What is this strange vehicle seen on Thailand's roads- hungry netizens get their answer

[webfact]

What is this strange vehicle seen on Thailand's roads- hungry netizens get their answer

 

Image: Sanook

 

NARATHIWAT: -- The world of social media were left wondering yesterday after a post of a weird vehicle touring the nation's roads. The poster asked: What is this vehicle? Looks like something that should be flying perhaps."

 

A video taken from a motorbike showed a four wheeled elevated contraption that looked as though it might be military in origin, reported Sanook.

 

And so it proved as later in the day the - after much speculation online - it was revealed as a vehicle used by the Royal Thai Air Force in its operations in the troubled south of the country.

 

Apparently it has a V-shape base that will help to dispel the explosive force of bombs that makes it just the job for us in Narathiwat, Yala and Pattani.,

 

The video had been posted on Youlike (Clip Det) and Visanu Romnukul provided the explanation.

 

Source: Sanook

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2016-08-09

 

 

 

 

[ratcatcher]

Id like one of those to run around our orchard. Probably 20 million baht per copy.

[denkiblue555]

Interesting choice of wheels - they look like OZ rally wheels?

[KMartinHandyman]

I have the feeling the V shaped bottom is no match for a serious bomb.

[tolsti]

 

 

We had these when I was a kid going to school in Rhodesia.

[Toknarok]

      Nothing new. Rhodesia developed many mine proof vehicles in the 1970's....https://www.google.co.th/search?q=pictures+mineproofed+vehicles+Rhodesia&biw=1078&bih=443&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiJ44fJuLPOAhUYR48KHVi4CHwQsAQIPQ

[denkiblue555]

39 minutes ago, tolsti said:

 

 

We had these when I was a kid going to school in Rhodesia.

 

And here I was thinking we were seeing some innovation here in LOS.....maybe the suspension is a bit of an innovation lol

 

[mike324]

I really don't understand the design, a bomb can easily render the car un drivable at a distance due to exposed suspension and axles. Due to its height, it looks like it will tip on the side easily if the bomb takes out one side of the suspensions.

[Toknarok]

                I was blown up in a vehicle such as depicted by Tolsti above. We called them 'Rhinos". The blast blew the front wheel completely off but the "V" shaped hull directed the blast sideways away from the vehicle, thus protecting the occupants, which was the whole idea of the design.  No injuries to the occupants but we had ringing ears for days afterwards. Although the vehicle was tossed into the air, it remained upright.

[impulse]

Front suspension is at least a generation ahead of the Rhinos' (Which looks suspiciously like it came out of a '50's or '60's era VW Beetle.)

 

Also has an (very) independent rear suspension, which appears to be way ahead of the Rhino.

Edited August 9, 2016 by impulse

[Toknarok]

     The original Rhinos were based on a Land Rover chassis and engine. Quite frankly they were a nightmare to drive, they tended to wander all over the road. Their basic design did however save many lives and injuries.

I'm sure that 40 plus years on the basic crude design of the Rhino has been much improved upon.

[Mark T]

Aliens have landed. That was Optimus' distance relative

Edited August 9, 2016 by Mark T

[williamgeorgeallen]

3 hours ago, KMartinHandyman said:

I have the feeling the V shaped bottom is no match for a serious bomb.

fact that it is up off the ground probably does more good. shock wave reduces fairly quickly the further away you are from the origin of the explosion. never seen anything like this. wonder how much it cost. poor old school teachers down south need to be transported around in these. pretty sure there will be some big army budgets coming up in the future for these sorts of purchases. wonder when the subs arrive.

[SOTIRIOS]

....self-proclaimed somethings....

 

...'hungry netizens'.....

 

...jeez....

[callaway]

But will they save money from the budget and use thin steel? Will not use so much fuel if lighter steel. Be up there with not turning your lights on your motorbike at night because uses too much fuel and power.

[Ricardo]

Perhaps they might attach it to an airship, so it can go off-road, when they need to ?

[SABloke]

I really don't understand the design, a bomb can easily render the car un drivable at a distance due to exposed suspension and axles. Due to its height, it looks like it will tip on the side easily if the bomb takes out one side of the suspensions.

Strap some C4 to a Marauder's exposed axel, detonate and drive away. That's a commercial vehicle so I think the army can produce some pretty good bomb resistant cars.

[mike324]

19 minutes ago, SABloke said:

 

Strap some C4 to a Marauder's exposed axel, detonate and drive away. That's a commercial vehicle so I think the army can produce some pretty good bomb resistant cars.

 

 

army in US - yes, definitely not the ones in Thailand!

[DrTuner]

A brilliant idea to follow an armored vehicle with a scooter. Off to the mine fields.

[Lord Lucan]

I presume the wheel and suspension must be bomb proof then.

or you will be picked of by the sniper like a turkey shoot, after they have been blown away.

Edited August 9, 2016 by Lord Lucan

[Sphere]

If the navy's going to get submarines, why not an ATV for the airforce. 

[stevecm]

why not just buy something current generation that has been tested, same basic principals on the hull, but has dryrun insoles in the tires, internal gas storage in the engine for 60k's, the external tanks blow off in an explosion (and also have rubber seals throughout the external tanks for small arms fire), to name a few features. Clearly better in terms if there is a fire fight in an ambush situation:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bushmaster_Protected_Mobility_Vehicle

Why is this for the airforce anyway? You would think they would be in the air or something along those lines.

 

[Ace of Pop]

ItsThe New Fortuna i recon..

[ballpoint]

In order to improve the tracking of their whereabouts, all foreigners will be required to drive one of these vehicles whenever they leave their house/hotel.

[tifino]

7 hours ago, mike324 said:

I really don't understand the design, a bomb can easily render the car un drivable at a distance due to exposed suspension and axles. Due to its height, it looks like it will tip on the side easily if the bomb takes out one side of the suspensions.

 

yeah, just go watch starwars again, and see the huge landwalkers tumble

 

 

but looking at the beast - it's not a very original shape...

 

...which is a virtual copy of something, but which really does fly: The Panavia Airtruk

Thailand was one of the few countries that bought up these originally-designed-for-agricultural-aerial spraying:

 

Edited August 9, 2016 by tifino

[Psimbo]

8 hours ago, mike324 said:

I really don't understand the design, a bomb can easily render the car un drivable at a distance due to exposed suspension and axles. Due to its height, it looks like it will tip on the side easily if the bomb takes out one side of the suspensions.

Its not about the vehicle surviving the blast its about anyone inside surviving. They are designed this way for a purpose- the v-shape hull deflects the blast- maybe why modern militarys invest millions of dollars in such vehicles. It took the US and its Allies in recent years ages to learn what the Rhodies did years ago.

[JAG]

Looks like an absolute death trap.

[Psimbo]

5 hours ago, stevecm said:

why not just buy something current generation that has been tested, same basic principals on the hull, but has dryrun insoles in the tires, internal gas storage in the engine for 60k's, the external tanks blow off in an explosion (and also have rubber seals throughout the external tanks for small arms fire), to name a few features. Clearly better in terms if there is a fire fight in an ambush situation:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bushmaster_Protected_Mobility_Vehicle

Why is this for the airforce anyway? You would think they would be in the air or something along those lines.

 

All very well in the wide open spaces of the desert, or the Outback- imagine this in an urban or rural environment in southern Thailand. Narrow roads, crumbing ditches- its a disaster waiting to happen. The IRA defeated similar size vehicles operating in West Belfast simply by having the locals par their vehicles an extra foot or two into the road.

[dcnx]

If it keeps them alive, money well spent.