The Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle rapid acquisition program was an overall success because it ended up saving lives, but rapid acquisition is not suited for all procurements. This essay will highlight why the MRAP rapid acquisition was necessary, positive and negative effects of rapid acquisition and what has been done to support the rapid acquisition process. MRAP fielding was largely possible because of the senior level support and availability of flexible funding. Most Major Defense Acquisition programs will not be candidates for rapid acquisition due to competing priorities and resource constraints. Strategic leaders must understand the acquisition process and be prepared to get behind support for rapid acquisition of life saving systems.
The MRAP program was initiated as a result of heavy losses incurred in the early stages of the Iraq war. At the time, the enemy was increasingly successful at employing Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) against the inadequately protected High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWV). In 2004 an urgent universal need statement was submitted by
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Market research determined that acceptable MRAP vehicle technology was available and that a new program would not need to be started from scratch. This was largely possible because user requirements were minimized to a level that allowed several bidders to enter into the development and delivery of test articles. Often times government contracts are delayed due to protests by companies that did not get selected. In MRAPs case, the Program Manager (PM) was able to contract limited numbers of test articles from all companies that had a reasonable chance of providing sufficient product to meet the requirements. This did two things, it reduced the potential for a protest and expanded the industrial base of manufacturers that could compete for follow on