HEMTT Gets Teeth

We all know the HEMTT as the US Military's "big rig," but it looks like we will be using all that towing capacity to mount some fairly large weapons.

The Phalanx:

Raytheon and Oshkosh have teamed up to build a prototype defensive system by placing a rapid-fire, area-defense Phalanx gun on the back of a diesel-electric, 14-ton Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT).

The Phalanx weighs 7 tons and fires 4500 20mm tungsten rounds per minute to destroy missles and indirect fire weapons in flight.

Raytheon, Oshkosh to Mount Phalanx on HEMTT

The Nonlethal Heat Beam:

"The active denial system will go on an armored ruggedized HEMTT," said Miller. The active denial system is a millimeter-wave heat beam designed to deter targets with heat without causing injury, Raytheon officials said. The idea is to create an intense heat effect sufficient to scatter or deter a target without having to use lethal force.

The article doesn't give a model number or contract to explain what exactly the heat beam is, other than it uses a lot of electricity and makes things hot.

Nonlethal Heat Beam to Be Mounted on HEMTT

Opinions? Why the seemingly sudden interest in mobile area defense weapons?


[edit on 11-10-2008 by WhiteOneActual]