Anand Gopal

With new technology and close monitoring of culverts and ditches, they have reduced the rudimentary bombs’ effectiveness by 20 percent since last year.

Saydabad, Afghanistan - Capt. Matthew Burnett and his men were patrolling the dangerous Kabul-Kandahar highway when their vehicle hit the one thing every soldier dreads – an improvised explosive device (IED).

“There was a big explosion, and we lost all visibility,” he recalls. “Some roadside debris even landed in the vehicle.”

But the troops emerged unscathed, and kept on driving – something unthinkable a few years ago. Captain Burnett and his men survived thanks to the MRAP, a new armored vehicle capable of withstanding very large blasts.

The vehicle is one of many innovations the United States military has developed to stay ahead of the insurgents, who readily adapt to American technology. New gadgets and techniques like the MRAP are also crucial to counter the soaring troop casualty rate in Afghanistan.

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