Mine-Resistant Vehicle

Overview

A mine-resistant vehicle, often called an MRAP, is an armored troop carrier shaped specifically to survive the blast of a buried mine or roadside bomb. The defining feature is the hull: instead of a flat floor that takes a blast wave straight on, the vehicle has a deep V-shaped underside that meets the blast at an angle and turns the force outward and away from the people inside. Everything else on the vehicle supports that idea, raising the crew above the blast plane, cushioning them from the jolt, and keeping the vehicle mobile after a strike.

The main systems are the V-Shaped Hull that does the protecting, the Driveline Chassis and Powertrain that move it, the Crew Protection that shields the occupants, and the Survivability Kit that keeps everyone alive after a hit.

The V-hull

The V-Shaped Hull is the heart of the design. Its V-Shaped Blast Floor is a steep V-section that deflects a blast wave outward and upward rather than letting it punch straight into the crew compartment. Tall Hull Side Plate plates raise the crew well above the ground, and the Hull Roof Plate carries the hatches and the weapon station. A lower Blast Deflector Skirt skirt channels blast products around the wheels.

Two more layers protect the people inside. A Spall Liner catches fragments that break off the armor when it is struck, and a suspended Energy-Absorbing False Floor decouples the crew from the hull so the upward jolt of a blast is absorbed before it reaches their feet. The shape of the floor matters more than its thickness: a flat plate of any practical weight still transmits the full blast pulse into the cabin, while a steep V turns most of the energy aside before it can couple into the structure. The hull is also kept high off the ground on the running gear, because the strength of a blast falls off sharply with distance, and a vehicle that sits a third of a metre higher meets a much weaker pulse from the same charge.

Driveline and power

The hull rides on a Driveline Chassis built around the Portal Axle. Portal axles place a gear drop at each wheel, lifting the differential and the whole hull higher off the ground, which both raises the crew above the blast plane and improves clearance over obstacles. Long-travel Long-Travel Suspension on Coil Spring units keeps the heavy vehicle controllable on broken ground, with Drive Shaft units, a Steering Box, and large Brake Unit units at each wheel.

The Powertrain supplies the muscle. A Turbodiesel Engine of 7 to 12 litres drives an automatic Automatic Transmission and a two-speed Transfer Case, cooled by a large Cooling Pack and fed from a protected Protected Fuel Tank placed away from the crew.

Protecting the crew

The Crew Protection system is what turns a survivable hull into survivable people. Each Blast-Attenuating Seat hangs from the hull walls on stroking energy absorbers with the occupant feet held off the floor, so the upward shock of a blast is cushioned rather than driven through the spine. A four-point Crew Harness holds the occupant in place so the absorbers can work, a Head Guard guards against impact with the hull, and a raised Raised Foot Rest keeps feet clear of the transmitted blast path.

Armor and firepower

Against direct fire, the Armor Suite adds protection on top of the base hull. Bolt-on Appliqué Armor Plate panels raise the ballistic level, Ballistic Vision Block vision blocks match it at the windows, and Slat Armor Panel cages defeat shaped-charge rockets by disrupting them before they form a jet, all held at the right spacing by a Armor Mount Bracket.

For its own defense the vehicle carries a Remote Weapon Station. The commander aims and fires a machine gun or grenade launcher on the Gun Mount Cradle from inside, using a stabilized Sight Unit with day and thermal channels. An Elevation Drive and Traverse Drive on Servo Motor power point the gun, fed from an Ammunition Box.

Electronics and survivability

The Vehicle Electronics tie the vehicle together. A Vetronics Unit links the engine, weapon station, and sensors onto one bus, a Combat Net Radio keeps the crew on the encrypted combat net, and several Surround Camera feeds shown on a Crew Display allow closed-hatch driving.

After a hit, the Survivability Kit keeps the crew alive. A Run-Flat Tyre carries the vehicle clear of the danger area, a Fire Suppression System system quenches a fuel fire within milliseconds, a NBC Overpressure Unit holds chemical and dust hazards out, and a Smoke Launcher screens a withdrawal from an ambush.