by David Crane
david@defensereview.com
Ibis Tek is making some very interesting "High-Performance Stealth Vehicles" with Remote Control Weapons and Sensor Control Systems, right now. These vehicles come primarily in the form of tactically-armed and armored SUV’s/4×4’s (GMC/Chevolet Sierras and Chevy Suburbans) and HMMWV’s (Humvees), outfitted with mobile, retractable gun mounts. When not in use, the gun and mount sit discreetly inside the vehicle. However, when the occupants encounter danger (like an ambush, for instance), and escape is somehow hindered, the gun can be immediately deployed at the push of a button and controlled by whomever is sitting in the front passenger seat. The gun and mount pop right out of the top of the vehicle.
The four models IbisTek is currently offering are the SUV-A Security Vehicle, HMMWV (Humvee) Scorpion Security Vehicle, Cobra Security Vehicle, and Viper Security Vehicle. It would appear that Ibis Tek’s "high-performance stealth vehicles" are well-suited to…
meet the security and reconnaissance needs of military, private military company (PMC), and federal government security teams, military and private military company (PMC) special operations teams, and peacekeeping forces, and can be applied to warfare and, as the company says, to "conflict-other- than-war (COTW) scenarios".
All of the IbisTek tactical vehicles currently offer up to NIJ level III armor protection. For instance, their SUV-A is specifically designed to protect against ballistic threats up to 7.62x39mm (AK-47/AKM rounds). The defining security feature of these vehicles is the "stabilized weapon and reconaissance mount" or "SWARM", supplied to Ibis Tek by Thales AFV Systems Ltd. The SWARM is a self-contained and stabilized weapon/sensor system mounted on a retractable, rotating turret. The SWARM also allows for weapon elevationa and declination. The SWARM is currently configured to accept the M2HB .50 Cal. machine gun (a.k.a. "Ma Deuce"), the FN M240 GPMG (general purpose machine gun), and the MK19 40mm Grenade Machine Gun (GMG)/Automatic Grenade Launcher (AGL). Dynamics Armament and Technical Products (GDATP) currently manufactures both the M2HB machine gun and MK19 GMG/AGL.
In the future, Ibis Tek will most likely configure the SWARM to accept the GDATP MK47 Striker 40mm Grenade Machine Gun (GMG), GDATP XM307 25mm Airbursting Weapon System/Objective Crew-Served Weapon (OCSW), and GDATP XM307K50 .50 Cal. (12.7mm) Lightweight Machine Gun (formerly designated as the XM312), when and if these weapon systems are adopted and fielded. As DefenseReview reported not too long ago, General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products (GDATP) has already received a $16 million contract from the U.S. Government to produce the MK47 Striker 40mm GMG/AGL.
If you or your organization would like to receive more information about the IbisTek high-performance stealth vehicles, you can contact them by phone at 724-586-6005 or 724-625-3820. You can contact Ibis Tek’s CEO, Tom Buckner, directly via email at tbuckner@ibistek.com.
If you’d like to inquire about any of GDATP’s individual and crew-served weapons systems (infantry weapons), you can reach them at 704-714-8014. Ask for John Suttle. John is GDATP’s "Director of Communications".