U.S Air Force specialists and volunteers from the Monster Garage team are building light improvised fighting vehicles, also known as technicals.
The term ‘technical’ describe an open-backed civilian pickup truck or four-wheel drive vehicle mounting a heavy weapon, such as a machine gun, anti-aircraft gun, rotary cannon, anti-tank weapon, anti-tank gun, ATGM, mortar, howitzer, multiple rocket launcher, or recoilless rifle, operating similar to a light (unarmored) military gun truck. The term technical is a neologism. In professional military parlance a technical is often called a non-standard tactical vehicle (NSTV).
Technicals fill the niche of traditional light cavalry. Their major asset is speed and mobility, as well as their ability to strike from unexpected directions with automatic fire and light troop deployment.
Such light improvised fighting vehicles are actively used by terrorist groups in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and several African countries.
27th Special Operations Support Squadron range support operations planning specialists are currently working to develop new technology to continue to provide airmen with a real-world weapon system they may face in combat, including weapon systems of irregular armies.
The Monster Garage team also building a pickup truck mounted with turret, that looks like ‘technical’, to provide U.S. Airmen training on Melrose Air Force Range with the realest experiences possible.