The toughest bus on the planet!

June 18, 2005 “Route Irish” is the local name for the heavily travelled, and highly dangerous road between the secure Green Zone in Baghdad and Baghdad International Airport. There have been so many ambushes and IED explosions on that route that all U.S. State Department personnel were forbidden from travelling the route by road last December (2004) and must use helicopters instead. If you don’t have a helicopter at your disposal in Baghdad, as nearly all Military and civilian contractor personnel don’t, there’s really only one certain option if you wish to remain alive and that’s to travel in one of the heavily armoured Rhino Runner buses. Without a shadow of doubt, the Rhino Runner is the toughest bus on the planet – when the human value of the cargo is V.I.P. and above, it is the military’s vehicle of choice to provide safe ground transportation. Regular users of the vehicle in Baghdad include U.S. Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, General Dick Myers, Saddam Hussein and all other V.I.P. prisoners. The stories surrounding the massive attacks that Rhino Runners have withstood border on the preposterous.

Instead of adapting armouring for an existing vehicle, Labock uses the most appropriate chassis and motors, and custom builds vehicles with protection against AP (armour piercing) bullets and significant bomb blast protection. The Rhino Runner is fully protected (sides, front, back, roof, floor, and even glass) against up to Type IV (NIJ standard) including NATO calibres. All the driver and passenger cabins are built using the company’s special materials and know-how, which is considerable. Amongst other inventions of the company, which was founded by a former Israeli commando just four years ago, are special composite bulletproof armour, which is so light that it floats in water, and one-way bulletproof glass that prevents bullets from getting to you, but enables you to shoot through the glass at those shooting at you.

Rhino Runner busses are available in a range of seating capacities (17, 24 and 36) and configurations for purposes such as prisoner transport, ambulance, SWAT, command and control, and they can be made to order. Apart from the 360 degree ballistic protection, the vehicles have a side and back door and an emergency exit on the roof and run-flat tyres for when changing a tyre just isn’t a viable option.
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Wow that is so cool! I think they should use these buses to pick up ISF recruits.

www.labock.com...

here is the sight about the new Rhino bus. it shows pictures in all angles and close up if u wait as pictures pass by. it pretty much tells everything about. i figure it involved labock since it says somthing about one way shooting bullet proof glass where u can shoot back through the glass but the enemy cant hit u.

o btw if u have patience, u can see the buses damage as it was hit by big bombs like about over 1000 lbs of explosives. pretty impressive as u can see the damage as the pictures roll by.

During November and early December 2004, these buses were the target of terrorists along the 7 mile road between the Green Zone in Baghdad and Baghdad's International Airport. A convoy was ambushed with a car bomb driven by a suicidal terrorist. Two buses sustained a point blank explosion but protected its passengers and drivers from harm.

Military specialists estimated the charge to be of around 1,000 pounds. The blast produced a crater several feet deep and wide. In total, at least 34 lives were saved that day and no casualties or serious injuries were reported among the passengers (see picture slide show above).

Although these two buses sustained some damage, they are being repaired and will keep rolling around Baghdad transporting civilian and military personnel as safely as possible through the most dangerous roads of Iraq. These BIAP Runners have proven themselves as a hard nut to crack.

the U.S. Army is ordering more as well.

The Rhino Runner™ Minibus and Bus have two basic types: one for military use and the other one for civilian use. Each type has two configurations: 17 passengers + Driver, and 24 passengers + driver. The higher the passenger capacity, the lower the cost of protecting each passenger. There is a plan for developing a 36 passengers variant. Also, an improved variant of the 23 passengers configuration is under development for the U.S. Army.

The military type is ideal for troops transport between bases in high risk regions of the world in both urban and rural environments. The civilian type is suitable for public transportation aswell as personnel protection while travelling from and to remote mining and oil extraction facilities.

[edit on 30-8-2005 by deltaboy]

[edit on 30-8-2005 by deltaboy]

Wow I watched the video and that is amazing! We should defintly think of using this armor on different types of vehicles!

The problem is, the armor costs a ton of money - The military could not afford it. I know myself as a taxpayer, I would have no problem paying more to give our troops more protection.

Originally posted by Dmitriy
The problem is, the armor costs a ton of money - The military could not afford it. I know myself as a taxpayer, I would have no problem paying more to give our troops more protection.

I think we need to have a special tax thing for that, and not for all classes, only for ones that had the money or something like that.

Uh... Question.

Can it withstand a direct HEAT RPG round?

The windows seems to be the weak spot of this bus.

Originally posted by Humster
Uh... Question.

Can it withstand a direct HEAT RPG round?

The windows seems to be the weak spot of this bus.

i doubt it can withstand an rpg shaped charge round, and also rpgs are unguided rockets so its little chance of hitting the windows. the reason the buses withstand bombs is because its mostly to send out shrapnel for maximum effect of killing or wounding exposed personnel. not dropping bombs on top of tanks or armor personnel carriers like JDAMs.

Originally posted by Humster
Uh... Question.

Can it withstand a direct RPG round?

Yes.

About three months ago, a Rhino took a direct hit from a rocket-propelled grenade. "Nobody was hurt except for some minor bumps and bruises," said Army Maj. Sharon Smith, of the Joint Area Support Group, who books the Rhino convoys.

Rhino Bus

[edit on 2-9-2005 by Murcielago]