand -- each has been hit by IEDs multiple times.

"Really, I heard the muffled sound and was like, 'What was that?' And he said, 'I think we just got hit.' And I just kind of kept going, checked out the truck, we were good and just kept rolling. It doesn't affect that truck at all," Army Sgt. Charles Deans said of his experience in the Cougar.

The Cougar has been so effective that some are now skeptical about even riding in standard military Humvees.

"In my own opinion, I would never want to ride in a Humvee again," said Army Staff Sgt. Nicholas Hardiek.