Protection from road side bombs?

Question

So if one of the main reasons US troops are dying in Iraq is because of IEDs, road side bombs & such..then how come the troops don't get better vehicles, like a stryker seems to be well protected most of the time. I mean those humvees really can't take a beating from an IED.

Answer 1

Some of the road side bombs are shaped charge copper core penetrators. These are fabricated in Iran and smuggled into Iraq. This device can punch a 3/4 inch diameter hole in the armor of even an M1 tank and shoot a stream of molten copper inside of the cockpit area.

No amount of the currently available armor can stop this.

Not also that the Buffalo vehicle is probably a better choice to protect solders against IEDs than the Stryker. It is designed with IEDs in mind.

See the below web site for info about the buffalo

http://www.defense-update.com/products/b...

Answer 2

every explosion carries its own variables, some areas A HUMVEE would be best, some areas a striker and then there are some areas a MRAP would be best, not every area or bomb is built the same. Some IED's are built to target different types of vehicles. There are many vehicles out there and after every IED recommendations are made to redesign the vehicles weaknesses  

Answer 3

They are lucky to have the up-armored hummers.. h**l when I first got in we had the old jeeps.....  it would be great to have something that would take on anything but it would be slow and cumbersum   the hummers they have work well and move well....  my heart goes out to all of those men.... sometimes you just have to take what you have. In Vietnam they really did not have body armor but now they do...... I WWII no body armor at all..... So the grunt is way better off..... With time they will get better equipment we just have to wait until it is developed.

Answer 4

It would be great if we could easily build a vehicle that was bomb proof, but it is very difficult.

Terrorists just build a bigger bomb and blow up whatever gets built.

You can't have everybody riding in tanks.

Answer 5

Why don't the troops have better vehicles?....Well, that's a good question, maybe one that should be addressed to your congressman and state senator. When I was in Iraq in 03-04 we paid a local contractor to weld steel plates on our vehicle. I think it gave us more psychological protection more than anything else. However, I think there has been significant improvements since then. Strykers are well protected, but unfortunately they are so large that it can be difficult to maneuver around the irrigation canals or urban passageways.  

Answer 6

It will take billions and billions of dollars to provide anti-IED humvees. I really wish the government would do that and provide those humvees.