WTF is this!!

[RSK]

http://mk29.image.pbase.com/u15/sirpad/upload/7689958.RATTV.jpg

http://mk31.image.pbase.com/u15/sirpad/upload/7689959.RATTBike.jpg

[George W. Bush]

RATTV and RATTBIKE?

[wholagun]

all i see are Xs

[RSK]

Press show picture..

I found this..

Perhaps the most unusual piece of AFSOC wheeled gear is the Rescue All Terrain Transport (RATT). Derived in the early 1990s from a commercial dune buggy design, RATTs support pararescue missions by providing highly mobile battlefield trauma care. Each RATT carries a driver and two pararescue personnel. Six stretchers fold out to carry the wounded to an aid or evacuation station.

[RSK]

RATT

The United States Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) provides a case in point. In the late 1980s, AFSOC materiel planners identified a requirement for a new vehicle to replace the aging M151 series Jeepsthen utilized by AFSOCs Combat Control Teams and pararescue jumpers in performance of their medical treatment and casualty evacuation missions. System requirements included extreme high mobility combined with packaging design that would allow the vehicles to be easily transported as part of a larger C-130 load, and within selected helicopters.

AFSOC representatives eventually connected with a small southern California off-road vehicle manufacturer, North American Raceco (acquired several years later by Flyer Group Inc.). At the time, the company had been building high performance off-road racing vehicles for almost 20 years.

Under the designation of R-1 Rescue All Terrain Transport (RATT), Raceco began to develop a specialized vehicle platform capable of meeting AFSOC’s unique rescue missions. The company received its initial contract to build a single prototype R-1 vehicle at the beginning of 1991 with that system subsequently delivered for government testing in early summer. After some modifications to the specifications, a follow-on contract for 14 production vehicles was awarded in January 1992 with those systems delivered to AFSOC elements over the next two years.

Designed for the special operations casualty evacuation mission, the R-1 was configured to carry up to six litter patients, two medical attendants and a driver. Litters, medical equipment and personal gear are all strapped to a folding framework on top of the vehicle. Racks for up to six litter patients fold out on the sides and rear of the vehicle with a large central crew area providing space for the attendants to treat casualties while on the move. Because the litter configuration restricts vehicle access, the crew enters via a cut-away to the right of the driver’s position, at the front of the vehicle.

The original RATTs were powered by a 110 horsepower, Type IV Porsche 914 air-cooled gasoline engine that reportedly gave the R-1 a weight savings of almost 50 percent over similar water-cooled power packs.

The R-1s were originally fielded with two-piece spun aluminum wheels manufactured from aircraft aluminum to optimize lightweight and high-strength characteristics. The rear wheels were also equipped with run-flat drive devices.

The R-1 features larger tires in the rear. However, the front spare tire, which is stowed under the rear platform, can be utilized in a rear position for emergency situations. Moreover, the R-1 wheel design employed a “HMMWV [High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle] bolt pattern,” permitting the substitution of those common but heavier steel wheels where necessary. Large disc brakes on all four wheels are supported by modified stock car calipers and special compound brake pads to assure responsive stopping capability.

Additional tactical design features of the R-1 system include a dual 24-volt battery system, a removable winch and height-reduction ratchet straps. The electrical system is intended to provide sufficient power to conduct casualty treatment when the vehicle is stopped for extended periods with adjustable floodlights attached to the litter frame at each patient station. The driver is provided with a blackout switch that immediately kills all white light and allows the vehicle to proceed with only infrared headlights.

Another unique tactical design feature of the R-1 involves a height reduction ratchet strap located at each wheel position. Attaching a small ratchet tool to the straps allows the crew to reduce overall vehicle height by 4 inches, satisfying an additional on-board requirement for one type of unidentified but specialized aircraft.

[OzMan]

For some reason I don't find these too shocking. I read about these in friggin' Popular Mechanics when they ran a cover story about AFSOC.