Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
On June 28, 1988, U.S. Navy Captain William Nordeen, a defense attach stationed in Athens, Greece, drove away from his home at 8:10 a.m. in a lightly armored Ford Grenada. He turned left onto a one-way street, as he always did on his way to work. A blue Toyota with counterfeit plates was parked along the curb to his left. Its trunk contained 50 pounds of ANFO (ammonium nitrate and fuel oil) explosive with a radiocontrolled firing device. Bags of concrete were stacked on the curb side of its trunk to direct the blast toward the street. Standing alongside their stolen motorcycle, two members of the terrorist group "17 November" watched from a distance. When Nordeen reached the Toyota, they triggered the device. The explosion blew the Toyota 25 feet up the street. Nordeens car was thrown 18 feet to the right, landing on its top. Nordeens decapitated body landed 30 feet past his car. The terrorists escaped. (So much for lightly armored vehicles!) An incredible number of attacks directed at public figures are carried out while they are in or around their cars. While an armored vehicle will not make a dignitary invulnerable to all attacks, it doesnt take a NASA scientist to figure out that the use of such a vehicle will increase the chances of surviving most attacks. It, quite simply, buys time to escape the "kill zone". In his book Weapons and Equipment of Counterterrorism, Michael Dewar writes that in 1969 the Secret Service took delivery of an armored Lincoln Continental that carried two tons of steel and bullet-resistant glass. It was also capable of traveling 50 mph wit all its tires shot out. The ability to maintain mobility on run-flat tires was considered to be as important as its heavy armoring.
Red Army Faction terrorists, one a woman, fired two RPG-7 anti-tank grenades and a burst from an H&K-53 assault rifle. The first grenade struck the top of the trunk on Kroesens car and passed through, exiting from the right rear fender. It shattered the rear window, spraying the Kroesens with glass. The second grenade missed, exploding beyond the car. Four H&K rounds struck the car, but didnt penetrate the armor. They quickly drove away, escaping with only scratches. This is only one of many examples where the use of a fully armored vehicle bought enough time for the dignitary to escape. Other precautions can also be used to survive such an assault. Public figures should always vary their schedules and routes traveled. Terrorists look for any activity that is routine in order to know where and when to launch their attack. The "Shell-game" Defense At 6:40 p.m. on September 8, 1986, Chilean President Augusto Pinochet was returning to the capitol from his weekend retreat. He was riding with his grandson in the back of an armored Mercedes, which was the fourth car in a five-car motorcade. Suddenly a car pulling a trailer swerved across the road ahead, blocking their path. Sniper fire erupted from both sides of the road, knocking out the two lead motorcycles. The motorcade stopped. A rocket struck the second car in the motorcade (the usual position for a protectee's car), killing the five bodyguards inside. Automatic weapons fire raked the rest of the motorcade, setting some of the cars on fire. Pinochet's driver reacted quickly. He backed up, striking the car behind him, then made a U-turn and escaped. Pinochet later put his bullet-riddled Mercedes on display. Not only had its armor and his driver's quick reaction saved his life, but also moving his car from the second to the fourth position in the motorcade had fooled the terrorists.
blown over a five-story church! It struck the roof, bounced over, and landed on its side on a second-floor balcony, located on the opposite side of the building. All the occupants were killed.
Armoring Materials
Armor can be transparent or opaque, rigid or flexible. Transparent armor comes in three basic "flavors": glass, acrylic and polycarbonate. Glass must be quite thick, and therefore heavy, to stop high-powered rounds. Acrylics are considerably stronger and lighter than glass, but are susceptible to scratching and flammability. Polycarbonates are considerably stronger than acrylics and about 300 times more resistant to breakage than glass, but are also prone to scratching. Opaque materials include metals, ceramics, fiberglass-reinforced plastics and fabrics. The most commonly used metals are steel and aluminum. Steel offers the most protection, but it is heavy and not appropriate for some applications. The most commonly used aluminum is 2024-T3. A quarter-inch of this material will stop most 9mm rounds. More armored vehicles are probably fabricated with aluminum than any other material. Ceramics are most commonly used in helicopter seats and other aircraft applications, where its extreme light weight is valuable. It is also extremely expensive and not practical in many applications. Fiberglass-reinforced plastic (FRP) is rigid, light, fire safe and has excellent ballistic properties. A 24-ply sheet of HF-738 FRP, half an inch thick, will stop a .30-carbine slug fired from five feet away. Mounted inside a 19-gauge steel car door, the combination of metal and FRP would provide excellent protection from most small arms fire. Fabrics such as Kevlar are most commonly used in bullet-resistant clothing and vests, but can also be used to armor vehicles. As a rule, the amount of protection is directly proportionate to the number of layers used. Kevlar, by itself, is not practical for protection against rifle fire.
traffic light, two ETA terrorists on a motorcycle pulled alongside and placed a duffle bag on the roof of their car. Moments later the bag exploded, killing Garrido and his family. The roof was not armored. In a similar attack on April 19, 1989, San Salvador Attorney General Roberto Alvarado was stopped at a traffic light in El Salvador. Two leftist guerrillas placed a bomb on the roof of his partially armored Jeep Cherokee. The package exploded, killing him. It should be obvious that partially armored vehicles offer little protection against bombs.
Defense Minister Camille Chamoun was riding through Beirut, Lebanon, in his armored Mercedes on January 7, 1987. A remote-controlled bomb, containing 165 pounds of explosives in a blue Peugeot car, exploded as his motorcade went by. The blast left a crater 14 feet wide and 6 feet deep, and destroyed 26 cars. Three bodyguards and a bystander were killed, and 35 others were wounded. Camille's armored car was hurled 20 yards off the road, but he survived. On September 28, 1988, John Buttle, president of Texaco-Colombia was riding in his armored Mercedes through Bogota, Colombia. A remote-controlled bomb, which contained about 45 pounds of TNT, was ignited by ELN terrorists as he drove past. Two bodyguards in a follow-up car were injured, along with two bystanders. Although his car was almost destroyed, Buttle was unhurt. Defense Minister Guerrero Paz was saved by his armored Lancia on November 23, 1988, when he left his Bogota, Colombia, office at 8:15 p.m. A 20-pound explosive charge hidden in a lamppost exploded, killing three bodyguards and wounding two others. Paz escaped uninjured. On January 30, 1989, party chief George Saade was riding through the streets of Beirut, Lebanon, in his armored Alfa Romeo. He was escorted by three carloads of bodyguards. A nearby car bomb exploded, killing three and wounding 17. Although his car was damaged, Saade was unhurt. General Maza Marquez, the police chief of Bogota, Colombia, was enroute to his office on May 30, 1989, when a car bomb exploded. A bodyguard and three others were killed, and 37 were wounded, including seven bodyguards. Protected by his armored limo, Marquez escaped with only bruises.
Sadly for Jacobs and the other two officials in the "tank," their schedule is known to the drug cartel. The motorcade route has not been properly secured by his agents, either. When the motorcade stops for a traffic light, three RPG-7D rockets are fired into the roof of the armored Cadillac by terrorists in the third-floor windows of the buildings along the street, killing Jacobs and his party.
Conclusion
This article has examined 16 attacks against individuals riding in armored vehicles. Eight were killed; eight survived. They included two presidents, two governors, two generals, two defense ministers, two corporate executives, a prime minister, an attorney general, a party chief, an industrialist and a sheik. All 16 attacks were carried out by criminal or terrorist groups, using explosive devices. If the attacks had only involved small arms fire, all 16 would have probably survived. The key ingredient of any successful attack is the element of surprise. Terrorists understand this advantage and use it whenever possible. While armored vehicles cannot be expected to endure sustained attacks or assaults involving powerful explosive devices, they can provide the tactical edge to allow a security detail the time to react and escape the kill zone.
Lieutenant Tom A. Taylor, Missouri State Highway Patrol, is director of the Governor's Security Division. He also serves as secretary to the National Governor's Security Association.