John Kettler Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 The annals of armored warfare are full of strange AFVs, but I feel safe in asserting this one occupies its own special niche. A bizarre mix of crude metalwork and tech which would make the Howe brothers (Howe & Howe Tech) proud, this tiny Free Syrian Army homebuilt is remarkable and clever. See for yourselves. Wish there were a vid! The name only adds to the oddness. http://www.france24.com/en/20121209-sham-ii-new-fighting-machine-syria-rebels Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erwin Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 Wonder how many of those we would build for the cost of just one M1 tank?! Like the old gamey "jeep armada" trick. Well, if it works in a simulation like CM, then surely... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Splinty Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 RPG bait. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mord Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 Yeah, no kidding...I'd hate to be the unlucky SOB that drew the short straw. Mord. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sburke Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 RPG bait. Not even, if you just knock the cameras out the driver appears to be blind. There don't appear to be vision slots. This is worse than the Italian tanks in CMFI. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wicky Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 Iraqi anti-gravity program on a budget of £15,000... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Foulkes Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 http://youtu.be/fB1BDrFzFY0 That is quite ingenious. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan8325 Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 As long as they're using cameras and Playstation controllers to operate it, they might as well just turn it into a radio-controlled unmanned ground vehicle that they operate from a nearby building. Then they don't have to worry about sitting inside it getting shot at by rpgs. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erwin Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 Good idea. Also since those are consumer electronics, unlikely to survive hard treatment or hostile environments for long. Um... How can we contact them with our helpful ideas? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted December 11, 2012 Author Share Posted December 11, 2012 Charles Foulkes, The vid's much more interesting than the article. Thanks! Erwin, Depends on who we have build it and whether or not we can keep the usual suspects out of the process. Splinty and Mord, Not exactly the most durable AFV, but very much better than shirtsleeves. sburke, Remote vision devices are a done deal. The U.S. and the Russians have already tested them, in a bunch of configurations, on AFVs. The NASP (National AeroSpace Plane) and other highly advanced craft had/have similar setups. Much easier to design a craft when you don't have to include a big transparency. Believe the Concorde had something similar to cover seeing below when the nose was up prior to landing. The Sham II, though its systems are crudely implemented, has situational awareness most tankers would envy. For starters, it can back up with only minimal likelihood of winding up in a ditch, stuck in wall, etc. The Free Syrian AFV builders do have armored shrouds around their cameras, but don't have armored shutters. They don't, though, have separate day and night vision systems, which is why we have armored shutters for the M1's thermal sights in the first place. The odds of hitting a camera are very small. It's a tiny fraction of the presented area. Now, if the Syrians deploy a giant paintball gun... Wicky, Do tell me more about this strange helicopter. Alan 8325, But where's the glory? I see no fundamental (not fundamentalist) reason they couldn't. Erwin, COTS (Commercial Off The Shelf Systems) are the order of the day and have been for years. Lots of GIs went to war, for example, with Garmin GPS sytems their families sent them. Here's an online journal devoted to COTS electronics and computers. http://www.cotsjournalonline.com/ Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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