
Specifications
Year: 1917
Manufacturer(s): Variable; Dependent Upon Region
Production: 100,000
Capabilities: Anti-Aircraft/Airspace Denial; Anti-Tank/Anti-Armor; Fire Support/Assault/Breaching; Reconnaissance (RECCE); Security/Defense; Utility;
Manufacturer(s): Variable; Dependent Upon Region
Production: 100,000
Capabilities: Anti-Aircraft/Airspace Denial; Anti-Tank/Anti-Armor; Fire Support/Assault/Breaching; Reconnaissance (RECCE); Security/Defense; Utility;
Crew: 2
Length: 14.60 ft (4.45 m)
Width: 5.58 ft (1.7 m)
Height: 7.55 ft (2.3 m)
Weight: 2 tons (2,000 kg); 4,409 lb
Length: 14.60 ft (4.45 m)
Width: 5.58 ft (1.7 m)
Height: 7.55 ft (2.3 m)
Weight: 2 tons (2,000 kg); 4,409 lb
Power: Highly Variable: 1 x 6- or 8-cylinder gasoline- or diesel-fueled engine (typical) developing at least 50 horsepower.
Speed: 99 mph (160 kph)
Range: 351 miles (565 km)
Range: 351 miles (565 km)
Operators: Afghanistan; Algeria; Chad; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Imperial Russia; Iraq; Lebanon; Liberia; Libya; Mauritania; Morocco; North Korea; Somalia; Sudan; Syria
The modern day form of the Technical emerged from the fighting in Somalia during the early 1990s. However, such improvised vehicles saw their origins much earlier during the fighting of World War 1 (1914-1918) where standard civilian-minded chassis (truck or car) were modified as roving ground attack vehicles through installation of weapons and armor plating. In some cases, the results were viable war machines but, in others, the vehicles were too heavy for off-road use and clumsy to wield in action thanks to their high profiles. Nevertheless, the low-cost option allowed warplanners an edge over less technically-advanced foes though, on a modern battlefield against a technically superior enemy, Technicals have proven poor battle wagons that offer little tactical value. The Technical evolved throughout the interwar years since The Great War and saw additional work on their kind during the fighting of World War 2 (1939-1945) - particularly in far-off places where soldiers had to make do with what was available to them.
From the Cold War onwards, Technicals have proven ever-popular for both regular and irregular forces across the African continent and the Middle East region of the world where utility trucks have proven readily available - these vehicles usually combined with old stocks of Soviet- or American-originated weaponry as available. Special forces operatives and mercenaries alike have also come to rely on the Technical through their own work in these regions. Iraqi police were issued a Toyota-based Technical as their ranks were rebuilt following the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 and Syrian rebels in the ongoing Syrian Civil War (2011-Present) have heavily, and continually, relied on the Technical in their march against the Assad-led government.
Armament
Variable - has included medium machine guns, heavy machine guns, rocket projectors, recoilless rifles, Anti-Aircraft (AA) cannons and any personal weapons carried by the crew.
Ammunition:
Dependent on armament fitted. Highly variable.
Variants / Models
• Highly variable - designs typically use a 4-wheeled chassis but 6-wheeled forms have been fabricated in certain regions where stocks of such vehicles were available.