Battlelab gives armor 'thumbs up'

  • Published
MCGUIRE AIR FORCE BASE, N.J. (AFPN) --  Air Mobility Battlelab officials here recently completed their evaluation of a life-saving vehicle armor kit produced by the Army.

The Armor Survivability Kit was designed by experts from the U.S. Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command. The kit provides protection from a range of threats in order to increase the survivability of the vehicle’s passengers.

Battlelab officials said they searched for a light, efficient armor kit as a short-term fix to the current version of the highly mobile multi-purpose wheeled vehicle, which lacks the better suspension, transmission and a ton or so of armor that the “up-armored” Humvee has.

The kit had the best combination of protection, weight, cost and overall suitability, officials said. The armor was tested at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Md., and has been installed on more than 7,000 vehicles. Although not a replacement for the up-armored Humvee, officials said the kit provides an option for units waiting for replacement vehicles to roll off the production line.

Air Mobility Warfare Center Expeditionary Operations School cadre supplied the vehicle and personnel necessary to complete the demonstration. Officials said the demonstration determined the relative ease of installing the kit, as well as the vehicle’s characteristics once the kit was installed. Battlelab officials also created an installation video to help units install the kit in the field.

Air Force officials recently transferred approximately 200 up-armored Humvees to the Army component of U.S. Central Command to protect personnel in deployed areas where the armored vehicles are needed most. (Courtesy of Air Mobility Command News Service)