TX2Guns: Learning from Insurgent Tactics: The Vehicle as a Weapon

From the Archives, 2015

Armored Van used in Attack on Dallas PD 6/13

Armored Van used in Attack on Dallas PD 6/13. Bought on Ebay for $8K

 

The attack on Dallas PD this past Saturday by a man in an armored van represents a variation on a tactic that has not been seen since the DC Sniper Murders in 2002, where a man and his young accomplice, using a Chevy Caprice sedan and turning the trunk into a “mobile” sniper hide, killed 10 people and critically wounded three others. The two concepts, an Armored Wagon or Van and the Mobile Sniper Hide, have at their core, basically the same concept: To Use a vehicle as a platform for a shooter or shooters to engage civilians and law enforcement, attempting to kill as many as possible. The differences lay in HOW these methods are applied.

The Mobile Sniper Hide (MSH) is a covert weapon, meaning it’s strength lies in NOT being detected, as the shooter engages targets both quietly and quickly as possible, keeping the location of the shooter (and shot) both hid (in the DC Sniper Case, by shooting from the car’s trunk through a small hole). The Armored Wagon on the other hand, OVERTLY engages targets (through gun ports), purposely drawing fire as it rolls on, ie like the Dallas PD attack recently.

The critical keys to remember if the AV concept is to work effectively, is that the engine block must be further bullet proofed (a .50 Caliber round took out the engine block) the tires must be run flats and reserve fuel bladders added.  If the engine or tires get disabled, or you run out of gas at a critical juncture, you are no longer mobile and have no egress options available; you are dead in the water, literally.

car

As far as the two concepts go, the Mobile Sniper Hide is a much more effective tool for the lone or small unit of of Guerilla fighters who live in a civilian population that is not controlled by military forces. Less attention is drawn to the vehicle as a whole, making it easier to hit and run (in reference to the One Shot Sniper Method discussed in the book Fry the Brain by John West.)

If history is studied, armored vans (or improvised fighting vehicles) work well in WAR zones, where both the VOLUME of fire coming OUT of the vehicle and the expectation of SUPPORT (from other vehicles and infantry) can be expected to be large. The downside of course is ANTITank and Vehicle weapons such as Mines, IED’s, RPG’s, Javelins and Grenade Launchers. The evolution of the IFV is an interesting study for the CO. Although I typically steer away from Wiki-Pedia, their entry on this subject is quite extensive and for the most part, correct. Read it HERE.

ATF

Another element of the insurgents use of vehicles to achieve a desired aim can be seen currently with the situation in Iraq where a large number of American Humvees that had been given to the Iraqi Security Forces were stolen by ISIS and turned into VBIED’s (Vehicle Born Improvised Explosive Devices). Read that story HERE

VBIED’s (or car bombs) have been a technique that has seen widespread use by insurgents and terrorist alike. Some of the worst attacks (as far a total number killed) have occurred on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan. However, if you ask any American with a sense of history, they will tell you by far, the two attacks that are seared into their memory are The 1993 World Trade Center Bombing and the 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing, both car bomb attacks.

In 2010, a car bomb was detected and diffused in New York’s Times Square, thanks to some street vendors who were paying attention. Just another example of why AWARENESS is our first and primary weapon in self-defense.

 

Bibliography and Suggested Reading

 

Stay Alert, Stay Armed and Stay Dangerous!

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About the Author: NC Scout

NC Scout is the nom de guerre of a former Infantry Scout and Sergeant in one of the Army’s best Reconnaissance Units. He has combat tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He teaches a series of courses focusing on small unit skills rarely if ever taught anywhere else in the prepping and survival field, including his RTO Course which focuses on small unit communications. In his free time he is an avid hunter, bushcrafter, writer, long range shooter, prepper, amateur radio operator and Libertarian activist. He can be contacted at [email protected] or via his blog at brushbeater.wordpress.com .

8 Comments

  1. Capt. D July 7, 2020 at 12:32

    Great article. Thanks to TX2GUNS for writing this. NCScout, would you consider working a vehicle ambush activity (giving AND receiving) into one of your courses you teach?

    • NC Scout July 7, 2020 at 13:10

      I definitely can. We’ve got the space for it.

  2. Machine Trooper July 7, 2020 at 15:13

    Went out to the range recently to check my zero. Extremely hot day, and other shooters were just firing continuously at the intermediate section with no chance to go out and check targets. I drove the truck out to a section with no benches, rests, or shade, but that had 300+ meter targets. I dropped the tailgate, lifted the tonneau cover, climbed in back and fired my groups from there. I had shade and a relatively stable platform to shoot from.

    The experience caused me to remember the DC sniper and I silently pontificated on if/when I might ever use such a platform to engage live meat.

    The bed of my truck has subframe braces for a 5th wheel. Also, I had the spare tire and some other gear back there. Both made the prone less comfortable than on the ground; but I could better prepare the bed for such a purpose just in case there might be reason and opportunity to use it that way in the near future.

    Of course, like most missions, sniping or harassment should be done in teams. The spotter could also be the driver, and exfil the vehicle and sniper (from a camouflaged position) as soon as the primary target is dispatched…or whatever the given objective is.

    It certainly isn’t the best SOP, and violates principles of the sniping schools; but there might be scenarios in which this kind of deployment is preferable.

  3. John July 8, 2020 at 09:54

    “The tires must be run flats…..”
    I’m guessing this means the tires must have the ability to run if they get punctured.
    I think I could beef up the armor on an automobile but I’m at a loss as to a diy method of creating such tires.
    Anyone have any ideas to share?

  4. Romeo Foxtrot July 8, 2020 at 15:49

    @John….Quick search showed these: https://www.tires-easy.com/tires/c/truck-suv-run-flat

    I like Brackens scenario on mobile shooting platforms in When the music Stops….

    https://www.americanpartisan.org/2020/05/when-the-music-stops-how-americas-cities-may-explode-in-violence/

    “The operation I will describe (and it’s only one of dozens that will be tried) uses two ordinary pickup trucks and eight fighters. Two riflemen are lying prone in the back of each truck, facing rearward, with removable canvas covers concealing their presence. Their semi-automatic, scoped rifles are supported at their front ends on bipods for very accurate shooting. A row of protective sandbags a foot high is between them and the raised tailgate.”

  5. James July 8, 2020 at 17:23

    Just as your ready to write off the world and it’s insanity something like this happens:https://www.breitbart.com/local/2020/07/08/video-ex-wide-receiver-catches-child-thrown-burning-building/

    • NC Scout July 8, 2020 at 17:28

      Oh my Lord! That’s wild man!

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