shows you what successful drug cartels can come up with.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-13676259

Very nice.

Old technology, really. And the gangs have nothing if not stacks of cash laying around that they just can't launder fast enough...

Another link to a different place talking about this story http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/06/06/1153...ilding-own.html

To be really effective, they'd need to work with a different platform, such as a half-track (Which they don't make any more), or a Caterpillar Tread System (Maybe a stripped down construction vehicle?).

I was thinking something along those lines myself... though these 'tanks' are a lot closer to APCs in truth. Still they are probably somewhat effective.. until someone grabs an RPG anyways.

Russian RPG-7s and their knock-offs are pretty cheap...

Or shoot out the unarmored tires to immobilize the vehicle and then throw balloons filled with gasoline at the car. Apply road flare. See how long it takes for the occupants to exit car.




-k

I'm sure the security forces are trying to stay on the public opinion side, and stay away from illegalities (for the most part). While public opinion is to get rid of the power the drug cartels hold, I'm sure using weapons such as (possibly illegally attained) RPG's and tactics involving boiling occupants/greivous burns are deemed "too far". Honestly, I figure this is where a deniable black-ops team would be very nice, but I suppose we'll eventually see what happens.

I think Karma and I were suggesting options that are available for the other gangs that those vehicles are supposedly supposed to be used against.

I know I was.

It might be a little much for the police to use RPGs, it wouldn't be going too far out on a limb to assume that if they ran into one of the Mexican Army units that are assisting in the security efforts to use... whatever anti-armor weapon the Mexican Army uses.

According to Wiki (Whose reliability is ensured by the public!):
B-300 82 mm light anti-tank rocket
RL-83 Blindicide 83 mm light anti-tank rocket
RPG-29
RPG-7

Uh. Yeah. Let's go with that. Sure.

<.<

>.>




-k

Thanks for doing the research... I was feeling a bit wiped out from work that afternoon/evening.

Why ? Treads are slower and noisier, use more fuel, and needs more maintenance than wheels.

I don't think those things are intended to be used off-road, and dubbing them 'tanks' is misleading. As Jekolmy said, they should be viewed as as makeshift APC.

And displace better over a wider area. OK, I'm not saying that the NarcoGangs care about roads after they're done driving through them (Armoured cars IRL, both civilian and military, are horrendous to road maintenance!), but I'm not exactly sure that something like this would even make it to the gunfight if there's so much as a gravel track they have to deal with.

Just looking at it from a design point of view. 'Course, as I have stated before, I'm just a civvie puke, what do I know?

I have seen systems that can attach to existing axle and provide 4 smaller treads surfaces vs 2 large ones.

Another option, similar to half-tracks, would be to find one with double sets of back wheels, and basically wrap treads around them.

They do make these.





-k

Yeah, a friend of mine had some dealings with those on a job site once when he was cleaning oil refineries. He found them interesting and practical in a heavy mud/snow environment.

You can navigate some serious mess on wheels even with an heavyly loaded truck - at least with the right tires and driver. Just look at this video

Ok, the path chosen confuse me.

I suppose it is a cleared path for lumber exploitation that is thawing in early spring, and possibly run over by meltwater from the snow

This helps understanding why the russian mud is (in)famous, and why brands like Tatra or Kamaz designed some impressive all-wheel drive models.

Mostly it looked like a road when the video started, but turned out to be something like a river when the truck passed by.

Tho now that you mention it, it kinda reminds me of the WW2 videos of german troops battling the russian mud. One mental image was a soldier getting in to almost his knee, and leaving the boot in there as there was no way to pull it out...

As i was told many years ago, nothing is Hollywood bullet proof™ for most degrees of armor sustained fire will punch through almost anything given enough time. Full on main battle tanks are the exception and even they don't want to stand still in case some joker gets creative with the arty or other pucker factor weapons. So the best thing for these vehicles to do is get in and out of the fight quickly and deploy their payloads.

One of the clever/nasty anti-tank weapons do not even penetrate armor. Instead it applies force on the outside to hammer loose a piece of the inside that will fly around the crew area...

isn't this thing just a well constructed punknaught ala CP 2020?

NarcoGangs role play? I thought they'd be too busy with counting their huge stacks of money while they have two women under the desk and no pants.

HESH rounds. High Explosive Squash Head. It detonates a charge right on the surface of armor to cause a shockwave that makes pieces of armor on the inside of the tank rip free and act as shrapnel against the occupants. The phenomenon is called "spalling". Ever see one of those office toys with the line of chrome spheres suspended by fishing line? You pick one sphere up, drop it, and it impacts the line of remaining spheres. There is a shockwave transmitted from one sphere to the next in the line, til finally the last sphere has nothing blocking it and flies off. Much like bits of armor spall on the inside of the tank fly off, only with a HESH strike the force is massively greater.

This is countered by putting in air gaps or other materials between armor plate layers to disrupt the shockwave, and installing anti-spall curtains made of woven kevlar and other resistant cloth on the inside of the armor to catch spall pieces.



-k

https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/w...wton%27s_cradle this thing, right?

Yep, only with rocket-propelled high explosives.