PHOTO CREDIT: SIRIUS BLACK
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Beegeagle's Blog 
Intimidating…way to go
What an absolute beast of a machine….in deed and in truth, an A-Class MINE RESISTANT AMBUSH PROTECTED (MRAP) vehicle. She is even bigger and more rugged-looking than the GILA and the Casspir, reason why we suggested that they be armed with 14.5mm AAMGs.
By a country mile, this is far and away the most outstanding acquisition made by the NA since the BH Insurgency commenced in Sept 2010. Most heartwarming. Thanks to the FG and to the NA High Command.
Slowly but steadily we are seeing our forces getting better resourced like should always have been the case and the ever-reliable Chinese have stepped up to the plate sans political grandstanding.
Photos emerging from the frontlines are showing fresh stocks of Chinese-made infantry support weapons such as Dragunov-type sniper rifles, 75mm recoilless rifles and Type 80 GPMGs. The fighting men could also do with the use of Type 58 14.5mm AAMGs to be mounted on Landcruiser gun trucks and BigFoot MRAPs with a view towards gaining the advantage over the DShK 12.7mm HMGs widely deployed by the terrorists.
Things are getting better. Thank you. More weapons please. BH do not dialogue so they shall be fought to a logical conclusion. God bless Nigeria and protect her fighting men.
Beautiful piece of machinery. It makes the soldier beside it look pretty insignificant.
The indentation under the driver and passenger side-doors seem to be the ‘vent’ for the explosive gases on impact with a mine.Impressive and well thought out. The underbelly must be designed to direct the explosive gases towards these vents reducing the force of the impact. Am all for a 14.5mm and grenade launchers like the type 87.
PF98 120mm recoilless rocket launcher….mad insane 🙂
QLZ 87 35mm AUTOMATIC GRENADE LAUNCHER
Caliber: 35x32mm SR
Type: gas operated, magazine fed automatic grenade launcher
Overall length: 970 mm
Weight: 12 kg in light configuration (with scope and bipod, less
magazine); 20kg on tripod, less magazine
Effective range: up to 600 m point targets; 1700 m maximum.
Rate of fire: 500 rounds per minute
Oga Henry,
The vents are a side effect of the “cab-on-chassis” design.
In a big explosion, the side panels will likely blowout, and the chassis may be destroyed but the cab is likely to remain intact.
The other design type is called a monocoque hull design. This approach integrates the cab and the chassis.
http://defensetech.org/2007/10/23/a-primer-in-mrap-variants/
You won’t believe the mathematics that went into perfecting the design of the MRAP hulls. Modelling the explosions, the gas flows and sacrificial vehicle damage that assures that the passengers are protected calls on amazing computational power.
Where’s Sirius Black? This is the Type 56 75mm recoilless rifle which was on a tripod
impressive!! we are steadily getting it right. good job NA. like marshal beegs suggested, this beast needs minimum, a 14.5mm cannon. they can add secondary GPMG, but its main armament should be an AGL or the chinese version of the KPV cannon.
winning this war entails taking the battle to the enemy and dominating the ground.
I am encouraged.
14.5mm AAMG…our antidote to the imperious DShK 12.7mm HMG and a MUST for Landcruiser gun trucks and the BigFoot MRAPs.
Wow..This is really good.Imagine 200 of these beasts deployed to the northeast.And changing that forsaken AK 47 that lacks precision most especially at Night. I believe there is a new wave of acquisitions in the NA.Great Pictures General Beegs.
The BigFoot MRAP, right?
Yeah,looks very impressive. Like a mean, business-like and butt ugly hippo. No frills..just a straightforward battering ram for the most rugged frontlines.
Just like we took the Otokar Cobra APC to Darfur and the Rwandese got so charmed that they now own some of those, by the time that the war in the Northeast is over, our guys shall be appearing on PKOs with some of the BigFoot MRAPs. Even armies which are used to the Casspir and the GILA (we have some GILA MRAPs in Darfur), shall pause to take a good look at this bruiser.
we can’t throw away the ak47 which is an impressive rifle and is much more precise than you think. But the main reason why we can’t throw it away is because we produce it. How useful is it for us to be providing our troops with guns we don’t produce ? Think about sanctions and cost. Rather you should be calling for Dicon to improve upon the ak47 like many other countries including Russia and Israel did.
Exactly Mr Igbi, why don’t we upgradd it with picatinny tactical rail for attaching optics, red dots and laser pointers and the frag grenade launcher. We can also saw of the fluted barrel nozzels and add non-detachable flash/sound suppessor. And if we want to make it more lighter and professional looking we remove all those wooden funiture and use polymer instead. All this can be done cheaply and in-house.
Nevertheless i’ll advocate for a new assault rifle all together, Like the AK 12.
Exactly Mr Igbi, why don’t we upgradd it with picatinny tactical rail for attaching optics, red dots and laser pointers and the frag grenade launcher. We can also saw-off the fluted barrel nozzles and add non-detachable flash/sound suppessor. And if we want to make it more lighter and professional looking we remove all those wooden funiture and use polymer instead. Polymer butt stock, fore grip and hand guard.
All this can be done cheaply and in-house.
Nevertheless i’ll advocate for a new assault rifle all together, Like the AK 12.
Yes the Big Foot MRAP.
Now question number one:
Is money a problem?
Can money be a problem for Nigeria?
And if it is indeed the case that we started off with an initial order for 120 units, that is a meaningful start. At least, for inter-city movements within the AOR, IF at company level, we are able to make two units of BigFoot MRAPs available (pending fresh deliveries), those could be backed up by two 12.7mm HMG-armed Otokar Cobra and two Spartan Mk.III APCs plus three 14.5mm AAMG-armed Landcrusers SUPPORTING any number of Mitsubishi Fuso troop carriers and other lorries bearing supplies, it shall indeed be a VERY STEEP price to pay if any BH laggards try any ambush-related stunts.
By reputation earned in Somalia, Liberia and Sierra Leone, our infantrymen are known fight to the death. They only need to be given that fighting chance and they shall win many battles.
Remember the incident around Gwoza a few months ago where a platoon of troops without air support fought off over 300 BH goons armed with technicals, losing nine soldiers and killing over 50 terrorists before the gallant troops retreated with the loss of some mortar rounds? That is the real NA we have known since 1990. “Nor be say native doctor pikin nor dey die but before e die, juju go smell”
So we are still looking forward to improved air support. Let us invest in our military. No externals will advice us to aspire to be a strong nation. It is a realisation which must come to us as a matter of conviction.
Great pic.
We have been rewarded, after years of begging, and unnecessary lives lost.
As beeg said, our political leaders and our military brass should resolve to make our nation strong as a matter of conviction.
Outcries by nigerians in the blogosphere, and embarrassing international press shouldn’t be what it takes to prompt our authorities into corrective action.
Kudos to the officials that let the necessary occur.
Let’s not forget what Col. Eeben said:
An MRAP is not an IFV; it is an armoured troop carrier.
And I have copiously averred to CONVOY MOVEMENT. Ideally such would be led by a BigFoot MRAP and followed immediately behind by a 14.5mm MG-armed Landcruiser gun truck to provide supporting fire. That would in turn be followed by 50 cal-armed Otokar Cobra and Streit APCs. Then follow at the soft-skinned troop and supply lorries. The rear of the convoy would also be sealed off by BigFoot MRAP in front of which would be two 14.5mm MG-armed Landcruiser vehicles.
The thinking behind that is to ensure that where the road has been mined, the BigFoot steps up to take the fall while the agile gun-truck immediately joins the two 14.5mm gunners on the BigFoot in engaging the enemy. The Streit and Otokar APCs immediately behind the gun truck would also join in the firefight as well as using their armoured hulls to protect the soft-skinned trucks following behind.
We have nowhere advocated that they take the place of IFVs in the orbat
Imagine facing a BigFoot with an AUTOMATIC GRENADE LAUNCHER mount. Any sane man would have to run first even if e surname na JUJU
Or having men armed with this, would quickly pin down any advancing force except they send in snipers or air support or can outflank the shooters. They would remain on the ground pined until the defenders run out of munition.
If the defender advance on them, they are gone
We needed these in all those towns that were undermanned and ultimately run over by BH. Time will ultimately forgive fatal mistakes we made on the battlefield.
change “town” to “village” and “ran over” to “pillaged”.
the best is to avoid giving too much equipment to small groups of soldiers. Unless you want to arm the enemy.
http://www.strategypage.com/qnd/nigeria/articles/20140620.aspx
Update, some progressive news
http://dailypost.ng/2014/06/20/borno-lassa-attack-boko-haram-insurgents/
Reports of ongoing attack on LASSA; let’s see how this pans out
Somehow, I have never bothered to find out the driveline on which the BigFoot MRAP was built….
If you notice strange gatherings in your area, unusual movement or even strange faces, please don’t hesitate to call or send text to the following SSS hotlines
08132222105
08132222106
08132222107
08132222108
This is the most important piece of information I have ever received on this blog
A breath of fresh air for our troops pls more of this.ill reserve my comment after the siege in borno ends.by the way.BH seems to have retreated for a while except for this attack.am beginning to suspect that just as they were caught in abia where I stay.they are trying to setup FOb in least security concious areas.let see how it pans out but I suspect that the kingpin arrested could be al-barrawi or maman nur
Now that micronationalist group after religious group are claiming that those 450+ chaps arrested are traders and innocent Nigerians, IF an A-List global terrorist such as al-Barnawi is found to have been among them, it becomes a different story.
I am suddenly a very confused man. Truly, it is not my fault O; it is situation, calculations do not = anything again.
I need help, I would like to know if those buses where brand new or new but used or aged and so on. I would like to know the condition of the vehicles themself. If I can get these details, I can fit a puzzle here.
I would like to know the age of these vehicles (the vehicles that conveyed 450+ men) and if they were maintained. A simple oil check would reveal maintenance and state of interior would reveal age even if they were dirty just lookout for age of scratches in them.
Then their make and brand to conclude.
I suspect those micronationalist groups of complicity with boko haram, especially because of their rapidity in responding. They knew who those “travellers were”. They are acting as boko haram lawyers. JNI has some explanations to give. Those 491 people are most probably all boko haram recruits, and they must provide their origins and we must visit their families. We must trace them and their life history. I also suggest military tribunals.
My Paternal Grandmother was of Fulani extraction, along the line we are all from somewhere and our ancestors are settlers. It is normal for people of Northern extraction to come down South where the jobs are and do jobs that southerners would not do. I am not saying there are no jobs in the North but I understand that the Southern jobs pay better and are more available.
They come in droves, they have always come in droves but what I do not understand is coming in 33 hummer buses (they usually come with trucks and old J5 or Fiat buses). Before they come they pickup semi-job skills and jobs that enable them start something like watch repairs, shoe curbing, household repairs and so on. They also engage in hard labour like digging wells, all the communication cable trenches in this country as at today and demolishing skyscrapers.
So let us cut some brothers a slack sometimes, yes it is possible that some BH members must have enmeshed into a moving horde but what is important is to find out the why. If this is not managed well, it could backlash into something else with the citizens of one area rejecting those from another because of fear and that is evil personified.
Tolerance at all cost most be the word here, no too vex for me
Tolerence, at all cost or favors at all cost ?
already 87 of them have been confirmed as boko homos. Get your facts.
Tolerence with who ? There are many northerners in the south, when did you hear any complains. Shall we push the tolerence to a level at which we tolerate boko homos entering the south and killing us ? Logics at all cost. Tolerence is not worth the head of any of my relatives.
Of what relevence is the fact that you are from the north ?
It seems Sanusi is not going to be an ally in the fight against boko haram.
I wonder what non-lethal military equipment we are getting from the US.
“This is as the United States government will next week, in her support to the ongoing Counter-terrorism efforts in some parts of the country, donate various types of non-lethal military equipment to Nigeria.”
http://www.codewit.com/nigeria-news/20938-terrorism-northern-leaders-should-assist-the-military-says-ihejirika
Walkie talkies ,radios,bullet proof vests,maybe NVG.Expect some lethal equipment to go through a third party like Britian and then onward to Nigeria.
When Britain supplied the Vicketrs tank to Nigeria, it was regarded as non-lethal, so you never know.
yep oga rka you are correct. What i would like to see is a tone down of the verbal bitterness especially in public of some of the so called outgoing American officials.
Yes America anything and vice versa but both countries do have their soft underbellies, the loss of influence and possibly open lies of communication with senior military officials in Egypt is note worthy how things can quickly spiral out of control. This leaves America with a vacuum that can possibly be filled by Nigeria.
Likewise the shoddy procurement and time-wasting that the f.g has put the ARMED FORCES in and now playing catch up has left a vacuum that no one country can fill our needs. National Pride can be be recipe for disaster we need certain things from AMERICA that will be forever classified ditto them from us. nah two hands them dey take wash cloth make am clean.
Ihejirika was also part of the problem, reports were that he tribally profiled troops going on deployment to the North East due to pressure from some ‘locally minded’ people in aso rock and then since the creation of the lame duck 7th division, the war has been on the reverse gear. If anybody has a contrary opinion about the 7th division I will like to hear it.
Due to the tribal profiling, you actually had increase in the number of fifth columnists in the NA and a marked reduction in the level of local civilian support to the effort. The truth about micro nationalists and religious extremists is that they are more within the active political class than amongst other groups-bloggers and journalists. I also welcome contrary opinions on this, they are particularly concentrated in the two main political parties and it is these two political parties that will form governments in the next few decades to come. Governments provide direction to thenarmed forces and somehow the level of their thinking permeates that institution. recall OBJ’s (‘i cannot work with that man’)hounding of Victor Malu just because the man spoke against a bad precedent.
Ok, let stop listening to rumours, Gen. Ihejirika did no racial profiling. Let us keep reasonning with facts. And the 7th is far from being lame.
Transport and recce assets, drones, flak jackets, NVGs, uparmoured Hummers and MRAPs would all qualify to be listed as non-lethal insofar as they arrive here unarmed.
Since the Americans would probably want a footprint as evidence to show that something is being done, I foresee the delivery of uparmoured Hummer vehicles. Some helicopters for SF insertion and RR also likely.
Oga rka,
If true,Humvees/ MRAPS ,NVG’s and communication gadgets come to mind.
Lets hope so Oga drag_on.
There were quite QUITE a few things wrong with Gen iHJERIKA however TRIBAL profiling based on everything I have read about him was not one of them .one of HIS classmates and reputed classmates is none other than the Sarduna of Sokoto Brig ABUBUBAKT (RTD).As COAS the army went through unprecedented reforms going back to the Civil war.
What I would lay at his feet would be :
1).Unhealthy rivalry between the Brass hats of the ARMY AND THE AIRFORCE this was validated by statements that came from the NSA himself
2) Instances of cornering successes for the 7th division to the detriment of the other services
this can validated when it was the 7th division that announced the purported death of shekau.
3) The alleged disrespect that he showed to the CDS IBRAHIM at the time, this alleged because i have to tread carefully i am relying on second and third hand accounts.
However considering he served for 4 years as COAS and was responsible for instituting what is turning out to be the largest army expansion going back to the civil war he was bound to rub some people the wrong way and some people the right way.
He also was the first to personally remove a two star general Maj GEN ISA from command of one of the most sensitive spots in the army – and set a precedent that is being followed up till day to hold very senior officers accountable and responsible for issues of break down in duty and operations of areas under their command. There are only two other countries that follow this very tough decision making process the US and the U.K. This was bound to create enemies.
“REPUTED BEST FRIENDS”
I have said my own. You can cut off my head if you like. All I want is a clean, technologically advanced, highly professional armed forces, that can stand up to politicians the same way your doctor stands up to you to deliver some home truths.
It is the politicians I don’t like at all, their weaknesses get infective on the armed forces. Where’s the MinOfDefence?
I am still worried that up till now there is no single point accountable General for this effort. There is a division in place but who welds land, air, intelligence and internal security elements together to achieve a single objective. If it is a person in the MOD who is the person?.If it is the COAS let us come out to say so. During the ND crisis we knew who it was Sarkin Muktar, during the Ogoni crisis we knew the Colonel in charge, Falklands war it was Admiral Sandy, Desert Storm Schwarzkopf, et.c. Unhealthy rivalry is a deliberately manufactured thing when there is no person in charge.
To the best of my KNOWLEDGE this is how this crisis is being run , based on the actions that are being run:
The GOC of the 7TH division is in an acting capacity as a one star GEN. Brig Ibrahim in that capacity he reports to the Chief of ARMY STAFF .We know this because Maj GEN A. MOHAMMED was removed and transferred to ABUJA after what was termed a mutiny occurred by none other than the jumping general LT GEN k. MINIMAH who has at least Six Major GeneralS at ABUJA and at least one retired Maj Gen ( SARKIN BELLO) deputy of Counter terrorism or as oga beegs has said the no.2 guy@ the NSA
The COAS and the CAS reports to the CDS ALEX BADEH who has been one of the most heavily criticized service chiefs in Nigeria ‘s History , is trying to restore confidence in this operation as well as the air force capabilities ( He has one year) .He definitley reports to the Minister of Defence.
From here it gets murky the very influential/powerful Minister of Defence is GUSAU who is father in law to the NSA who based on the constitution gets to see the president 1st thing in the morning now who gets to see GEJ first is anyone’s guess however it is instructive to note. HEAVY DUTY PROCUREMENT STARTED AFTER GUSAU became Defence Minister.
General Gusau looks like a very patriotic Nigerian. He has and is serving his country well.
* OGA ARE JAMES during the ND crisis it was Maj Gen Sarkin Bello not Sarkin Muktar* I know it was probably a typo on your behalf.
@JImmy
Thanks for the correction. The point is there was a Sarkin responsible at the ND. That man is now wearing mufti and speaking big english in Abuja, everybody knows that is really not his temperament. This is an action man. That is what politicians do to your defence.
Now with the reporting line you just described, things are actually worse than I painted about single point responsibility. Look at the pressure on the one star officers reporting to the hardworking COAS who I think is the one who has assumed unofficial single line responsibility. Also you said the CDS reports direct to the Minister?, ..yeah right. He dey even report now self as I dey watch Ghana match.
As new equipment starts to pour in, we have to start working on strong centralized command and control enabled by good communications on the military side and good governance on the internal security side so that we are sure we are not wasting money.
ON THE VERSATILITY OF THE LANDCRUISER
Find above a photo from the Syrian theatre of a “Toyota light tank”. It is used by the Free Syrian Army and the turreted weapon looks to me like the 73mm gun of a BMP-1 Infantry Fighting Vehicle mounted on a Toyota.
Notin wey we neva see.. 🙂
The question again is who is dreaming up these things?. This particular one makes sense as a tank only if you can drive the entire vehicle from inside the turret with dualized control of motion and steering, otherwise It was probably designed to be used as a fully mobile gun emplacement to be parked behind sandbags to support fighters on foot. When time comes to retreat, they all pile in and off and away to another secure location. Technology in the service of the operational strategy.
Ha! This is hilarious. Lets be honest this is not practical in modern warfare scenerio. Gun systems go with armoured hulls for crew protection. This cannot survive the heat of the frontlines though it’s a laudable improvisation. I won’t voluntier to drive or enter it though. Let the Assads get a hold of it first.
Na wa ooo notin we no go see for Syria.
Hehe he. Necessity is the mother of invention.
The malian army now has a bunch of these mounted contraptions.
Like NA, they have 30 year old decaying military assets.
A numbers of their BTR APCs have broken down transmissions, but the turrets and their guns are still salvageable.
So you get available trucks, and mount the entire gun and turret system.
Funny, but innovative. NA take note.
Is beageagle a military technocrat or a Nigerian army officer, he seems to have all information on military hardware on his fingertip. Kudos