Plasan Sasa, an Israeli expert in armor protection, is introducing at the AUSA Winter symposium at Ft. Lauderdale this week its blast and mine protection system designed to reduce damage and injury from land mines and ground charges.
The MaxxPro design positions the v-shaped crew compartment on top of International’s proven heavy-duty truck chassis. The v-shaped hull is designed to deflect blasts away from the truck to minimize impact around the crew area.
Plasan is introducing a multi-stage system including various design concepts and materials designed to mitigate the damage from blast and fragmentation. These measures include the creation of a buffer between the floor and the vehicle’s armor, the attachment of flooring to the vehicle’s body in order to disperse blast effects, a shock-absorbent foam floor, a patented collapsible seat, and a Suspended Mine Blast Resistant Seat (patent pending) that isolates the seat occupant from direct shockwaves. These designs have been extensively tested in the US and Israel – both in testing facilities and in actual conflict situations – and has significantly increased the survivability of vehicle occupants.
The armor suite was recently implemented in the MaxxPro model Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle developed by International Trucks for the USMC MRAP program. In January 29 International was awarded an initial contract to supply four test vehicles for the USMC MRAP program. A first view of the MRAP Category I vehicle was released by Plasan Sasa, the team’s Israeli armor designer. International plans to assemble the armor kits at its armor integration center in Mississippi. By February 2008 International is expected to deliver close to 2,000 MaxxPro MRAPs under a US Marine Corps contract worth over one billion US$.
With specialization covering four of today’s major ballistic technologies – Metal Composite Armor, Composite Ceramic Armor, high performance Polyethylene armor and SMART, Plasan offers a unique expertise in the armor industry. Its SMART modular matrix based armor is used in various solutions including personal protection and vehicle platforms. This lightweight armor is made of ceramic segments that allow optimal protection, including three dimensional curved shapes, enhancing crew survivability, improving multi-hit performance and weather sealing, and enabling comfort and agility.
