The US Army's SmarTruck II, an SUV with style........
Drez
Oh yeah, this will surely get some fresh, young recruits in the Army!
Army SmarTruck II Ready for Action
Streaming Video
· Army’s SmarTruck II counterterrorism vehicle
A modified Chevrolet Silverado platform fitted with modules of
counterterrorism equipment just might be the next big thing for
homeland security.
“SmarTruck II is engineered to meet the nontraditional challenges of
today’s military,” said Dennis Wend, executive director of the Army
Tank-automotive and Armaments Command’s National Automotive Center
(NAC). “It provides built-in flexibility and offensive capability [for
a variety of situations].”
The jet black prototype SmarTruck II unveiled at the North American
International Auto Show didn’t much look like a Silverado pickup
truck.
Rather than the usual two axles, the SmarTruck II has three, and all
six wheels drive the vehicle all the time.
This is key to the SmarTruck II’s appeal, Wend said. The modification
gives the SmarTruck II a 5-ton payload, so it can carry a bevy of
counterterrorism equipment, much of it packaged in armored,
self-contained stainless steel modules. The modules can be swapped out
for other non-terrorism-related modules when needed.
For example, the SmarTruck II could carry water purification systems
on disaster relief missions and communication systems for surveillance
missions.
The flexibility could allow many government agencies—from FEMA to the
FBI to the military—to share the vehicle, Wend said. “You won’t need
to have unique trucks with installed equipment; you can just have the
modules [stationed] around the United States [ready for use when
needed].”
The SmarTruck II on the show floor was clearly armed for military
duty. The vehicle was fitted with a guided missile launcher that has a
two-mile range and a launcher for a remote-controlled Unmanned Air
Vehicle (UAV).
Other features: A night vision system, a high-power (50X) zoom video
system with thermal imaging and surveillance radar, 360-degree cameras
including one under the vehicle to help the driver prevent
undercarriage damage when driving off road, and a 12,000-pound,
straight-line hydraulic towing winch.
Tires are run-flats, and the grille is covered by a large metal brush
guard that’s bullet-resistant to keep small armaments from puncturing
the engine block.
Wend said the SmarTruck II evolved out of SmarTruck I, which was
unveiled at the auto show a year ago. Testing on the SmarTruck II will
begin shortly, and NAC officials hope to find interested customers
wanting to buy.
But there’s a hefty price premium for this kind of Silverado. Wend
said it would cost $75,000 to $100,000 just for the modified chassis
with six-wheel-drive system and some kind of on-board communications
system
Brash
their favourite cafes'?
And I'm sure the 6-wheel drive wasn't inspired by the Australian SASR
"Perentie" LRPVs used in Afghanistan.
--
Bring on the herbivores, I'm hungry.
"Drez" <d...@black-steel-N-hour-of-chaos.net> wrote in message
news:l12q1v0666chm8jo0...@4ax.com...
> The flexibility could allow many government agencies-from FEMA to the
> FBI to the military-to share the vehicle, Wend said. "You won't need
iCentral
http://autoshow.msn.com/autoshow2003/article.aspx?xml=Army
--
32112966
Brisbane City Store,
269 Edward Street, Brisbane City
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Store ICQ: 70438632
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"Brash" <acrobat...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:3e1d390a$0$27996$afc3...@news.optusnet.com.au...
Douglas Berry
"iCentral" <icen...@optushome.com.au> warmed at our fire and told
this tale:
>Wow.
>http://autoshow.msn.com/autoshow2003/article.aspx?xml=Army
Anybody else having "Stripes" flashbacks looking at this thing? :)
--
Douglas E. Berry grid...@mindspring.com
http://gridlore.home.mindspring.com/index.html
"Where is the prince who can afford so to cover
his country with troops for its defense, as that
ten thousand men descending from the clouds, might
not,in many places, do an infinite deal of mischief
before a force could be brought together to repel
them?" - BENJAMIN FRANKLIN-1784
Brash
--
Bring on the herbivores, I'm hungry.
"Douglas Berry" <grid...@mindspring.com> wrote in message
news:49hr1v4r8fgsa392v...@4ax.com...
Somebody
Drez <d...@black-steel-N-hour-of-chaos.net> wrote:
> Oh yeah, this will surely get some fresh, young recruits in the Army!
>
>
> Army SmarTruck II Ready for Action
>
> Streaming Video
> · Army’s SmarTruck II counterterrorism vehicle
Yeah... just what we need... yet another even bigger road hog!!!
The supermarket terror squad will just love them... if another
road hog dares to take that parking space, just load the cannon
and blast them out of existence.
--
N9NWO
Is this more about keeping GM alive than
actually meeting the needs of the military?
For the size, the UNIMOG is a better platform.
And it is sold by Freightliner in the US. Or
if something is needed that is smaller, Ford can
push the LR Defender.
Drez <d...@black-steel-N-hour-of-chaos.net> wrote in message news:<l12q1v0666chm8jo0...@4ax.com>...
Sean Conolly
for it - if the Army was developing this why would they be looking for
buyers? It almost looks like something that's just designed to fire up the
imaginations of potential recruits.
As for the Unimog and the Landy, both great vehicles but since we have a big
defense budget we try to spend as much of it here as we can.
Sean
"N9NWO" <N9...@amsat.org> wrote in message
news:d1b0ff4b.0301...@posting.google.com...
> > The flexibility could allow many government agencies-from FEMA to the
> > FBI to the military-to share the vehicle, Wend said. "You won't need
Eric Lee Green
> As for the Unimog and the Landy, both great vehicles but since we have a big
> defense budget we try to spend as much of it here as we can.
Uhm, not to mention that they don't contribute enough money to get
such contracts. Not to mention that many members of the Bush
administration have ties to American defense contractors, such as
Donald Rumsfeld, who is a personal friend of Frank Carlucci, former
Defense Secretary under Ronald Reagan and now chairman of The Carlyle
Group (which owns United Defense, Vought, and oh, there's another guy
by the name of George Bush Sr. who is also on the board of the Carlyle
Group).
General Motors, on the other hand, is a long-time player in the U.S.
defense market, and has hired its own stable of former Pentagon
notables to sell goods to the military. Y'see, that's how corruption
works in the Pentagon. You can't sell goods to the Pentagon unless you
hire retired generals and politicians to do it, because it's all about
who you know, not about how good your stuff is.
About the only major contract I'm aware of that's gone to a foreign
country was the Marine Corps, which bought some Mercedes G-class
vehicles for their rapid deployment force because there was nothing
suitable made by U.S. manufacturers. But then, the Marines have always
marched to the sound of their own drummer.
--
Eric Lee Green GnuPG public key at http://badtux.org/eric/eric.gpg
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Julian
I think you'll find you've spent quite a bit of money buying Harriers off
Britain and then on the rights to build your own version as well. The
Rangers have bought Land Rover Defenders as well, the Humvee being
unsuitable for their specific task.
Perhaps you should do what we do here in the UK - we found the Pinzgauer to
be ideal for our artilliery towing requirement so rather than buy foreign
vehicles, we bought the whole company and shipped it to England, so now
Pinzgauer are English! :)
--
Julian.
----------------
Sigs suck.
N9NWO
> There's a puzzling quote at the end of the article about finding some buyers
> for it - if the Army was developing this why would they be looking for
> buyers? It almost looks like something that's just designed to fire up the
> imaginations of potential recruits.
>
> As for the Unimog and the Landy, both great vehicles but since we have a big
> defense budget we try to spend as much of it here as we can.
>
> Sean
Well Mercedes is now selling the Unimog (and the
Sprinter van) under the Freightliner brand. It is
being assemblied here in the US. And Ford now owns
LR so it would not take much for them to build those
here as well.
N9NWO
> In article <gF5U9.341$WT3...@news.bellsouth.net>, Sean Conolly ruminated:
> > As for the Unimog and the Landy, both great vehicles but since we have a big defense budget we try to spend as much of it here as we can.
>
> Uhm, not to mention that they don't contribute enough money to get
> such contracts. Not to mention that many members of the Bush
> administration have ties to American defense contractors, such as
> Donald Rumsfeld, who is a personal friend of Frank Carlucci, former
> Defense Secretary under Ronald Reagan and now chairman of The Carlyle
> Group (which owns United Defense, Vought, and oh, there's another guy
> by the name of George Bush Sr. who is also on the board of the Carlyle
> Group).
>
> General Motors, on the other hand, is a long-time player in the U.S.
> defense market, and has hired its own stable of former Pentagon
> notables to sell goods to the military. Y'see, that's how corruption
> works in the Pentagon. You can't sell goods to the Pentagon unless you
> hire retired generals and politicians to do it, because it's all about
> who you know, not about how good your stuff is.
>
> About the only major contract I'm aware of that's gone to a foreign
> country was the Marine Corps, which bought some Mercedes G-class
> vehicles for their rapid deployment force because there was nothing
> suitable made by U.S. manufacturers. But then, the Marines have always
> marched to the sound of their own drummer.
Well Chrysler is now part of Mercedes who also owns
Freightliner which is assembling and selling the Unimog.
And the Army purchased a number of Land Rover Defenders
for the Special Ops folks and the Rangers, just as the
Marines purchased the G-Wagon.
vince
"Julian" <spa...@spam.com> wrote in message
news:104239389...@damia.uk.clara.net...
> Perhaps you should do what we do here in the UK - we found the Pinzgauer
to
> be ideal for our artilliery towing requirement so rather than buy foreign
> vehicles, we bought the whole company and shipped it to England, so now
> Pinzgauer are English! :)
>
> --
> Julian.
I think you mean British - there's a Scotsman and a Welshman involved as
well..........
Did you know Victor Gauntlett has been made a director? He was the owner of
Aston Martin until recently - hell of a nice chap and as British as a
Bulldog!!!
Eric Lee Green
> Eric Lee Green wrote:
>> About the only major contract I'm aware of that's gone to a foreign
>> country was the Marine Corps, which bought some Mercedes G-class
>> vehicles for their rapid deployment force because there was nothing
>> suitable made by U.S. manufacturers. But then, the Marines have always
>> marched to the sound of their own drummer.
>
> I think you'll find you've spent quite a bit of money buying Harriers off
> Britain and then on the rights to build your own version as well. The
But that was the Marines again. Like I said, the Marines march to the
sound of their own drummer.
> Rangers have bought Land Rover Defenders as well, the Humvee being
> unsuitable for their specific task.
That was a case of they'd either be walking or driving Defenders, there
wasn't time to solicit bids to build an all-new vehicle just for the
Rangers for $100,000 per copy (sigh), which is the typical Pentagon way
of doing things.
> Perhaps you should do what we do here in the UK - we found the Pinzgauer to
> be ideal for our artilliery towing requirement so rather than buy foreign
> vehicles, we bought the whole company and shipped it to England, so now
> Pinzgauer are English! :)
For some reason many countries won't let us buy up their companies
and ship them over to America. I think it's that whole imperialism
thing that turns them off :-}.
Julian
> In article <104239389...@damia.uk.clara.net>, Julian ruminated:
>> Eric Lee Green wrote:
>>> About the only major contract I'm aware of that's gone to a foreign
>>> country was the Marine Corps, which bought some Mercedes G-class
>>> vehicles for their rapid deployment force because there was nothing
>>> suitable made by U.S. manufacturers. But then, the Marines have
>>> always marched to the sound of their own drummer.
>>
>> I think you'll find you've spent quite a bit of money buying
>> Harriers off Britain and then on the rights to build your own
>> version as well. The
>
> But that was the Marines again. Like I said, the Marines march to the
> sound of their own drummer.
>
Abrams M1 tanks is British as well!
>> Rangers have bought Land Rover Defenders as well, the Humvee being
>> unsuitable for their specific task.
>
> That was a case of they'd either be walking or driving Defenders,
> there wasn't time to solicit bids to build an all-new vehicle just
> for the Rangers for $100,000 per copy (sigh), which is the typical
> Pentagon way of doing things.
>
They chose Defenders because they were proven in the role with certain other
well-known special forces. Perhaps the rationale for buying Defenders was
the same as the reason that the SAS use M16's instead of SA-80 rifles - if
anything has the be left behind on a covert mission, anyone could've used an
M16, but SA-80 shouts Britain! :)
>> Perhaps you should do what we do here in the UK - we found the
>> Pinzgauer to be ideal for our artilliery towing requirement so
>> rather than buy foreign vehicles, we bought the whole company and
>> shipped it to England, so now Pinzgauer are English! :)
>
> For some reason many countries won't let us buy up their companies
> and ship them over to America. I think it's that whole imperialism
> thing that turns them off :-}.
Odd isn't it - America doesn't know the first thing about imperialism - the
UK really is/was imperial. There can't be many countries we haven't fought
with/invaded/owned at some point or other! We find pound notes usually quell
any nationalistic feelings in locals - I'm sure it works with dollars as
well! :)
Julian
> "Julian" <spa...@spam.com> wrote in message
> news:104239389...@damia.uk.clara.net...
>
>
>> Perhaps you should do what we do here in the UK - we found the
>> Pinzgauer to be ideal for our artilliery towing requirement so
>> rather than buy foreign vehicles, we bought the whole company and
>> shipped it to England, so now Pinzgauer are English! :)
>>
>> --
>> Julian.
>
> I think you mean British - there's a Scotsman and a Welshman involved
> as well..........
>
Scottish employee, but it don't make a Big Mac a Jock Burger! :)
> Did you know Victor Gauntlett has been made a director? He was the
> owner of Aston Martin until recently - hell of a nice chap and as
> British as a Bulldog!!!
Yes, I know Victor - did an amazing job keeping AML running pretty much from
DB to FMC with less money than BMW need to develop a door handle!
vince
> vince wrote:
> > "Julian" <spa...@spam.com> wrote in message
> > news:104239389...@damia.uk.clara.net...
> >
> >
> >> Perhaps you should do what we do here in the UK - we found the
> >> Pinzgauer to be ideal for our artilliery towing requirement so
> >> rather than buy foreign vehicles, we bought the whole company and
> >> shipped it to England, so now Pinzgauer are English! :)
> >>
> >> --
> >> Julian.
> >
> > I think you mean British - there's a Scotsman and a Welshman involved
> > as well..........
> >
> Errr. . . . .no. The factory is in England. Ronald McDonald may be a
> Scottish employee, but it don't make a Big Mac a Jock Burger! :)
> --
> Julian.
Ah but the firm is owned by a venture capital company who has a Welshman as
one of it's lead investors!
Julian
<shrugs> Ford own Land Rover but it doesn't make them American. Daimler own
Jeep but it doesn't mean they're German.
I own shares in GM but it don't make Corvettes English. . . . . . .;-)