Posted on 11/14/2005 6:56:50 AM PST by Moonraker
Berman was supposed to be part of the Blackwater team that was in Fallujah on that ill-fated day. But a last minute schedule change placed him in the south of Iraq at Camp Bucca, near Umm Qasr. On the highway to Baghdad the following day, Berman received the phone call: A Blackwater detail had been hit. Four men were dead.
(Excerpt) Read more at worlddefensereview.com ...
Not the prettiest on the highway ...
http://graniteglobalservices.com/automotive/armored02.htm
Be great for the morning commute though.
What are the tires made of?
I believe it said the tires were standard street tires.
It looks like it has a flat bottom. Without a deep "V" it is suceptible to being blown over by an IED. Of course, weighing that much it would have to be one MONGO HUGE IED.
Definitely better than a Humvee for armor, but the big IEDs destroy Abrams. I believe a shaped charge RPG would easily defeat the armor.
What am I missing? Is there a niche that this vehicle fills that an APC does not?
If nothing else this vehicle is twice as fast as an APC, is air-conditioned and can engage targets 360 degrees simultaneusly.
Two 155mm shells with about 1lb of plastic explosives is a pretty huge explosive... :)
"What am I missing? Is there a niche that this vehicle fills that an APC does not?"
This costs $200K, what does an APC run? 1 or 2 million perhaps?
Sure, but a RPG rocket is about six dollars, and an old artillery shell wired up and activated by a string is about nothing bucks. Hard to win in the cost-effectiveness game over there.
Still, this is private enterprise. If buddy's gun-truck works, then awesome. It might save some lives.
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