A rocket-propelled grenade is a shoulder-fired anti-tank weapon system that fires rockets equipped with an explosive warhead. Most RPGs can be carried by an individual soldier. These warheads are affixed to a rocket motor which propels the RPG towards the target and they are stabilized in flight with fins. Some types of RPG are reloadable with new rocket-propelled grenades, while others are single-use. RPGs, with some exceptions, are generally loaded from the muzzle.
In the United States, a SWAT team is a law enforcement unit which uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. First created in the 1960s to handle riot control or violent confrontations with criminals, the number and usage of SWAT teams increased in the 1980s and 1990s during the War on Drugs and later in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. In the United States as of 2005, SWAT teams were deployed 50,000 times every year, almost 80% of the time to serve search warrants, most often for narcotics. SWAT teams are increasingly equipped with military-type hardware and trained to deploy against threats of terrorism, for crowd control, and in situations beyond the capabilities of ordinary law enforcement, sometimes deemed "high-risk". Other countries have developed their own paramilitary police units (PPUs) which are also described as or comparable to SWAT forces.
The M3 Lee, officially Medium Tank, M3, was an American medium tank used during World War II. In Britain, the tank was called by two names based on the turret configuration and crew size. Tanks employing US pattern turrets were called the "Lee", named after Confederate general Robert E. Lee. Variants using British pattern turrets were known as "Grant", named after Union general Ulysses S. Grant.
The M113 is a fully tracked armored personnel carrier (APC) that was developed by Food Machinery Corp (FMC). The M113 was sent to USAREUR to replace the mechanized infantry's M59 APCs in the 1961/62 time frame. The M113 was first tried out in combat in April 1962 after the United States provided the South Vietnamese army (ARVN) with heavy weaponry such as the M113, under the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) program. Eventually, the M113 was the most widely used armored vehicle of the U.S. Army in the Vietnam War, earning the nickname 'Green Dragon' by the Viet Cong as it was used to break through heavy thickets in the midst of the jungle to attack and overrun enemy positions. It was largely known as an "APC" or an "ACAV" by the allied forces.
The Patria Pasi is a Finnish-made six-wheeled armoured personnel carrier (APC) originally designed for Finnish Defence Forces. The first version was produced in 1983 and serial production began in 1984. It was designed to operate with ease of use, simple structure and low-cost maintenance. The basic appearance and configuration of Patria Pasi is similar to most wheeled APCs. The XA-180 and XA-185 versions are fully amphibious while the XA-203 is not.
A police car is a ground vehicle used by police for transportation during patrols and to enable them to respond to incidents and chases. Typical uses of a police car include transporting officers so they can reach the scene of an incident quickly, transporting and temporarily detaining suspects in the back seats, as a location to use their police radio or laptop or to patrol an area, all while providing a visible deterrent to crime. Some police cars are specially adapted for certain locations or for certain operations. Police cars typically have rooftop flashing lights, a siren, and emblems or markings indicating that the vehicle is a police car. Some police cars may have reinforced bumpers and alley lights, for illuminating darkened alleys.
The Massachusetts State Police (MSP) is an agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' Executive Office of Public Safety and Security responsible for criminal law enforcement and traffic vehicle regulation across the state. At present, it has approximately 2,300 officers, 1500 of them being uniformed troopers, and 400 civilian support staff—making it the largest law enforcement agency in New England. The MSP was headed by Colonel Richard McKeon, until his retirement on November 11, 2017.
The Marmon-Herrington Armoured Car was a series of armoured vehicles that were produced in South Africa and adopted by the British Army during the Second World War. RAF Armoured Car companies possessed them, but seem never to have used them in action, making greater use of Rolls Royce Armoured Cars and other types.
The Humber Scout Car was a British light scout car used in the Second World War. It entered service in 1942 and continued in production until 1945. Designed for reconnaissance, and liaison between armoured units, it provided protection only against light arms fire, so was not a front line vehicle. More importantly it was small and fast and could quickly evade trouble. It became the shape format for the post war Ferret armoured car which began production in 1952.
The Brigade Speciale Beveiligingsopdrachten or BSB is a special operations unit of the Koninklijke Marechaussee, the Dutch gendarmerie corps. Although the BSB conducts special operations it is not a part of the, in 2018 established, Netherlands Special Operations Command.
The C15TA Armoured Truck was an armoured load carrier produced by Canada during the Second World War. It was developed from the Otter Light Reconnaissance Car.
The Terradyne Armored Vehicles Gurkha is a tactical armored vehicle built by Ontario-based Terradyne Armored Vehicles Inc.. The Gurkha is available in three different variants (LAPV/MPV/RPV), each of which is built on a Ford F550 chassis.
The Cobra is an infantry mobility vehicle developed by Turkish firm Otokar which uses some mechanical components and sub-systems of the HMMWV.
The BOV, is an all-wheel drive armoured vehicle manufactured in the former Yugoslavia and today in Serbia. Currently in development is second generation BOV.
The V-hull is a type of vehicle armor design used on wheeled armored personnel carriers (APC), infantry mobility vehicles, infantry fighting vehicles (IFV) and MRAPs. The design originated in the 1970s with vehicles such as the iconic Casspir used extensively during the South African Border War, Leopard security vehicle used in the Rhodesian Bush War and South African armored vehicle company Land Systems OMC's and Buffel.
The Shorland S600 is an armored personnel carrier developed in 1995 as a private venture by Short Brothers plc in Northern Ireland. Unlike the previous Shorland armoured car series, which were based on the Land Rover Defender, Shorts used the much larger chassis and drive-train of the Mercedes-Benz Unimog U1550L/U2150L. In 1996 the Short Brothers sold the complete design to British Aerospace Australia. In 1997 the Kuwait National Guard ordered 22 S600 in five different versions. In 2006, prior to it being acquired by BAE Systems Australia in 2007, Tenix Defence supplied the South Australia Police Special Tasks and Rescue Group with a variant known as the Tenix S-600.
Non-military armoured vehicles are armored vehicles used outside professional armed forces. While primarily invented and used for defense from an equally well armed organized force, armour technology has found a number of other uses outside of this military context.
A narco tank, also called rhino trucks or monstruo, is an improvised fighting vehicle used by drug cartels. The vehicles are primarily civilian trucks with improvised vehicle armour, which adds operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities when fighting law enforcement or rivals during drug trafficking activities.
The Lenco BearCat is a wheeled armored personnel carrier designed for military and law enforcement use. It is in use by numerous military forces and law enforcement agencies around the world.
The Puma M26-15 4x4 is an armored personnel carrier (APC) with mine and Improvised Explosive Device (IED) protection. The main users are military, police and security companies during peace-keeping operations. The Puma M26 was designed by OTT Technologies, a South African firm linked to DynCorp International. It is manufactured in South Africa and Mozambique.
