First respondersDHS acquires 2,700 MRAPs
The Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles were first deployed to the field in 2007 as a way to protect U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan from ever-more-powerful improvised explosive devices (IEDs) used by insurgents. DHS has acquired over 2,700 MARPs to be used on missions inside United States.
MRAP on a test drive // Source: army.mil
The Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles were first deployed to the field in 2007 as a way to protect U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan from ever-more-powerful improvised explosive devices (IEDs) used by insurgents.
RT now reports that DHS has acquired over 2,700 MARPs to be used on missions inside United States. WOAI San Antonio reports that the bulky and sturdy vehicles have been modified before being given to DHS Special Response Teams (SRTs). These elite teams consist of specially trained agents sent to handle the riskiest and most demanding situations
“[The vehicle] is used in the execution of high-risk warrants — including drug trafficking, smuggling, and contraband,” Ross Feinstein, a spokesman for DHS, told Business Insider.
DHS posted a video to YouTube in which Robert Whittaker, tactical supervisor for El Paso SRT, displays the vehicle and explains its various features. There added skids for agents to ride along the sides, seating for 10-11 first responders, firing ports, and enhanced bullet protection for those riding inside.
“[The fortified glass] has multiple layers in there, and it will stop up to a .50 caliber round,” Whittaker says, “so it provides very good protection for us.”
