5/6     So much for the $1M-per-piece "mine-resistant" vehicle.
        http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20080505/wl_mcclatchy/2930304
        \_ Armor piercing shells from Iran can do that ya know.
           \_ AP from Syria works fine, too, and those AP shells smuggled
              out of Afghanistan are da BOMB.
              \_ Out of Afghanistan?  No.  They're going _into_ Afghanistan
                 from Iran.  How do you figure they're going from Afghanistan
                 into Iraq?  *boggle*  Here's the key parts of the article the
                 OP didn't read (from their own link):

                 The military has praised the vehicles for saving hundreds of
                 lives, saying they could withstand the IEDs, or improvised
                 explosive devices, which have been the biggest killers of
                 Americans in Iraq . The Pentagon has set aside $5.4 billion
                 to acquire 4,000 MRAPs at more than $1 million each, making
                 the MRAP the Defense Department's third largest acquisition
                 program, behind missile defense and the Joint Strike Fighter.

                 But last Wednesday's attack has shown that the MRAPs are
                 vulnerable to an especially potent form of IED known as an
                 EFP, for explosively formed penetrator, which fires a
                 superheated cone of metal through the vehicle's armor.

                 Military officials are still trying to determine whether last
                 week's attack is a sign of "new vulnerabilities (in the
                 vehicle) or new (weapons) capabilities" on the part of
                 insurgents, said Navy Capt. John Kirby , a spokesman for Adm.
                 Michael Mullen , chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

                 U.S. officials don't know if the EFP that pierced the MRAP
                 was larger, redesigned or a lucky shot from an old one. But
                 explosive experts in Iraq are investigating, said Col. Jerry
                 O'Hare , a military spokesman in Iraq .

                 So maybe the vehicle is flawed.  Maybe the Iranians have
                 developed a new weapon.  Maybe it was a lucky shot.  OP is
                 pretty flip about it and fortunately not in a position to
                 make decisions in the military.
                 \_ Yeah I read the whole article before posting.  I was just
                    disappointed that some $1M-per-piece hyped hardware
                    deployed only a year ago is already showing its
                    shortcomings at the theatre that it's designed to operate.
                    deployed merely a year ago is already showing its
                    shortcomings at the theatre that it's meant to operate.
                    -- OP
                    \_ Shaped metal projectiles penetrate tanks that cost much
                       more than $1M.  Our tanks now have explosive armor that
                       detonates projectiles like this.  The response is that
                       newer projectiles are two-stage shells--the first stage
                       takes the blast from the explosive armor, the second
                       stage penetrates.  Welcome to the arms race.
                       \_ Tank = $1 million
                          IED = $1 thousand
                          \_ You're confused.  The armor was never about
                             protecting the tank.  It is there to protect the
                             guys inside.  If they didn't put armor on anything
                             they could put more/bigger weapons/go faster on
                             the vehicles but the soldiers would die from
                             stray bullets.  With armor it takes special
                             weapons to kill them which are not readily
                             available.
                       \_ HEAT technology was invented in WWII.
           \_ Yeah, who could have possibly imagined that Iran might try to
              intervene into a US led occupation of Iraq?
              \_ Where's your 2001 post saying this?
                 \_ http://csua.com/2003/01/31/#27260 (Jan 2003)