ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - As the U.S. military's requirement for a new fleet of mine-resistant vehicles skyrockets, officials involved in the fast-tracked purchase are considering plans for a formal acquisition program, a senior Army official said here at the IDEX 2007 defense exhibition.

The Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle grew out of an urgent requirement for a Humvee replacement for deployed forces and was, until recently, envisioned as a series of contracts that would produce a little more than 4,000 vehicles. But now that number has increased to more than 6,600 vehicles and potentially several billion dollars, sparking talks of establishing a formal program of record, according to Claude Bolton, the assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology.

That move - if approved - would mean that officials could plan for future buys through the Program Objective Memorandum, a Pentagon document that helps decide future defense spending. Currently, MRAPs are funded largely out of supplemental defense funding, and senior Pentagon officials are concerned about having sufficient money to cover the burgeoning requirement. Moving to a formal program would secure MRAP's place in the regular defense budget, leading the way to even more purchases.

In fact, the MRAP tops both the Army's and Marine Corps' respective "wish lists" of unfunded priorities, which they provide to Congress shortly after each budget request every year (DAILY, Feb. 15).

Army and Marine officials have said they expect their MRAP requirements to blossom as the effort - which faces congressional doubts over its accelerated timeline this year - was not fully planned for under the fiscal 2008 budget request submitted this month. At the same time, defense officials have taken heat on Capitol Hill since U.S. troops being "surged" to Iraq must largely rely on up-armored Humvees.

The V-shaped-bottom MRAP is designed to fill the gap between the flat-bottomed Humvees being used today in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, and the Joint Tactical Light Vehicle, which is designed to offer far greater protection against threats such as improvised explosive devices. MRAP includes both light utility vehicles and medium trucks.

Earlier this year, nine companies were awarded contracts to deliver prototypes for MRAPs (DAILY, Jan. 31). Two of those firms have already been selected for production, and several more contracts may be awarded over the next few months, according to officials involved in the program. If all goes as planned, the first batch of new vehicles would be deployed by the end of the year.

However, the rapid acquisition of MRAP, coupled with the bourgeoning military requirement for such vehicles, has created some friction within the acquisition process. As an "urgent need," MRAP was fast-tracked and funded through the supplemental budget. But given the size of the purchase, some officials now believe MRAP might best be transitioned to a formal acquisition program.

"Here's the Catch-22: the current buy is a 'nonprogram' of record in the Department of Defense," Bolton said. "If I go above a certain number, I must make it a program of record - that usually takes a bit of time. We're walking kind of a fine line here."

According to Bolton, the Office of the Secretary of Defense has indicated that given the number of vehicles being purchased, MRAPs should in fact be a program of record. "We're in the dialogue right now," he added.

Editor's note: The March issue of AVIATION WEEK's Defense Technology International will include an in-depth story on the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected effort.