I saw some photos today of the MRAP series - its allot bigger then I thought it'd be - I think there is a photo of one being unwrapped to go to a unit responsible for running logistics on the MNF-I site. I originally hoped they'd just get RG-31s, or something of about the same size- the RG is not too much bigger then an 1151 - sits a little higher given its hull design, but its fairly narrow. The MRAPs I saw photos of today might work well on MSRs that are large, wide, stronger and free in power wires, accommodate a large turning radius, etc., but I'm not sure how much mobility they will have in some of the side streets, neighborhoods, and places where the infrastructure cannot accommodate something as big as a COUGAR or BUFFALO.
My concern now having seen at least a few photos of what we went with is that in the interest of maximum force protection, we've compromised mobility to a point where our hardware will at least in part limit our preferred tactics. I hope this is not the case, but its hard to say without climbing in one and driving it around in the environment - this may be one of those cases where we've over-engineered something to the point where its utility is very limited without testing it in the environment it will be used in - not EOD doing route clearance, but IN & AR (and MPs, and TTs, etc.) units doing urban mounted and dismounted patrols inside neighborhoods of cities and remote towns. There are always going to be trades in speed, mobility, protection and firepower when designing vehicles, but I hope this is not a case where we have over-emphasized one at the expense of the others - especially not when there was a good example of what right looked like in the RG.
If the initial buy of the big ones were to go to CSS and some CS units, that might not be too bad - but those units doing patrols might benefit from technology that suited the tactics they prefer to use in the places they need to go - otherwise we might be better off with 1151s/1114s.
It may well be that I just saw one of several variants to which at least one I did not see suits the requirements for the tactics we want to employ - I hope that is true.
Best, Rob
Here is a photo of an RG
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