The U.S. Army is working on a new truck with enough gadgetry to make James Bond green with envy.
Designed to protect high-ranking military and political officials, the truck looks like an ordinary pickup, but under the hood it is packed with electronic wizardry and weapons.
The truck, based on a Ford F-350 pickup, comes equipped with a remote-control laser-sighted machine gun and a grenade launcher. It has electrified door handles, blinding lights and pepper-spray dispensers. Should it be pursued, it can release a slippery oil slick onto the road, or sharp, tire-shredding tacks.
The truck is armored. It can throw up a thick smokescreen. All of its controls are fingerprint-activated.
"It's built off a Ford F-350 platform but there's no comparison," said Paul Skalny, associate director of the U.S. Army's National Automotive Center, which built the truck. "It's like a James Bond F-350."
Called the SmarTruck, the vehicle is still a prototype. And although it was designed for military or government use, a version for corporate big shots is being considered.
"You'd have to have the grenade launcher removed, of course, but the tacks, electric shocks and blinding lights could all be used," said Frank Ruiz, vice president of International Armoring, a manufacturer of armored passenger vehicles that collaborated on the SmarTruck.
The SmarTruck was designed primarily to protect its occupants if it comes under attack and to buy enough time to make a speedy getaway.
"A kidnapping takes an average of three and a half seconds, so if you can buy yourself five seconds, you can get out of a situation," said Clint Murphy, president of Amortek International, which also makes armored vehicles.
At the flick of a switch, the truck's oil dispenser can send five gallons of oil out onto the road, sending pursuers into a skid. Or, it can dispense 32 razor-sharp tacks onto the road or create its own smokescreen, pumped out from the SmarTruck's exhaust.
Two sets of dazzling lights located at the front and rear of the vehicle can be switched on to blind pursuers.
"We call them blinding lights -- high-intensity lights that can be panned and tilted and aimed at people," said Russ Maze, SmarTruck program manager at Integrated Concepts & Research, which collaborated on the project.
While the smokescreen, tacks and oil slick can be deployed only once, there are four pepper-spray dispensers, one in each corner of the cab, that can be activated over 50 times in one journey. The pepper-spray dispensers can engulf the truck in a 12-foot wide cloud, making it impossible for unprotected attackers to approach.
If the spray fails to keep enemies at bay, then the truck's electrified door handles may do the trick. The handles send a 110-volt electric shock that temporarily stuns the intruder.
If things get really sticky, the SmarTruck can bring out its more lethal weapons: a grenade launcher and laser-sighted gun. Rear bucket seats in the truck slide apart to reveal the weapons control panel. At the flick of a switch, the laser gun rises from the top of the cab through a pair of sliding doors.
Targets are spotted by four cameras located on the roof of the vehicle and a fifth camera mounted on top of the gun. Video from the cameras is shown on a four-way display in the center of the SmarTruck's dashboard.
The gun is completely remote controlled. A joystick is used to pan and tilt the weapon, which is fired at the touch of a button.
If all has failed and the SmarTruck finds itself under fire, its armored bodywork and bulletproof glass protect the occupants. The armor is fairly light, but can stop rounds fired from .44-caliber weapons.
All the gadgets on the SmarTruck are controlled by touch screens. To ensure the SmarTruck doesn't fall into the wrong hands, access to the controls are controlled by fingerprint identification.
"Each user carries a smart chip in a ring," Skalny said. "In order to start the vehicle you take your ring, download your information and give a thumbprint so the panel will recognize who you are."
The SmarTruck does not come cheap.
"It is a one of a kind so was very expensive to produce," said Maze. "It could cost a consumer anywhere from $100,000 to half a million dollars depending on the gadgets they wanted."
However, Amortek's Murphy questioned the need for all the expensive gadgetry.
"The most important things are good acceleration and good brakes," said Murphy. "Most armored vehicles don't concentrate on this. Too many gadgets and not enough on the basics."
Murphy also said the SmarTruck is too lightly armored.
"Armoring to a .44 standard is not very good protection," he said. "You want protection to a 7.62 standard. In foreign countries they don't even bother carrying .44 magnums, so if you were in this truck, you would want to get out."
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The modified Ford F-350 pickup has enough military gadgets to make James Bond blush. To prove it's not your father's Ford pickup, the customized bulletproof front panel has "dazzling lights" and pepper-spray dispensers.
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The rear panel of the SmarTruck can dispense a smoke screen, oil slick and road tacks. It also houses bomb detectors, mobile video and night vision.
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The custom interior of the SmarTruck has control panels on every surface. All systems on the truck feature fingerprint identification technology for security.
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Without all the military weaponry, this truck, complete with stereo, cruise controls, cell phone and PDA, might appeal to on-the-go drivers.
