A video has surfaced showing a U.S. Army Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) running
a Russian armored vehicle off the side of a road in Syria.
Prima facie it looks like a road rage incident.
The video is of decent quality and viewers can check it from the link provided in the
‘Description’ section below.
The incident occurred in the Syrian town of Qamishli near the Turkish border.
The video, which appears to have been captured by a civilian vehicle also on the road showed
a Russian convoy, civilian vehicles and a U.S. Army MRAP and another MRAP all sharing
the same busy highway.
In this video Defense Updates reports on U.S. Army MRAP pushing Russian military vehicle
off the road.
Let’s get started.
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Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected is a term for United States military light tactical
vehicles produced as part of the MRAP program that are designed specifically to withstand
improvised explosive device (IED) attacks and ambushes.
The United States Department of Defense MRAP program began in 2007 as a response to the
increased threat of IEDs during the Iraq War.
From 2007 until 2012, the MRAP program deployed more than 12,000 vehicles in the Iraq War
and War in Afghanistan.
MRAP vehicles usually have "V"-shaped hulls to deflect explosive forces from land mines
or IEDs below the vehicle, thereby protecting the vehicle and passengers.
The particular one in the video is an Oshkosh M-ATV, a vehicle developed by the Oshkosh
Corporation for the MRAP All Terrain Vehicle (M-ATV) program.
Intended to replace M1114 HMMWVs, it is designed to provide the same levels of protection as
the larger and heavier previous MRAPs but with improved mobility.
It has a curb weight of 12,500 kg or 27,500 lb, length of 6,270 mm, width of 2,490 mm
and height of 2,700 mm.
So, it is a fairly large vehicle.
The M-ATV combines a Plasan designed armored hull developed for the Northrop Grumman/Oshkosh
JLTV Technology Development (TD) phase proposal with some elements of the Medium Tactical
Vehicle Replacement (MTVR) chassis and Oshkosh's TAK-4 suspension system.
TAK-4 suspension is coil sprung and fully independent and offers 16 inches of wheel
travel.
For survivability, and in addition to the V-shaped hull which is optimized for IED protection,
other aids include the ability to take a 7.62 mm round to the engine oil/coolant/hydraulic
system and continue to drive for at least one kilometer.
The engine compartment is also protected with the Stat-X engine fire suppression system.
It has a 7.2 liter inline-6 Caterpillar C7 turbodiesel that produces 370 bhp.
A central tire inflation system (CTIS) and run-flat inserts allow the M-ATV to travel
at least 30 miles at 30 mph even if two tires lose pressure.
The M-ATV also features a traction control system and anti-lock brakes.
Armament is roof-mounted and can be either manually or remotely operated.
Manual options include an M240 machine gun, a Mk 19 grenade launcher, an M2 Browning machine
gun, a MILAN anti-tank guided missile, or a BGM-71 TOW anti-tank guided missile launcher.
The remote option is usually the CROWS (Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station).
In the video, a Russian armored vehicle appeared to aggressively pass one of the U.S. Army
MRAP on the right side shoulder of the road before it merged in between the U.S. vehicles
and attempted to pass the second U.S. vehicle further up the road.
The U.S. MRAP moved to the left to block the Russian vehicle, which then deviates back
to the right shoulder of the road.
As the Russian vehicle tried to overtake, the U.S. MRAP began to edge the Russian vehicle
off the road.
It seems that the MRAP hit the Russian vehicle on its sides and made it to stop.
Syria is a place where the U.S and Russian military are deployed in close proximity.
Reports indicate that the road rage incident is of several increasingly hostile and aggressive
moments between U.S. and Russian forces in recent months in northeastern Syria.
Several accounts indicate that U.S. forces have blocked Russian convoys and Russian backed
troops from pushing into U.S. held areas.
U.S. Military officials said the Russian vehicles did not follow established protocols for avoiding
incidents like the one seen in the video.
Col. Myles B. Caggins III, the spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve said in a statement
to Military Times, “On Feb. 19, 2020, a Russian patrol violated
the de-confliction protocols and did not adhere to the de-confliction measures, and was escorted
out of the area of U.S. operations,”
In October last year, President Donald Trump signaled the withdrawal of some U.S. forces
from the Syrian-Turkish border region, ahead of a Turkish military offensive in the region.
Russian President Putin tried to get back the control and Russian-backed forces also
quickly moved into the contested region.
These forces have made videos of their takeover of an abandoned U.S. base.
U.S. forces have maintained some presence in Syria as clear from this video.
U.S forces have been guarding Syrian oilr fields it suspects could become a useful revenue
stream for an ISIS resurgence campaign.
Those U.S. forces have also held back Russian-backed efforts to seize the oil fields in 2018.
Altercations including a fist fight has taken place between the troops of these two nations
in Syria.
Reports emerged in January that several Russian soldiers were badly beaten after a fist-fight
with American troops in Syria.
The injuries to some of the soldiers were graves enough that they had to be airlifted
to the hospital.
This information was provided by a reliable source.
According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the incident occurred on
25 December in the city of Tal Tamr in Al-Hasakah province in north-east Syria.
Incidents like these can spiral out of control and result in a skirmish and something even
more dangerous.
Hence, both the U.S and Russia need to be careful regarding this.