In 2006, the MRAP Joint Program Office was created by the Marine Corps Systems Command, bringing together the U.S. Marines, Army, Navy, and special operations units to expedite the deployment of MRAPs. The Department of Defense joined the mission a year later.

The previous Humvees had flat bottoms, similar to regular commercial vehicles, making them highly vulnerable to explosives. When an IED was detonated under a Humvee, the blast would directly impact the flat underside that lay parallel to the ground, receiving the full force of the explosion.

To counter this threat, MRAPs were designed with a V-shaped armor-plated hull, strategically engineered to deflect explosions upward and away from the vehicle. Military experts claim that this unique design provides up to 10 times more protection. MRAPs also feature a raised chassis that helps reduce fragmentation, blast overpressure, and the force of an IED explosion. Moreover, these vehicles can be equipped with additional layers of armor to defend against RPG rounds.

There are four categories of MRAPs: I, II, III, and M-ATV. Category I is the smallest and is employed in urban combat scenarios and for casualty evacuation. Category II is utilized for convoys and transporting troops, whereas Category III specializes in mine and IED detection. The MRAP-All Terrain Vehicle (M-ATV) is the most agile among them and was specifically designed for extreme conditions.

According to Aeroweb, a total of seven different vehicle designs have been procured from five different contractors, namely BAE Systems, Force Protection Industries (FPI), General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS), NAVISTAR Defense, and Oshkosh Corporation.