Tuesday, 18 November, 2003
http://news.bbc.co.uk/
Armoured cars: Essential kit for presidents
The car's the star: The presidential Cadillac deVille

The most important element of President George W Bush's London "security bubble" his car - one very heavily armoured and limited edition presidential Cadillac deVille.

Protecting world leaders is a serious business and there are only a handful of companies around the world with the specialist engineering skills.
One of the first armoured cars for a political leader is thought to have been a limousine built by engineering firm O'Gara-Hess & Eisenhardt for President Harry S. Truman in 1949.

Today, the technology has greatly moved on - and it has been shown to save lives in the worst case scenarios.

Take Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze for example.

In 1998 at least 10 heavily armed men ambushed his motorcade, opening fire on his vehicle with light arms, machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades.

Three people were killed but thanks to the armour in his limousine - a present from friendly governments in the West - he walked away unharmed.

The German government quickly sent him a new one.

Principles of protection

The security measures built into President George W Bush's limousine are a well-kept secret - but without a doubt they will be as substantial, if not more so, than those which protected President Shevardnadze.

So how does vehicle security work? There are three basic principles:

1. Protection at point of attack
2. Ability to evade and escape
3. Counter-measures

In terms of protection, the most important area requiring defence is the passenger cabin. If this fails, then the assailants increase their likelihood of achieving their aims.

In the most secure of these vehicles, the transparent side glass (typically a form of polycarbonate laminate) will be more than 6cm thick - capable of happily withstanding direct arms fire.

The rest of the passenger cabin consists of armour plating creating of walls, pillars and the roof with overlapping reinforced steel and other bullet-proof composites.
From Russia with armour: President Putin's limousine
Today's top of the range cars can withstand sustained direct fire from AK-47 and M-14 rifles, as well as the effects of grenade explosions.

But one of the most feared forms of attack is by mine or other undercarriage bomb.

The need to improve this type of protection for high-risk figures became apparent in May 1992 when Italy's top anti-mafia judge Giovanni Falcone was assassinated by a bomb placed in the road surface of a motorway.

Today's armour engineers have learned lessons from that attack and improved the levels of protection available.

In one 1998 incident, an armoured Canadian vehicle detonated a buried 10lb anti-tank mine. Such was the force of the blast the vehicle was thrown into the air and crashed down on its roof.

The occupants suffered minor injuries due to the violent jolt but their cabin was intact. The mine left a crater two metres wide.

Taken together, all these elements aim to ensure that even if a vehicle is incapacitated, its occupants will be able to withstand an attack until help arrives.

Evasion

But recent innovations means that today's armoured cars are better placed to escape and evade.

OPTIONAL EXTRAS

• Remote start with electronic bomb scanners
• Fire suppression systems
• Sealed compartments with air supply
• Public address systems
• Tamper-proof exhaust pipes
• Roof rail handles for security staff on foot
• Models openly advertised as having "presidential standard" security come fitted with armour around the battery, radiator, engine block and systems to automatically seal the fuel tank to prevent explosions.
• Night-vision capability, should lights fail
• Armour on the doors makes them so heavy, they often have an automatic opening system
• The whole car is equipped with five inch thick armour plate
• The fuel tank is designed to resist heat to prevent explosions for as long as possible
• Anti-shred tyres able to run even with punctures or bullet holes

Another measure which security firms recommend as absolutely standard is "run-flat" armoured tyres and wheels. In the event of the armoured tyres disintegrating under attack (unlikely, as the tyres are designed to run if flat), the wide steel rims are strong enough for the driver to escape at speed.

Another measure appearing in the top-of-the-range models is night vision systems. Is this a gimmick or crucial security technology?

Vehicles such as the presidential Cadillac deVille use an infra-red camera to scan the road. The heat signature of all objects ahead is converted into a view of the road which is projected onto the inside of the windscreen. For those who fear attack, this technology can provide clearer images of people or objects than headlights, even in the dead of night.

Finally there is the question of counter-measures.

Clearly a man like President Bush travels with a huge security entourage tasked with counter-attacking assailants while his vehicle escapes. But for those with something short of a private army, there are other counter-measures available on the market.
One of the leading companies in the field offers to create hidden weapons compartments, strengthened bumpers for ramming other vehicles off the road and, in extreme circumstances, concealed gun ports in the doors.

Drive safe - BMW's X5 gets armour plating

November 13, 2003

BMW has expanded its range of armoured vehicles with the introduction of the X5 Security, 7 Series High Security and 3 Series Security to counter firearms attacks, robbery, kidnapping and even hijacking.

The 3 Series Security will not reach SA but the X5 4.4i Security and the 7 Series High Security in 745Li and 760Li guises are on the cards for July 2004.

Each car is heavily armoured with, apart from plating, a bullet-resistant cabin, triple-glazing and strengthened door joints installed during production.

Nevertheless, it is almost impossible to tell the "tough guy" car from that in your neighbour's garage.

This, BMW says, creates a more comprehensive security package than post-production armouring that can leave cavities unsecured and cause unnecessary weight penalties.

Even though all BMW Security cars are designed to provide protection from violent attack they also have road performance and comfort similar to that of normal vehicles.

X5 4.4i Security: This is the latest BMW Security vehicle and, the company says, is particularly suited to remote areas or where roads are poorly maintained – such as in South Africa.

This X5 conforms to the independent weapons standard B4* with reinforced glass that can stop ammunition up to 0.44 Magnum. The glazing is about 20mm thick and coated in polycarbonate to prevent splintering into the cabin.

Door gaps, cable ducts and door joins in the B pillar are normally weak areas of any car but in the X5 have been reinforced to ensure no bullets can penetrate
Armouring during production is far superior to after-sale plating.

The entire reinforced passenger cell has sections supplemented by ballistic-resistant steel and run-flat tyres allow the driver to continue driving at up to 80km/h for about 50km – sufficient to get him and his passengers to safety.

Despite the extra metal overcoat, the X5, with its V8, 4.4-litre motor, can still hit 100km/h from rest in 7.6 seconds and power away from danger at up more than 200km/h.

330i Security: The BMW 330i Security also closely resembles the standard 330i road car but its chassis has been extensively adapted to compensate for the weight of the armour with stronger springs and shock-absorbers.

It, too, has surprising performance with a top speed also in excess of 200km/h and 7.3 seconds to 100km/h.

It conforms to weapons standard B4 with all joins and gaps body reinforced with ballistic-resistant steel and high-tech fibre. Bullets or splinters cannot penetrate the cabin and a special fibre-reinforced mat under the cabin is also splinter-resistant.

Both the Three and Five have an intercom through which the occupants can communicate with people outside the vehicle – at a road block for example - without having to open a door or window. The speakers are in the exterior mirrors.

7 Series High Security: Now we're talking tough – this car meets the requirements of B6/B7 weapons standard with 760 Li and 745 Li derivatives able to repel attack explosives, armour-piercing bullets (7.62x54R API calibre) often used by terrorists.

Underbody protection will block fragments from a grenade rolled under the car; tests have shown it will withstand two hand-grenades detonated simultaneously, one beneath each front seat.

High Security 7 Series sedans have laminated triple glazing with an internal polycarbonate layer as well as:

• Emergency exit through front windscreen.
• Intercom system with attack alarm function.
• Remote starting system.
• Fire-extinguishers with temperature sensors.
• Emergency fresh-air system.

However, having an armoured car isn't much use unless you have the driving skills to handle critical situations so BMW offers training programmes. The cars will, in Europe at least, be serviced and repaired at selected BMW workshops or will be maintained by a worldwide operation crew.

To make sure the bad guys don't get their evil hands on the cars, BMW Europe has a buy-back service for cars up to seven years old. After a thorough technical inspection at BMW’s Dingolfing plant they are then either sold or go into BMW’s car pool.

Cars from the Security car pool are then made available for potential customers throughout the world, at short notice.

http://www.motoring.co.za/