Modern Armoured Vehicle. Two.

BAE Systems Republic of South-Africa.

The British army and a few others have opted for a new range of light armoured-less vehicles, believing their speed will help them on the battle field. But light vehicles were tried in the past like the British Crusader light-tank and they were of no value with great losses.

Urban environments demand armoured trucks and Jeeps, as commonly seen in N-Ireland and SWAT teams at work in the United States. In fact nearly every country that have their own automotive industry will produce some form of an armoured vehicle.

The enemy on the battle field uses Anti-tank guided weapons, from the RPG to something more sinister. While in the urban situation it will be either a home-made pipe bomb or a nail bomb of which both can kill and cause very serious injuries.

BAE Systems have taken several of the South-African security vehicles from the 'Aparthied days and re-designed them. The Republic of Ireland, Belgium and a few other countries have bought into some of the more basic designed vehicles that suit their UN military standard.

The Coast Guards. Part-Two.

Border patrol to people Trafficking.

At times we do live in a horrible world, with people taking advantage and exploiting those trying to escape poverty and war?

The role of this type of shipping has developed from smuggling goods and contraband to know recovering dead drowned bodies. Narcotics is still a major problem and so is illegal fishing and the wrecking of boats to claim insurance.

Seas have become places to cross in flimsy craft, it may not look to far on the map? But it is immense in reality even crossing at the shortest point. The ancient mariners took days to do a 13 to 26 mile trip and it had to be chanced in fair weather. Today boats are abandoned by the smuggling crews in all sorts of weathers.

Most of the worlds navies cannot afford a separate force, so they encompass their smaller vessels to do this work. 

Many new tactics are now developed and employed in observing and intercepting, including surprise in the early hours and during storms to get one off guard.

Engines. Part-Two.

New propulsion, materials and Fuels.

Metal has been the main key component in engines for the past two hundred years, but now that most machines are becoming lighter in their construction and the demand for polymer plastics is on the rise. The aviation industry has developed stronger aluminium and other light metals to incorporate in overall design.

Lighter means more fuel efficiency, while engines no longer have to rely on the need for petroleum!

Hydrogen fusion, water and gasses work better with these newer materials. There is not worry about rust or engines dying so quickly. The newer materials and these new engines will last much longer and probably never really run out because of replacement parts.

The first commercial electric cars are now entering the European market en-mass and they will be followed by many other new innovations. Airbus has broken the market in alternative fuels, while new Russian commercial jets such as the Sukhoi super Jet will take the market. 

The one time business jets are now replacing the low capacity market with Mitsubishi, Bombardier, Embraer and Fairchild-Dornier offering layouts for between 20-30 seating.

This will undermine the Boeing 737-600/700 and the Airbus A319-100, who have tried to compete with Embraer E-Jet success.
 
Many machines such as locomotives are cutting down on the need for large body shells, some are aero-dynamic for extra speed.

Rockets such as SpaceX if combined with the Progress modules could lead to some interesting space developments along with improved nuclear engines for faster space flight?

DART. Part-One.

Dublin Area Rapid Transport.

The DART was the Irish Republics first attempt at thie own electric railways, initially running from Bray in north Co. Wicklow to Howth Co. Dublin. The first trains were West-German in make Linke-Hofmann-Busch 2 car units built in 1983 at Saltzgitter. These original 40 cars were upgraded by Seimens in Liepzig, Germany, in 2008, apart from sets 8110 and 8136 that were destroyed by a fire at the Fairview depot in 2001 and scrapped.

The Class 8100 have now been joined by the new Class 8200 built in Spain by GEC-Alstrom at Santa Perpetua de Mogoda. Both use the 1500 V Dc overhead. there is a small variation in weights, but speed remains at 62mph. 

The network has greatly expanded over the years with an extention to Greystones and to Malahide. the latest additions to the ever need for increasing fleet has come from Japan. The 8500, 8510 and 8520 all built by Tokyu car corperation, Yokohama. Some of these newer vehicles have not lived up to expectations with many breakdown problems, All are 4-car units with a speed of 68 mph to slightly above.

The decline in the price of Steel. Part-One.

TATA-U.K. and Port Talbot Steelworks.

We tend to forget that most machines built where made from either iron or steel and today there is a big change with the introduction of Polymers (Tough Plastics). 

The Peoples Republic of China has flooded the world market with cheap steel and many nations have been effected by this slump in the prices. This was not done deliberately, because they have undermined themselves too! 

Port Talbot has been around for over 100 years like many of its now defunct counterparts, it started life as an iron foundry and progressed as science required it to do so. Steel today is used in cannery, automobiles, military vehicles and ship building. But many countries, including the U.K. have lost much of this, the other serious problem with steel is the amounts of scrap and the need to re-cycle it.

The costs lay in the electrical supply for maintaning production, the transportation and mining of fossils from coal to alumina and ore, much of the third world has been left scarred with the removal of bauxite-alumina. Because once it is exposed to the atmosphere it is highly dangerous and this toxic problem has been no stranger to the workforces in the steel working industry and those down wind of smoke.

There is that other side of of heavy industry that people forget as they strive for new things, respiratory problems, lung disease, cancers, asbestosis exposure, that has left generational marks and continues world wide to do to this day.

Ordinance. Part-One.

and bomb Disposal.

This is a specialist field within all armed forces, para-military police and even the smallest nations who just have a police force. Many overlook this area and yet it is one half of two sides, the other being demolition or sabotage units.

The quartermaster in those James Bond movies is nothing more than a demolitions expert, all glossed up with his new super toys?

We are hearing much at this time in Europe in connection with the need of the bomb disposal units, but they are active to in all areas of conflict having to deal with pipe-bombs or IED's. many fantastic robotic vehicles that are much more effective in disarming the timing and triggers,

All this experience came at the cost of many men in N-Ireland, Spain and Israel who had to slowly painstakingly work their way up to these at times complex devices. 

Ordnance have been around for some time and this series will look into the different vehicles deployed from the past to the present.

Modern Armoured Vehicle. One.

Or not so protected?

There are two types of modern APC's now available and moving away from tracked to multi-wheeled, speed is now perhaps the empathises of modern warfare? On the other hand many of the types that were deployed in both Afghanistan and Iraq have become less armoured and more open over the years.

The United States and the Russian Federation have kept to their MBT, ARV and APC which are tracked such as the Abrams MBT, T-90, Bradley and various Russian equivalents, while many supports Humvee's and the GAZ-69. Meanwhile others members of the co-alition such as the U.K. have opted for lightly armoured snatch vehicles such as their Landrovers and Supacat Jackal and Coyote. 

One has to ask are these types cheaper or more effective in their limited roles? Many other nations have chosen to develop sophisticated 6X6, 8X8 vehicles that can act as more than an the standard armoured personnel carrier, to options of a  light tank, SAM, SSM systems! Finland, Switzerland and Brazil have chosen this road, with the SISU and Mowag. 

Ireland's Timoney Division has produced some specialised trucks and APC's for Belgium and several other countries in Europe.