Improvised Vehicle Armour - Iraq War

Iraq War

In post-invasion Iraq, improvised vehicle armour is colloquially referred to as Hillbilly armor, farmer armor or hajji armor by American troops.

When American troops first took Baghdad, only the U.S. military police had fully armoured vehicles. During the occupation that followed the 2003 invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein's regime, insurgent forces deployed roadside bombs, RPG teams, and snipers with small arms to attack military vehicles on supply convoys and other known routes.

To protect themselves from these threats, American troops began reinforcing their Humvees, LMTVs and other vehicles with whatever was available, including scrap metal, kevlar blankets and vests, compromised ballistic glass and plywood. In some cases they relied on Iraqis to assist them in these efforts, and referred to the result as "Hajji" armour. They were also officially advised to line the floors of their Humvees with sandbags to deaden the impact of land mine explosions. A similar practice was common among M8 Greyhound crews during WW2.

Some officers in Iraq were disciplined over their refusal to carry out missions in what they considered improperly armoured vehicles.

Hungarian troops were said to be covering their non-armored Mercedes-Benz G-Class vehicles with ballistic vests on the outside.