Ukrainian Soldiers were wounded but survived after their MRAP armored vehicle ran over a landmine.
Ukrainian soldiers miraculously survived after their US-supplied MaxxPro armored vehicle was hit by a landmine in southern Ukraine.
The MRAP — the military’s acronym for “mine-resistant, ambush-protected.
The MaxxPro vehicle was designed by the by American company Navistar International’s subsidiary Navistar Defense along with the Israeli Plasan Sasa to take part in the US Military’s Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle program, led by the US Marine Corps, as well as a similar US Army-led Medium Mine Protected Vehicle program. MRAPs are categorized as category 1 or category 2, depending on usage and passenger compartment space.
The MaxxPro base model utilizes a crew capsule with a V-shaped hull, mounted on an International 7000 chassis. The V-hull deflects the blast of a land mine or improvised explosive device (IED) away from the vehicle to protect its occupants.
According to Navistar Defense, the vehicle is designed with operational readiness in mind and utilizes standardized, easily available parts, to ensure rapid repair and maintenance. The armored body is bolted together instead of welded, as in other MRAPs. This facilitates repair in the field and is a contributing factor to Navistar’s greater production capacity for the MaxxPro.
The United States has sent dozens of MaxxPro MRAP vehicles to Ukraine as part of a military aid package, according to a senior defense official.
