Laura Peek in Washington, London Times: Inspired by James Bond films,
>the US Army has come up with a $1 million armored car equipped with gadgets
>such as a spinning laser gun and electric door handles. The souped-up Ford
>F350 pick-up truck can squirt out an oil slick, smokescreen or pepper spray
>and drop hundreds of tacks on the road to repel pursuers. Its electric door
>handles carry enough voltage to stun an intruder for several minutes.
>"The first thing we did was look at all the old James Bond movies," said
>Dennis Wend, director of the US Army's National Automotive Centre, which
>customised the vehicle, known as the SmarTruck.
>The original cost of the vehicle was less than $45,000 (?31,500), but the
>army is estimated to have spent $1 million (?700,000) customising it. It
>lacks the sleek curves of, for example, Bond's favourite Aston Martin DB5,
>but it is likely to prove harder to wreck. It has a cladding of Kevlar, the
>material used in bulletproof vests, its windows can withstand a .44 magnum
>handgun fired at close range and it has a bomb detection system. Its
>360-degree revolving night-vision cameras allow it to spot aggressors and
>it carries a laser mounted on a remote-controlled turret to explode land
>mines, as well as a grenade launcher.
Bill
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