By Andrea Shalal-Esa

WASHINGTON, July 19 (Reuters) - U.S. troops in Iraq should receive 2,500 to 3,000 special armored vehicles by year's end if Congress approves $1.2 billion in 2007 defense spending, a top Pentagon official said on Thursday, down from 3,400 vehicles announced just a day earlier.

Pentagon research director John Young explained to reporters that although contractors are due to build 3,900 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles by the end of December, it takes about 23 days to add sensors, radar and other equipment before they are ferried to Iraq.

As a result most of the vehicles produced in December, when production is expected to reach 1,300 vehicles, would not be delivered until January.

Young, who heads a task force on MRAP vehicles, was speaking to reporters are testifying to a joint hearing by two House Armed Services subcommittees where lawmakers were critical of delays in supplying armor to troops and expressed frustration at frequent changes in forecasts and costs.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates, spurred by congressional and public pressure, has made the MRAP program one of his top priorities because the vehicles' V-shaped hull protects troops against roadside bombs.

At a Pentagon briefing on Wednesday, officials said the redirection of the $1.2 billion would boost procurement of the armored vehicles by two-thirds in 2007 and enable delivery of 3,400 vehicles to commanders in Iraq by the end of December.

Lawmakers on Thursday criticized the Pentagon for not acting sooner to supply the truck to troops in Iraq, citing estimates that they can prevent some 80 percent of casualties.

"Soldiers are dying on a daily basis because of these bombs. It ought to be our No. 1 priority," said Rep. Gene Taylor, the Mississippi Democrat who heads the seapower subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee.

Rep. Neil Abercrombie, the Democrat from Hawaii who chairs the air and land subcommittee, chastised Pentagon officials for frequent changes in production forecasts and cost estimates, saying lawmakers needed solid data before approving funding.

Taylor said the Pentagon's civilian leadership had delayed buying body armor, jammers and armor for Humvees in the past, acting only after Congress intervened.

The Pentagon should scrap its "piecemeal approach" and replace each of the more than 17,000 Humvees in Iraq with the new MRAP vehicles, Taylor said. He gave Young 10 days to report back to lawmakers with details on the cost and timing.

Taylor said he raised the issue during a "very contentious" meeting with Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England on Monday, but said Thursday's testimony showed the Pentagon was finally "moving in the right direction."

"This committee is going to be watching them like hawks. If they don't deliver, we're going to demand their heads," Taylor told reporters after the hearing.

The Marine Corps already has some 200 of the MRAP vehicles in Iraq, while the Army has about 500, officials said.

Contractors produced 82 MRAPs in June and were boosting production to 250 this month, Young said. Further increases are due each month up to about 1,300 vehicles in December.

Current plans call for total production of some 8,000 vehicles but more decisions are due in September after the services review their needs.

Seven contractors are vying for MRAP orders after sending prototypes to military testers.

They are: Navistar International Corp.'s <NAVZ.PK> International Military and Government LLC; Force Protection Inc. <FRPT.O>, which is partnered with General Dynamics Corp.'s <GD.N> Land Systems business arm; a General Dynamics Canadian unit; BAE Systems Plc <BA.L>; Oshkosh Truck Corp. <OSK.N>; closely held Protected Vehicles Inc. of North Charleston, South Carolina; and Armor Holdings Inc <AH.N>.

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