Climbing Into Combat
SPECIALIZED LADDERS BOOST WARFIGHTING OPS.
Ladders serve a number of traditional purposes that help military and civilian alike get jobs done. The Army National Guard, for example, recently released a solicitation to buy maintenance platforms to work in conjunction with telescoping ladders for aircraft maintenance. Maintenance personnel can only reach some destinations with the assistance of a ladder.
But beyond maintenance operations, special operations forces have paved the way for the use of ladders in warfighting operations. Occasionally, special operators have no choice but to turn to ladders for scaling, entering or breaching buildings or other obstacles above ground level.
To that end, a number of companies have developed innovations to the humble ladder to make it more of a combat-ready accessory.
UP AND IN
With the combat environment changing, many armies have identified a niche for protected vehicles that offer much more mobility than light armored vehicles. They need the ability to move quickly through narrow alleyways and built-up areas in urban environments, but at the same time, with high levels of ballistic, mine blast, and improvised explosive devices (IED) protection.
Enter the DURO—a vehicle designed and built from the ground up as an armored vehicle. The DURO family of 4x4 and 6x6 tactical vehicles from General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada, is based on a versatile platform that can be used for various tactical mission roles—reconnaissance, surveillance, command or police tasks, and tactical entry.
The DURO all-terrain military tactical vehicle drives safely and reliably, even over the most difficult and challenging terrain. Its De- Dion suspension with wheel hub gear and patented roll stabilizer provides a very high level of all-terrain mobility, combined with excellent on-road stability. With what the company describes as a “uniquelydesigned modular construction,” the DURO can be modified in many configurations to accommodate a range of applications and needs in a single vehicle, including troop transporter, command and control vehicle, logistics center, ambulance or as an urban assault platform when equipped with run-flat inserts, a remote weapon station and the Mobile Adjustable Ramp System (MARS). MARS permits simultaneous multistory entry for elevated assault and rescue operations. An observer/sniper bench is also available along with a wide assortment of ancillary equipment.
The versatile platform offers reduced operator training time and more efficient maintenance thanks to the high degree of system and component commonality across the wide range of variants. Its 6-cylinder, in-line, turbocharged Cummins diesel engine provides power for off-road operation while delivering excellent cruising speed on roads. Ease of operation is delivered by the combination of power steering, 5-speed automatic transmission, and a self-locking Torsen differential.
Ballistic and mine protection options have been designed to increase the DURO platform’s ability to meet various mission requirements. Add-on protection options are also available including mine protection Level 2a STANAG 4569 and ballistic protection kit up to Level 3 STANAG 4569. AN NBC overpressure system is also available for personnel protection.
AIRCRAFT ASSAULT
AWS Inc., of Fayetteville, N.C., manufactures the combat ladder assault system, designed for use by special operators in breeching operations. The lightweight ladder is about 20 feet tall, providing warfighters with the means to board an aircraft.
“They are so unique because of their lightness and how we manufacture and mill them and the technique of the rungs—how they are light but sturdy,” noted Susan Buss, office manager at AWS. “We have been making them for about 20 years and we have not yet had one break on us. The grooved rungs of the combat assault ladder system enable special operators to keep their footing in bad weather and while wearing tactical footwear. Although some other ladders on the market can reach the heights of the AWS combat ladder assault system, none can match the strength of the aluminum ladder, which comes in single- or double-wide variants.”
“With our doublewide and sidestep adapters, you can sometimes get three men in full kit on one rung,” Buss told SOTECH. Soldiers can carry the ladder up to a building and enter a second-story window with it, she added. The doublewide enables one person to climb into a window while a second one keeps him covered from the ladder.
As useful as the ladders are, however, they are not easily carried into a battle.
“They are not easily deployed because they are not collapsible,” Buss explained. “A soldier can’t put it on his back and hike up a mountain.”
Warfighters can mount the ladders onto vehicles, though. AWS has modified Humvees and Suburban Tahoes with the combat ladder assault system on top of the vehicle. “It’s not hydraulic and it doesn’t cost a lot of money. With some of these other manufacturers, the system is hydraulic so they are huge,” Buss said. “It’s actually deployable so they can get it into a C-130. It’s all detachable. It takes about 30 minutes to get the whole platform system off.”
AWS designs the ladders to match specifications of current commercial aircraft, according to the company’s catalogue. Smaller aircraft use smaller ladders, which soldiers could separate into two even smaller individual sections. They could then use those sections independently to assault passenger buses and trains or even to enter some first-story windows.
The ladders can also be used as a platform for observation or for sniping.
RAMPING UP
Patriot3, based in Quantico, Va., manufactures the MARS (Mobile Adjustable Ramp System) for military and law enforcement special operations. Warfighters can mount the ramp onto a Humvee, Charles Fuqua, director of sales and marketing at Patriot3, told SOTECH. “Its primary use is for access into second and third stories of buildings, access into elevated structures and perimeter breaching,” Fuqua said.
MARS has been in use in Iraq for more than two years now and can be fitted onto a Humvee. The ramp fits directly onto the Humvee’s existing bolt locations and takes about three to four hours to mount. Dismounting it takes about 10 minutes, Fuqua noted.
MARS can deploy soldiers to one, two or three floors of a building simultaneously. Some support equipment can extend ramp operations as well. A perimeter breach ramp, at 15 feet, provides a mechanically- operated means of breaching or bridging perimeters. A tactical ladder of 3 or 4 meters can deploy with the ramp or separately for additional access. The ramp also can make use of an observer bench, where a sniper or spotter could sit. An evacuation stairway provides warfighters with quick egress in less than 30 seconds.
Patriot3 recently introduced the Liberator MARS system, an advanced manual ramp that fits a wide variety of vehicles. Liberator has been in use with law enforcement units to date, but could provide the military with additional access capabilities one day, Fuqua said. Patriot3 also has added fast-rope capability to its ramps, allowing soldiers to overcome obstacles quickly.
“We have just introduced the Fast Rope Tower which will enable operators to breech obstacles, like walls, up to 18 feet. From the time the vehicle is in position until the time you run up and fast rope over, you could be on the ground on the other side in about seven seconds,” Fuqua said.
RAPID ASCENT
While no one denies that ladders are useful and often necessary, they are often not the fastest and sneakiest way to get around. Realizing that some missions require more stealth than others, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) sought an alternative to ladders about three years ago. The agency’s goal was to provide funding for a project that would quickly boost warfighters to their goal, bypassing a lengthy and cumbersome climb.
As a result of the DARPA small business innovative research (SBIR) program, Quoin International of Carson City, Nev., created the PowerQuick personal lifting system. Based on mountaineering techniques, the rope system quickly and easily propels warfighters up the side of a building or other obstacle and onto the desired level.
Cathy Jacobson, vice president of Quoin International, told SOTECH that the PowerQuick is incredibly effective. “The military use it to reach the top of buildings to clear them from the top down. They use them for rescue operations,” she said. “They’ve got one right now in Afghanistan that they are doing field testing on while in the mountains.”
Quoin International has successfully entered the commercialization phase of the SBIR program, where it has sought to create an offthe- shelf market for the PowerQuick. “The Defense Department wants technologies that are dual-use. They want a very strong commercial market because the government likes COTS technologies. It helps to keep the overall price down when you have a strong commercial market,” Jacobson said. “We started developing it and going for that commercial market, which is really expanding.”
Essentially, a rope and pulley are augmented by an external power source for rapid ascent to a destination. In the military version of the device, a solid propellant cartridge propels special forces to the top of a building, while commercial applications may use a battery-powered version. The battery-powered PowerQuick also can run from onboard helicopter power, according to Quoin. The system can lift about 300 pounds at a rate of one meter per second.
Although the PowerQuick is relatively light, the company is working on making it lighter still. The company is also working on a special modification of the system for the U.S. Air Force. That project requires a smaller, more compact ascender with smaller batteries. “We have a second contract from the Air Force to adapt this technology with a pilot access stand for use in pilot rescue and other applications for response by Department of Defense firefighters,” Jacobson revealed. “That’s ongoing. We have about three or four months to finish up that. We have made some marvelous progress.” ♦