Bangladesh received 50 Navistar MaxxPro MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected) vehicles in 2019 to support its peacekeepers in Mali. The U.S. Army shipped 31 refurbished MRAPs to Bangladesh in May 2021, followed by U.S. contractor training in Bangladesh. The remaining 19 MRAPs and support equipment will depart in July 2021 for the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Gao, Mali. Since 2005, the United States has contributed nearly $44 million to support training, equipment, and facilities upgrades to enhance Bangladesh’s peacekeeping capabilities.
Since 1988, Bangladeshi armed forces and police having participated in over 54 missions in 40 countries. Currently 6,543 personnel are deployed in 7 UN missions and at UN headquarters, including: MONUSCO, UNIFIL, UNMISS, MINARSO, MINUSMA, MINUSCA. The Navy has deployed a corvette to support UNIFIL in Lebanon and riverine vessels to UNMISS in South Sudan. The Air Force also has helicopters and fixed wing aircraft supporting MONUSCO in DR Congo. Bangladesh is also a leader in deploying female peacekeepers, with 1,803 total having participated and 251 currently deployed.
The M1224 MaxxPro MRAP vehicle is an armored fighting vehicle designed by American company Navistar International’s subsidiary Navistar Defense along with the Israeli Plasan Sasa, who designed and manufactures the vehicle’s armor. The vehicle was designed to take part in the US Military’s Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle program, led by the US Marine Corps, as well as a similar US Army-led Medium Mine Protected Vehicle program. MRAPs are categorized as category 1 or category 2 and Navistar produces the MaxxPro in both sizes.
In the final order of 2007 a further 1,500 Category 1 MaxxPros were ordered bringing the total to 4,471. About 9,000 MaxxPro vehicles were bought by the U.S. Army between 2007 and 2011, and they plan to keep only about 3,000 of them. Navistar is pitching the MaxxPro MRAP as a vehicle that can be upgraded into a mobile command post or power generator. With budget cuts, the plan would allow the Army to get solutions they want from the existing fleet. The company is also planning to make it a maintenance vehicle and mortar carrier.