The Department of Homeland Security has acquired over 2,700 military-style, mine-resistant ambush protected vehicles for use inside the U.S., according to reports from RT.
The MRAP, as it's known in the U.S. military, was fielded in 2007 to counter the threat of devastating roadside bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The vehicle has been modified for use with the DHS Special Response Team — specially trained, fully armored agents dispatched during the most severe and high risk situations, according to WOAI.
"[The vehicle] is used in the execution of high-risk warrants — including drug trafficking, smuggling, and contraband," Ross Feinstein, a spokesman for DHS, told Business Insider.
In a video posted to YouTube, a DHS supervisor gives a tour of the vehicle in El Paso, Texas — displaying added skids for agents to ride along the sides, seating for 10-11, firing ports, and enhanced protection from bullets.
"[The glass] has multiple layers in there, and it will stop up to a .50 caliber round," Robert Whittaker, tactical supervisor for El Paso SRT, says in the video. " ... so it provides very good protection for us."
The vehicle is apparently used to protect federal agents from gunfights involving heavily armed criminals.
On May 3, 2012, three ICE agents were shot and injured while serving "high-risk" warrants during an early morning sweep of San Francisco Bay area gang members, according to a report fromYahoo! News.
SEE ALSO: This Vehicle Can Drive Through A Major Blast With No Casualties >
SEE ALSO: BI Military & Defense Facebook Page >
Please follow Military & Defense on Twitter and Facebook.