6x6 Cougar at Camp Fallujah, Iraq

This 6x6 Cougar was at Camp Fallujah, Iraq, in April. Two key features of MRAPs that help protect against explosions are higher ground clearance and a V-shaped hull. "Basically, instead of a Humvee or 7-ton, which will absorb the blast on the underside of the vehicle, this shape deflects it, and that's what makes it so survivable," U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Timothy Kessler (C Company, 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 6) said in a story from Marine Corps News.

As of April, the Marines had just under 2,800 MRAP vehicles in use in Operation Iraqi Freedom. About 900 others were being used in other locations, including at training sites and in operations in areas such as the Horn of Africa. Earlier this month, even before making the financial request to Congress, the Pentagon was accelerating the movement of MRAPs to Iraq.