23 March The Australian - Military Claims Victory with V-shaped Truck by Robert Lusetich.

A relatively minor redesign of military Humvees could save the lives of thousands of US soldiers in Iraq.

The Pentagon is spending $US210 million ($260 million) - and eventually probably billions - on almost 400 mine-resistant-ambush-protected (MRAP) combat trucks after the success of 200 prototypes in the Iraq war.

The MRAP has a V-shaped steel body to deflect blasts from improvised explosive devices, which have been responsible for 70 per cent of the almost 3200 US military deaths in Iraq.

No US soldier in Iraq has died while in an MRAP.

"The shape channels the full force of a blast up the sides of the vehicle rather than through the floor," said Joaquin Salas, a spokesman for Osh Trucks, one of the MRAP's makers...