The Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle. Its signature V-shaped hull and durable underbelly raised the bar for protection against roadside bombs in ground-force transportation – to say nothing of its unique ghostriding potential. Only it would seem that MRAPs are used more sensibly in combat zones than in combat simulations. Hence today's big winner at the Daily Pentagon Jackpot.
Today’s Winner:Raydon Corporation of Daytona Beach, Florida.
Score: $36,355,550 through Nov. 30, 2011.
For What?: 11 MRAP virtual trainers for the Army National Guard.
Wait, Seriously?: No one's against trainers here. But do the math. Raydon's getting $3.3 million per virtual MRAP trainer. That's at least three times as much as it costs to make an actual MRAP. In fairness, now that the military's been paying to manufacture MRAPs for about five years, it's probably easier and cheaper to make them than it is to make new virtual trainers for them. But Raydon also makes training modules for Abrams tanks, Bradley Fighting Vehicles, Humvees and assorted other ground-pounder hardware, so it's not like they don't know how to do this. That's not to pick on the company: poring through the fiscal 2010 Defense bill, it appears that Congress put in over $11 million in earmarks to fund MRAP trainers for the National Guard. (Warning: Excel Spreadsheet. See Earmarks #1078 and 1079. And thanks to Tipster J on that one.)
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