Get Our Extension
Select Wikiz in another Language
DeutschEspañolFrançaisItalianoNederlands
Settings
A
A
Text Highlights
Notes/Citations
Edit on Wikipedia

Share This Article

About Wikiz About Us Cookies Policy Terms & Services Privacy Policy Contact Contact us Enjoying Wikipedia Content? DONATE TO WIKIPEDIA
Enjoying Wikipedia Content? DONATE TO WIKIPEDIA

Technical (vehicle)

From Wikipedia, in a visual modern way
A Zhongxing Grand Tiger technical with a mounted DShKM during the First Libyan Civil War
A Zhongxing Grand Tiger technical with a mounted DShKM during the First Libyan Civil War

A technical, officially a non-standard tactical vehicle (NSTV) in United States military parlance, is a light improvised fighting vehicle, typically an open-backed civilian pickup truck or four-wheel drive vehicle, mounting a machine gun, anti-aircraft autocannon, rotary cannon, anti-tank weapon, anti-tank gun, ATGM, mortar, multiple rocket launcher, recoilless rifle, or other support weapon (somewhat like a light military gun truck or potentially even a self-propelled gun).

The neologism technical describing such a vehicle is believed to have originated in Somalia during the Somali Civil War in the early 1990s.[1][2] Barred from bringing in private security, non-governmental organizations hired local gunmen to protect their personnel, using money defined as "technical assistance grants". Eventually the term broadened to include any vehicle carrying armed men.[3] However, an alternative account is given by Michael Maren, who says the term was first used in Somalia in the 1980s, after engineers from Soviet arms manufacturer Tekniko mounted weapons on vehicles for the Somali National Movement during the Somaliland War of Independence.[1] Technicals have also been referred to as battlewagons and gunwagons.[4]

Among irregular armies, often centered on the perceived strength and charisma of warlords, the prestige of technicals is strong. According to one article, "The Technical is the most significant symbol of power in southern Somalia. It is a small truck with large tripod machine guns mounted on the back. A warlord's power is measured by how many of these vehicles he has."[5] Technicals are not commonly used by well-funded armies that are able to procure purpose-built combat vehicles, because the soft-skinned civilian vehicles that technicals are based on do not offer much protection to crew and passengers.

Technicals fill the niche of traditional light cavalry. Their major asset is speed and mobility, as well as their ability to strike from unexpected directions with automatic fire and light troop deployment. Further, the reliability of vehicles such as the Toyota Hilux is useful for forces that lack the repair-related infrastructure of a conventional army. However, in direct engagements they are no match for heavier vehicles, such as tanks or other armored fighting vehicles, and they are mostly helpless against any air support they might see from a proper army.

In Russia and Ukraine, technicals are often referred to as tachanka, a reference to horse drawn machine gun platforms from the First World War and Russian Civil War.

Discover more about Technical (vehicle) related topics

Improvised fighting vehicle

Improvised fighting vehicle

An improvised fighting vehicle is an ad hoc combat vehicle resulting from modified or upgraded civilian or military non-combat vehicle, often constructed and employed by civilian insurgents, terrorists, rebels, guerrillas, partisans, criminal organizations or other forms of non-state militias and irregular armies. Such modifications usually consist of grafting improvised armour plating and fixed weapons onto a utility vehicle or pickup truck.

Four-wheel drive

Four-wheel drive

Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case providing an additional output drive shaft and, in many instances, additional gear ranges.

Machine gun

Machine gun

A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles are typically designed more for firing short bursts rather than continuous firepower, and are not considered true machine guns.

Autocannon

Autocannon

An autocannon, automatic cannon or machine cannon is a fully automatic gun that is capable of rapid-firing large-caliber armour-piercing, explosive or incendiary shells, as opposed to the smaller-caliber kinetic projectiles (bullets) fired by a machine gun. Autocannons have a longer effective range and greater terminal performance than machine guns, due to the use of larger/heavier munitions, but are usually smaller than tank guns, howitzers, field guns or other artillery. When used on its own, the word "autocannon" typically indicates a non-rotary weapon with a single barrel. When multiple rotating barrels are involved, such a weapon is referred to as a "rotary autocannon" or occasionally "rotary cannon", for short.

Anti-tank gun

Anti-tank gun

An anti-tank gun is a form of artillery designed to destroy tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, normally from a static defensive position. The development of specialized anti-tank munitions and anti-tank guns was prompted by the appearance of tanks during World War I. To destroy hostile tanks, artillerymen often used field guns depressed to fire directly at their targets, but this practice expended too much valuable ammunition and was of increasingly limited effectiveness as tank armor became thicker. The first dedicated anti-tank artillery began appearing in the 1920s, and by World War II was a common appearance in many European armies. To penetrate armor, they fired specialized ammunition from longer barrels to achieve a higher muzzle velocity than field guns. Most anti-tank guns were developed in the 1930s as improvements in tanks were noted, and nearly every major arms manufacturer produced one type or another.

Mortar (weapon)

Mortar (weapon)

A mortar is usually a simple, lightweight, man-portable, muzzle-loaded weapon, consisting of a smooth-bore metal tube fixed to a base plate with a lightweight bipod mount and a sight. They launch explosive shells in high-arcing ballistic trajectories. Mortars are typically used as indirect fire weapons for close fire support with a variety of ammunition.

Multiple rocket launcher

Multiple rocket launcher

A multiple rocket launcher (MRL) or multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) is a type of rocket artillery system that contains multiple launchers which are fixed to a single platform, and shoots its rocket ordnance in a fashion similar to a volley gun. Rockets are self-propelled in flight and have different capabilities than conventional artillery shells, such as longer effective range, lower recoil, typically considerably higher payload than a similarly sized gun artillery platform, or even carrying multiple warheads.

Gun truck

Gun truck

A gun truck is an armored vehicle with one or more crew-served weapons, typically based on a commercial vehicle. Gun trucks often have improvised vehicle armor, such as scrap metal, concrete, gravel, or sandbags, which is added to a heavy truck.

Michael Maren

Michael Maren

Michael Maren is an American journalist, screenwriter, and director.

Irregular military

Irregular military

Irregular military is any non-standard military component that is distinct from a country's national armed forces. Being defined by exclusion, there is significant variance in what comes under the term. It can refer to the type of military organization, or to the type of tactics used. An irregular military organization is one which is not part of the regular army organization. Without standard military unit organization, various more general names are often used; such organizations may be called a troop, group, unit, column, band, or force. Irregulars are soldiers or warriors that are members of these organizations, or are members of special military units that employ irregular military tactics. This also applies to irregular infantry and irregular cavalry units.

Light cavalry

Light cavalry

Light cavalry comprised lightly armed and armored cavalry troops mounted on fast horses, as opposed to heavy cavalry, where the mounted riders were heavily armored. The purpose of light cavalry was primarily raiding, reconnaissance, screening, skirmishing, patrolling and tactical communications. Prior to the early 17th century they were usually armed with swords, spears, javelins, or bows, and later on with sabres, pistols, shotguns, or carbines.

Close air support

Close air support

In military tactics, close air support (CAS) is defined as aerial warfare actions—often air-to-ground actions such as strafes or airstrikes—by military aircraft against hostile targets in close proximity to friendly forces. A form of fire support, CAS requires detailed integration of each air mission with fire and movement of all forces involved. CAS may be conducted using aerial bombs, glide bombs, missiles, rockets, autocannons, machine guns, and even directed-energy weapons such as lasers.

History

Prototypes and early usage

"L" Detachment SAS in armed jeeps during the North African campaign of World War II
"L" Detachment SAS in armed jeeps during the North African campaign of World War II

Light improvised fighting vehicles date back to the first use of automobiles, and to the horse-drawn tachankas mounting machine guns in eastern Europe and Russia. At the Bombardment of Papeete during World War I, the French armed several Ford trucks with 37 mm guns to bolster their defense of the city.[6] During the Spanish Civil War, field guns were fixed to lorries to act as improvised self-propelled guns, while improvised armoured cars were constructed by attaching steel plates to trucks.[7]

During World War II, various British and Commonwealth units, including the Long Range Desert Group (LRDG), the No. 1 Demolition Squadron or 'PPA' (Popski's Private Army), and the Special Air Service (SAS) were noted for their exploits in the deserts of Egypt, Libya and Chad using unarmored motor vehicles, often fitted with machine guns. Examples of LRDG vehicles include the Chevrolet WB 30 cwt Patrol Truck[8] and the Willys MB Jeep.[9]

U.S. Marines launching a TOW missile from a jeep during a 1980s training exercise at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center
U.S. Marines launching a TOW missile from a jeep during a 1980s training exercise at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center

The SAS' use of heavily armed Land Rovers continued post war with their use of Series 1 Land Rovers and later Series 11A 1968 Land Rovers in the Dhofar Rebellion. The SAS painted their Land Rovers pink as it was found to provide excellent camouflage in the desert and they were nicknamed 'Pink Panthers' or Pinkies. The SAS also used a more modern Land Rover Desert Patrol Vehicle (DPV) during the Gulf War.[10]

Western Sahara

Tactics for employing technicals were pioneered by the Sahrawi People's Liberation Army, the armed wing of the Polisario Front, fighting for independence against Mauritania (1975–79) and Morocco (1975–present) from headquarters in Tindouf, Algeria. Algeria provided arms and Land Rovers to Sahrawi guerrillas, who successfully used them in long-range desert raids against the less agile conventional armies of their opponents, recalling Sahrawi tribal raids (ghazis) of the pre-colonial period. Polisario later gained access to heavier equipment, but four-wheel drive vehicles remain a staple of their arsenal.

The Moroccan army quickly changed their strategy and created mounted units using technicals[11] to challenge Polisario speed and hit and run strategies in the large desert, where the Moroccan units proved their efficiency.

Chadian–Libyan conflict

Main article: Toyota War

In 1987, Chadian troops equipped with technicals drove the heavily mechanized Libyan army from the Aozou Strip. The vehicles were instrumental in the victory at the Battle of Fada, and were driven over 150 km (93 mi) into Libya to raid military bases. It was discovered that these light vehicles could ride through anti-tank minefields without detonating the mines when driven at speeds over 100 km/h. The vehicles had become so famous that, in 1984, Time dubbed early stages of the conflict the "Great Toyota War".[12]

The Toyota War was unusual in that the force equipped with improvised vehicles prevailed over the force equipped with purpose-built fighting vehicles. MILAN anti-tank guided missiles provided by France were key to the Chadian success, while the Libyan forces were poorly deployed and organized.

The Troubles in Northern Ireland

Main article: Improvised tactical vehicles of the Provisional IRA

Throughout the conflict in Northern Ireland (1960s-1998), the Provisional IRA fitted vehicles, specially vans and trucks, with automatic weapons, heavy machine guns,[13] and also improvised mortars.[14][15] Sometimes the vehicles were armoured with welded plates and sandbags.[16][17] The IRA employed tractors and trailers to transport and fire improvised mortars, and heavy equipment to tear down fences and barbed wire and break into fortified security bases.[18][17][19] Improvised flamethrowers were likewise mounted on tractors and other vehicles.[20]

Somali Civil War

A technical in Mogadishu at the time of the UNOSOM II mission
A technical in Mogadishu at the time of the UNOSOM II mission

Technicals played an important role in the 1990s Somali Civil War and the War in Somalia (2006–2009). Even prior to the collapse of the Somali Democratic Republic, camouflaged Toyota pickup trucks with mounted M2 Browning machine guns appeared in Somali military parades during the 1980s. After the fall of the Siad Barre regime and the collapse of the Somali National Army (SNA), it was rare for any Somali force to field armored fighting vehicles. However, technicals were very common.

Somali faction leader Mohamed Farrah Aidid used 30 technicals along with a force of 600 militia to capture Baidoa in September 1995.[21] It was reported that after his death in 1996, his body was carried to his funeral on a Toyota pickup.[22]

Proving their susceptibility to heavy weapons and their value as a military prize, the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) was able to capture 30 "battlewagons" during the defeat of warlord Abdi Qeybdid's militia at the Second Battle of Mogadishu in 2006.[23] That September, an impressive array of 130 technicals was used to take Kismayo from the forces of the Juba Valley Alliance.[24]

On November 13, 2006, then President of Puntland, General Adde Musa, personally led fifty technicals to Galkacyo to confront the Islamists. They were used a month later against the army of the Islamic Courts Union at the Battle of Bandiradley alongside Abdi Qeybdiid's reconstituted militia.[25]

However, forced into conventional battles in the War in Somalia (2006–2009) the unarmored technicals of the ICU proved no match for the T-55 tanks, Mil Mi-24 helicopter gunships and fighter-bombers employed by Ethiopia.

War in Afghanistan

An Afghan National Police Ford technical with a U.S. Army Humvee during a patrol in Zabul Province, Afghanistan.
An Afghan National Police Ford technical with a U.S. Army Humvee during a patrol in Zabul Province, Afghanistan.

In the War in Afghanistan, U.S. special operations forces units such as the Green Berets were known to use technicals for patrol both because of the rugged terrain and the nature of their clandestine operations.[26] The Taliban also use technicals in the bulk of their mobile fighting force.[27][28]

Iraq War

Iraqi National Guard troops with a PK machine gun mounted on a fourth generation Ford Courier
Iraqi National Guard troops with a PK machine gun mounted on a fourth generation Ford Courier

Technicals were used by Iraqi military forces in the 2003 invasion of Iraq.[29] The Iraqi Republican Guard and Fedayeen emulated tactics of the Somali National Alliance with limited success,[30][31] but were outmatched by Coalition armor and aviation.[32][33] In the aftermath of the invasion technicals saw use by Iraqi insurgents for transporting personnel and quick raids against the Iraqi police forces. The insurgent use of technicals increased after the Iraq Spring Fighting of 2004.

Many military utility vehicles have been modified to serve as gun trucks to protect Coalition convoys. The Humvee allows for weapon mounts by design, so it is not considered a technical.

The Coalition also supplied technicals to the Iraqi police.[34] Private military contractors also use technicals and the United States military used modified Toyota Hiluxes, Land Cruisers, and other trucks as well.[35]

Darfur conflict

Janjaweed militias use technicals on their raids against civilian villages in Darfur, Sudan,[36] as do the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebel troops in defense of their areas of operations.[37] Light vehicles such as technicals are often thought to be more mobile than armored vehicles, but on one occasion an African peace-keeper driving a Grizzly AVGP whose guns had jammed, succeeded in catching up with, ramming and rolling over a fleeing Sudanese technical.[38]

Lebanon

Introduced by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) guerrilla groups, technicals were extensively employed by all factions involved in the Lebanese Civil War between 1975 and 1990, including the Christian Lebanese Front and Muslim Lebanese National Movement (LNM) irregular militias, the Lebanese Army and the Internal Security Forces (ISF). Opposition forces have reportedly used technicals in the fighting for the Chouf District during the May 2008 clashes in Lebanon.[39]

Libyan Civil War

A ZU-23-2 technical used by the forces of the National Transitional Council in October 2011
A ZU-23-2 technical used by the forces of the National Transitional Council in October 2011

During the First Libyan Civil War, both regime loyalist forces as well as the anti-Gaddafi forces used technicals extensively. The type of warfare that had been carried out in the conflict—wherein highly mobile groups of soldiers and rebels continued to move to and from on the desert terrain, retreating at a time and then suddenly attacking to regain control of small towns and villages in the Eastern rebel held parts of Libya—had led to the technical becoming a vehicle of choice for both sides.

Technicals had also been widely used by the rebels whilst setting up checkpoints. It also formed a vast percentage of the rebel inventory which was limited to light weapons, light body armor and very few tanks. Some medium flatbed trucks carried the Soviet-made ZPU and ZU-23-2 towed anti-aircraft twin or quad barreled guns, as well as recoilless rifles and S-5 rocket helicopter rocket launcher pods.[40] Some rebels have improvised with captured heavy weaponry, like BMP-1 turrets[41] and helicopter rocket pods, as well as lower-tech methods such as using doorbells to ignite rocket-launched ammunition.[42] Rebel technicals have also frequently employed BM-21 Grad rockets. Rocket tubes were salvaged from damaged regime Ural-375D trucks and mounted on the backs of pickups, with the technicals able to fire anywhere from one to six rockets.[43][44][45]

Syrian Civil War

People's Defense Units technical during the Syrian civil war
People's Defense Units technical during the Syrian civil war

In the Syrian Civil War, technicals are extensively used as improvised fighting vehicles, especially by opposition forces such as Jaysh al-Thuwar, who largely lack conventional fighting vehicles. Syrian government forces also use technicals, but on a smaller scale. The kind of weapons mounted on technicals varies widely, including machine guns, recoilless rifles, anti-aircraft autocannons (commonly ZPU and ZU-23-2) and even BMP-1 turrets. The Military of ISIL extensively used technicals in Iraq and Syria.

An SDF technical in a village captured from ISIS near Raqqa
An SDF technical in a village captured from ISIS near Raqqa

Peshmerga forces have used technicals to surround and attack ISIS targets.[46]

War in Donbas

During the 2014 war in Donbas, both sides were using home-made military vehicles.[47] OSCE monitors recorded 15 Russian armored utility vehicles (UAZ-23632-148 Esaul) in a training area near non-government-controlled Oleksandrivska in April 2021.[48][49]

Yemeni Civil War

In the Yemeni Civil War, Houthis and Hadi-aligned militias use technicals.

Russian invasion of Ukraine

Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces soldiers using a technical in an anti-aircraft role during the Russian invasion of Ukraine
Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces soldiers using a technical in an anti-aircraft role during the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Technicals were seen being used by Spetsnaz in Gomel, Belarus on February 24, 2022.[50] Ukrainian forces reportedly used rocket launchers recovered from downed helicopters, mounted on technicals.[51]

Discover more about History related topics

Special Air Service

Special Air Service

The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling and in 1950, it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terrorism, hostage rescue, direct action and covert reconnaissance. Much of the information about the SAS is highly classified, and the unit is not commented on by either the British government or the Ministry of Defence due to the secrecy and sensitivity of its operations.

North African campaign

North African campaign

The North African campaign of the Second World War took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943. It included campaigns fought in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts and in Morocco and Algeria, as well as Tunisia.

Machine gun

Machine gun

A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles are typically designed more for firing short bursts rather than continuous firepower, and are not considered true machine guns.

Bombardment of Papeete

Bombardment of Papeete

The Bombardment of Papeete occurred in French Polynesia when German warships attacked on 22 September 1914, during World War I. The German armoured cruisers SMS Scharnhorst and Gneisenau entered the port of Papeete on the island of Tahiti and sank the French gunboat Zélée and freighter Walküre before bombarding the town's fortifications. French shore batteries and a gunboat resisted the German intrusion but were greatly outgunned. The main German objective was to seize the coal piles stored on the island, but these were destroyed by the French at the start of the action.

Long Range Desert Group

Long Range Desert Group

The Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) was a reconnaissance and raiding unit of the British Army during the Second World War.

Popski's Private Army

Popski's Private Army

Popski's Private Army, officially No. 1 Demolition Squadron, PPA, was a unit of British Special Forces set up in Cairo in October 1942 by Major Vladimir Peniakoff. Popski's Private Army was one of several raiding units formed in the Western Desert during the Second World War. The squadron also served in Italy, and was disbanded in September 1945.

BGM-71 TOW

BGM-71 TOW

The BGM-71 TOW is an American anti-tank missile. TOW replaced much smaller missiles like the SS.10 and ENTAC, offering roughly twice the effective range, a more powerful warhead, and a greatly improved semi-automatic command to line of sight (SACLOS) that could also be equipped with infrared cameras for night time use.

Dhofar Rebellion

Dhofar Rebellion

The Dhofar Rebellion, also known as the Dhofar War or the Omani Civil War, was waged from 1963 to 1976 in the province of Dhofar against the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman. The war began with the formation of the Dhofar Liberation Front, a Marxist group which aimed to create an independent state in Dhofar, free from the rule of the Omani Sultan Said bin Taimur. The rebels also held the broader goals of Arab nationalism which included ending British influence in the Persian Gulf region. Omani and British goals, on the other hand, were to safeguard Oman from communism and halt the spread of communist ideology as part of the broader Cold War.

Gulf War

Gulf War

The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: Operation Desert Shield, which marked the military buildup from August 1990 to January 1991; and Operation Desert Storm, which began with the aerial bombing campaign against Iraq on 17 January 1991 and came to a close with the American-led Liberation of Kuwait on 28 February 1991.

Polisario Front

Polisario Front

The Polisario Front, Frente Polisario, Frelisario or simply Polisario, from the Spanish abbreviation of Frente Popular de Liberación de Saguía el Hamra y Río de Oro, is a rebel Sahrawi nationalist liberation movement claiming Western Sahara.

Mauritania

Mauritania

Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to the north and northwest, Algeria to the northeast, Mali to the east and southeast, and Senegal to the southwest. Mauritania is the 11th-largest country in Africa and the 28th-largest in the world, and 90% of its territory is situated in the Sahara. Most of its population of 4.4 million lives in the temperate south of the country, with roughly one-third concentrated in the capital and largest city, Nouakchott, located on the Atlantic coast.

Morocco

Morocco

Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to the east, and the disputed territory of Western Sahara to the south. Mauritania lies to the south of Western Sahara. Morocco also claims the Spanish exclaves of Ceuta, Melilla and Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, and several small Spanish-controlled islands off its coast. It spans an area of 446,300 km2 (172,300 sq mi) or 710,850 km2 (274,460 sq mi), with a population of roughly 37 million. Its official and predominant religion is Islam, and the official languages are Arabic and Berber; the Moroccan dialect of Arabic and French are also widely spoken. Moroccan identity and culture is a mix of Arab, Berber, and European cultures. Its capital is Rabat, while its largest city is Casablanca.

Composition

Technicals consist of weapons mounted on a civilian vehicle, such as a four-wheel drive pickup truck. Many pickups have been used as technicals including Ford Ranger and Mitsubishi Triton, but the most favoured are the Toyota Hilux and Toyota Land Cruiser. They are typically fitted with heavy machine guns (especially the DShK and M2 Browning), anti-aircraft artillery (usually the ZPU or ZU-23-2), recoilless rifles (usually the SPG-9 or M40 recoilless rifle), and multiple rocket launchers such as the Type 63 or the M-63 Plamen, and in rare occasions rocket pods salvaged from downed attack helicopters like the S-5 rocket.

Optional add-ons include improvised vehicle armour such as welded steel plates, as defense against small arms fire.

Discover more about Composition related topics

Four-wheel drive

Four-wheel drive

Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case providing an additional output drive shaft and, in many instances, additional gear ranges.

Pickup truck

Pickup truck

A pickup truck or pickup is a light-duty truck that has an enclosed cabin, and a back end made up of a cargo bed that is enclosed by three low walls with no roof. In Australia and New Zealand, both pickups and coupé utilities are called utes, short for utility vehicle. In South Africa, people of all language groups use the term bakkie, a diminutive of bak, Afrikaans for "basket".

Ford Ranger

Ford Ranger

Ford Ranger is a nameplate that has been used on multiple model lines of pickup trucks sold by Ford worldwide. The nameplate has been used for distinct model lines of vehicles worldwide since 1982 from the compact and mid-size pickup category.

Mitsubishi Triton

Mitsubishi Triton

The Mitsubishi Triton or Mitsubishi L200 is a compact pickup truck produced by Mitsubishi Motors. In Japan, where it has only been sold intermittently and in small numbers, it was originally known as the Mitsubishi Forte and from 1991 as the Strada. In the United States, Chrysler Corporation sold captive imports as the Dodge D50, Dodge Ram 50 and Plymouth Arrow truck, and Mitsubishi marketed it as the Mitsubishi Mighty Max until 2002.

Heavy machine gun

Heavy machine gun

A heavy machine gun (HMG) is significantly larger than light, medium or general-purpose machine guns. HMGs are typically too heavy to be man-portable and require mounting onto a weapons platform to be operably stable or tactically mobile, have more formidable firepower, and generally require a team of personnel for operation and maintenance.

DShK

DShK

The DShK 1938 is a Soviet heavy machine gun with a V-shaped butterfly trigger, firing the 12.7×108mm cartridge. The weapon was also used as a heavy infantry machine gun, where it was frequently deployed with a two-wheeled mounting and a single-sheet armour-plate shield. The DShK's name is derived from its original designer, Vasily Degtyaryov, and Georgi Shpagin, who later improved the cartridge feed mechanism. It is sometimes nicknamed Dushka in Russian-speaking countries, from the abbreviation. Alongside the American M2 Browning, the DShK is the only .50 caliber machine gun designed prior to World War II that remains in service to the present day.

M2 Browning

M2 Browning

The M2 machine gun or Browning .50 caliber machine gun is a heavy machine gun that was designed near the end of World War I by John Browning. While similar to Browning's earlier M1919 Browning machine gun, which was chambered for the .30-06 cartridge, the M2 uses Browning's larger and more powerful .50 BMG cartridge. The design has had many designations; the official U.S. military designation for the current infantry type is Browning Machine Gun, Cal. .50, M2, HB, Flexible. It is effective against infantry, unarmored or lightly armored vehicles and boats, light fortifications, and low-flying aircraft.

Recoilless rifle

Recoilless rifle

A recoilless rifle, recoilless launcher or recoilless gun, sometimes abbreviated "RR" or "RCL" is a type of lightweight artillery system or man-portable launcher that is designed to eject some form of countermass such as propellant gas from the rear of the weapon at the moment of firing, creating forward thrust that counteracts most of the weapon's recoil. This allows for the elimination of much of the heavy and bulky recoil-counteracting equipment of a conventional cannon as well as a thinner-walled barrel, and thus the launch of a relatively large projectile from a platform that would not be capable of handling the weight or recoil of a conventional gun of the same size. Technically, only devices that use spin-stabilized projectiles fired from a rifled barrel are recoilless rifles, while smoothbore variants are recoilless guns. This distinction is often lost, and both are often called recoilless rifles.

M40 recoilless rifle

M40 recoilless rifle

The M40 recoilless rifle is a portable, crew-served 105 mm recoilless rifle made in the United States. Intended primarily as an anti-tank weapon, it could also be employed in an antipersonnel role with the use of an antipersonnel-tracer flechette round. The bore was commonly described as being 106 mm caliber but is in fact 105 mm; the 106 mm designation was intended to prevent confusion with incompatible 105 mm ammunition from the failed M27. The air-cooled, breech-loaded, single-shot rifle fired fixed ammunition and was used primarily from a wheeled ground mount. It was designed for direct firing only, and sighting equipment for this purpose was furnished with each weapon, including an affixed spotting rifle.

Multiple rocket launcher

Multiple rocket launcher

A multiple rocket launcher (MRL) or multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) is a type of rocket artillery system that contains multiple launchers which are fixed to a single platform, and shoots its rocket ordnance in a fashion similar to a volley gun. Rockets are self-propelled in flight and have different capabilities than conventional artillery shells, such as longer effective range, lower recoil, typically considerably higher payload than a similarly sized gun artillery platform, or even carrying multiple warheads.

M-63 Plamen

M-63 Plamen

M-63 Plamen is a 128mm multiple rocket launcher developed in 1963 in Yugoslavia for use in the Yugoslav People's Army.

Attack helicopter

Attack helicopter

An attack helicopter is an armed helicopter with the primary role of an attack aircraft, with the offensive capability of engaging ground targets such as enemy infantry, military vehicles and fortifications. Due to their heavy armament they are sometimes called helicopter gunships.

Source: "Technical (vehicle)", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2023, March 19th), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technical_(vehicle).

Enjoying Wikiz?

Enjoying Wikiz?

Get our FREE extension now!

Download Extension

Further Reading

Katyusha rocket launcher

Rocket-propelled grenade

Long Range Desert Group

Recoilless rifle

MILAN

ZU-23-2

Gun truck

M40 recoilless rifle

ZPU

SPG-9

Al-Mourabitoun

Toyota War

Libyan Army (1951–2011)

Improvised fighting vehicle

Improvised vehicle armour

National Liberation Army (Libya)
See also
References
  1. ^ a b Neville, L.; Dennis, P. (2018). Technicals: Non-Standard Tactical Vehicles from the Great Toyota War to modern Special Forces. New Vanguard. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 4, 21. ISBN 978-1-4728-2252-9. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  2. ^ Drysdale, J. (2001). Whatever happened to Somalia?. HAAN. p. 47. ISBN 978-1-874209-51-5. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  3. ^ "Guerrilla Trucks: Why rebels and insurgent groups the world over love the Toyota Hilux pickup as much as their AK-47s". Newsweek. 2010-10-14. Retrieved 2010-10-25.
  4. ^ "Somalia transitional government soldiers keep watch from a battlewagon over the parliament at Baidoa in November 2006, AFP Photo". News.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2011-07-06.
  5. ^ "United States Psyop in Somalia, Herbert A. Friedman". Psywarrior.com. Retrieved 2011-07-06.
  6. ^ Gudmundsson, Bruce I. (2004). On Armor. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers. p. 2. ISBN 0-275-95019-0.
  7. ^ Beevor, Antony. The Battle for Spain: The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939. Hachette UK, 2012.
  8. ^ "Long Range Desert Group (LRDG)/ Special Air Services (SAS) Willys MB Jeep". War Wheels. Retrieved 2013-10-01.
  9. ^ "Long Range Desert Group (LRDG)/ Special Air Services (SAS) Willys MB Jeep". War Wheels. Retrieved 2013-10-01.
  10. ^ "Mobility Troop - SAS Land Rovers".
  11. ^ "Une petite vidéo de Aida Ould Tamek le résistant et colonel major des FAR décédé récemment | Sahara Question". sahara-question.com. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  12. ^ "The Great Toyota War". Time. 1984-04-23. Archived from the original on December 27, 2007. Retrieved 2011-07-06.
  13. ^ Harnden, Toby (2000). Bandit Country: The IRA and South Armagh. Coronet books. pp. 358–60. ISBN 0755363914.
  14. ^ Geraghty, Tony (2000). The Irish War: The Hidden Conflict Between the IRA and British Intelligence. JHU Press. pp. 187–203. ISBN 9780801864568.
  15. ^ Davies, Roger (May 2001). "Improvised mortar systems: an evolving political weapon". Jane's Intelligence Review: 14.
  16. ^ "Derryard aftermath; the introduction of the rifle grenade into Northern Ireland". Frontline Ulster. 2019-08-26. Retrieved 2021-10-09.
  17. ^ a b Harnden, Toby (2000). Bandit Country: The IRA and South Armagh. Coronet books. p. 403. ISBN 0755363914.
  18. ^ Taylor, Peter (2014). The Provos: The IRA and Sinn Fein. A&C Black. ISBN 978-1-4088-5494-5.
  19. ^ "Bomb explodes outside Northern Ireland army base". UPI. Retrieved 2021-10-09.
  20. ^ Harnden, Toby (2001). Bandit Country: The IRA & South Armagh. Hodder & Stoughton. pp. 123–24. ISBN 0-340-71736-X.
  21. ^ ""Aideed Forces Seize Somali City of Baidoa", Reuters, September 17, 1995 (copy hosted by". Africa.upenn.edu. Retrieved 2011-07-06.
  22. ^ "Somalis bury Aydiid Archived 2006-11-18 at the Wayback Machine", Reuters, August 2, 1996 (copy hosted by netnomad.com).
  23. ^ ""Somali Islamists win city battle", BBC News Online, 11 July 2006". BBC News. 2006-07-11. Retrieved 2011-07-06.
  24. ^ "Content Not Found - Mail & Guardian". Retrieved 13 February 2015.
  25. ^ ""Somalia: Puntland president deploys 50 battlewagons in Galkayo to avert Islamist fighters", Shabelle Media Network, 13 November 2006". Shabelle.net. 2010-11-03. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2011-07-06.
  26. ^ Mizokami, Kyle. "The Toyota Pickup Truck Is the War Chariot of the Third World". /warisboring.com. Archived from the original on 8 October 2016. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  27. ^ "The Taleban Response, Institute for War & Peace Reporting". Iwpr.net. 1980-07-07. Retrieved 2011-07-06.
  28. ^ "Why Rebel Groups Love the Toyota Hilux". Newsweek. 14 October 2010.
  29. ^ "Iraq Milnet.com". MILNET. Archived from the original on 2009-09-13. Retrieved 2011-07-06.
  30. ^ "How the Pentagon's promise of a quick war ran into the desert sand", The Guardian, March 28, 2003.
  31. ^ "Hearing of the House Committee on Armed Services". Commdocs.house.gov. 2003-10-21. Retrieved 2011-03-29.
  32. ^ John Pike (2003-03-20). "Operation Iraqi Freedom day 4". Globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 2011-03-29.
  33. ^ John Pike (2003-03-20). "Operation Iraqi Freedom day 19". Globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 2011-03-29.
  34. ^ "Iraqi Police Service Gets 'Technical' Vehicles, U.S. Department of Defense". Defendamerica.mil. Archived from the original on 2014-01-05. Retrieved 2011-07-06.
  35. ^ Mizokami, Kyle (2018-04-05). "How U.S. Special Forces Get Their Armored Pickups". Popular Mechanics. Hearst Digital Media. Retrieved 2020-08-30.
  36. ^ Jerome Taylor, "Janjaweed ditches horseback to launch attacks from 4x4s" Archived 2007-01-08 at the Wayback Machine, The Independent, 8 December 2006. Accessed 14 August 2008.
  37. ^ "Ryan Spencer Reed - Sudan Image Gallery". Retrieved 13 February 2015.
  38. ^ "Background — AVGPs in Africa — Grizzlys and Huskys for Darfur". Canadian American Strategic Review. October 2009. Archived from the original on 2009-10-31.
  39. ^ "Across the Bay". Retrieved 13 February 2015.
  40. ^ "'No move zone' required to stop Gaddafi". Channel 4 News. Channel4.com. 13 March 2011. Retrieved 2011-03-29.
  41. ^ Sam Biddle (13 June 2011). "Crazily Brilliant Libyan Rebels Weld Tank Turret to Truck (And It Works!)". Gizmodo. Gawker Media. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
  42. ^ "Libya's DIY Rebels Outfit Trucks With Copter Rockets - WIRED". WIRED. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
  43. ^ "A rebel fighter celebrates as his comrades fire a rocket barrage toward Gaddafi forces west of Ajdabiyah, Libya, April 14, 2011". Atlantic Council. Archived from the original on 2 October 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  44. ^ "Libya: Gaddafi's troops attack rebel-held towns as humanitarian crisis deepens". The Daily Telegraph. London. 2011-04-18.
  45. ^ "Heavy clashes continue in Libya (0:50)". Reuters.
  46. ^ "Technicals: the vehicles that changed the asymmetric conflicts - GEOPOLITICA.infoGEOPOLITICA.info". geopolitica.info (in Italian). 6 November 2014. Retrieved 2017-07-04.
  47. ^ "Самодельные бронеавтомобили Донбасса" [The homemade armored vehicles of Donbass]. Gazeta.Ru (in Russian). 2014-11-12. Archived from the original on 2015-01-09. Retrieved 2014-11-14.
  48. ^ OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (2021-04-17). "Daily Report 88/2021" (PDF). Retrieved 2021-05-03.
  49. ^ "OSCE spots 15 newest Russian UAZ Esaul armored vehicles in Donbas (Drone photo)". InformNapalm.org (English). 2021-05-03. Retrieved 2021-05-03.
  50. ^ Gomel, Belarus - Russian SOF (02/24), retrieved 2022-02-25
  51. ^ Ministry of Defense of Ukraine [@DefenceU] (22 June 2022). "So, now rus weapons are really in a good hands. 🇺🇦 warriors have installed a rocket launcher from a shot down 🇷🇺 🚁 Ka-52 on their car and use it against the occupiers. P.S. Thank you to 🇺🇦 volunteers for the Mitsubishi L200. P.P.S. But we are still waiting for HIMARS and M270!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Technicals (vehicle).
Categories

The content of this page is based on the Wikipedia article written by contributors..
The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence & the media files are available under their respective licenses; additional terms may apply.
By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use & Privacy Policy.
Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization & is not affiliated to WikiZ.com.