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The U.S. Army and Marines have successfully used VLAD (Vehicle Lightweight Arresting Device) to stop civilian vehicles that ignore warnings to halt when approaching a checkpoint or roadblock. VLAD is a nylon net, with tungsten spikes attached, that is spread out in areas troops do not want vehicles to drive. For example, VLAD nets would be laid down to force vehicles to turn (and thus slow down) one or more times before reaching the troops. If a vehicles came on it high speed, it would go over the VLAD net, which would puncture the vehicle’s tires with the spikes, which are attached to a heavy duty nylon netting which then automatically wraps itself around the vehicles axle and brings the vehicle to a halt. Each VLAD net costs $5,000, and is destroyed each time it halts a vehicle. The marines first used one in action in Haiti this past Spring, and they have since been sent to Iraq. For vehicles as large as a light truck (or hummer), VLAD will safely stop the vehicle within 50 feet. Wire cutters are needed to remove the net, and new tires will be required as well. The army has bought 500 VLAD units, while the marines have purchased fifty. The troops like VLAD, as Iraqi drivers quickly pick up on how it works, and don’t even try to run roadblocks when they see it. The troops like it, because they often fire on vehicles trying to run a roadblock, which usually results in dead civilians and thus more Iraqis who are really, really mad at the troops. The loss of a few tires won’t make Iraqis happy either, but at least they will still be alive.
From StrategyPage.com
Posted by Ted at September 18, 2004 7:55 PM