Transportation

To Live And Survive In The Streets Of LA: AddArmor Audi RS7 Is World's Fastest 'Mobile Safe Room'


AddArmor’s Audi RS7 demo vehicle is equipped with composite armor, ballistic glass, electrified door handles, sound cannons, a PA system, tear gas, run-flat tires, and pepper spray dispensers.

Drew Phillips

“In a combat zone if you drive into an ambush, your first priority is to drive out of it. A vehicle with steel armor is heavy, slow and doesn’t turn or brake well,” says Pete Blaber, CEO of AddArmor, a Wyoming firm that is bringing military-grade lightweight composite vehicle armor, ballistic glass and special forces style emergency communications to the established market for diplomatic corps, military and civilian contractors operating in dangerous locations, but also to high-value private citizens.

Pete Blaber is a retired Lt. Colonel. His 2010 book, “The Mission, The Men, and Me” distills the problem-solving and decision-making process of deadly work for wider applications in civilian life.

AddArmor

A retired Lt. Colonel and Delta Force commander who has orchestrated take down and capture of war criminals and other bad guys in some of the ugliest war zones of the past 30 years, Blaber understands the art of the ambush and survival situations as no civilian can. His 2010 book “The Mission, The Men, and Me” is an excellent read, distilling the problem-solving and decision-making process of deadly work for wider applications in civilian life. The book has been praised by no less than David Mamet, who called Blaber a stoic with a sense of humor.

Control panels at the base of the center stack. Pepper spray button is protected with a flip-up red cover like on some fire extinguishers—or the START button on a Lamborghini.

Drew Phillips

“To survive, you must make sensible choices. Our composite armor and defensive systems give options if you’re caught in spontaneous anarchy or are under attack,” says Blaber. Steel armor weighs about 13 pounds per square foot and can add 4000 lbs. or more to a full-size sedan or SUV, essentially doubling the weight of the vehicle. “B6-grade composite armor and ballistic glass weighs only 3.3 pounds per square foot, adding about 1000 pounds to the vehicle,” says Blaber. Simply put, a composite-armored car retains strong everyday performance because it is several thousand pounds lighter, and its suspension, brakes and engine cooling systems are not placed under unusual strain that can impact reliability and radically increase maintenance requirements.

In a live-fire demo, the B4 side glass took four 9mm rounds at close quarters.

Drew Phillips

For vehicles heading into combat zones, AddArmor installs B6-grade composite armor. Like steel, B6 is capable of stopping anything up to and including a 7.62 x 51 from an AK-47 or a .223 round from an M16 or AR-15. It can stop any small-arms round that travels at velocities up to 3,250 foot per second. A fast car is harder to take down.

Climbing into this Audi RS7, only a security professional or someone intensely interested in cars will notice that the black window surrounds are more than two inches thick. Neat and tidy.

Drew Phillips

To experience the performance of a composite-armored car that a “Lincoln Lawyer” might commission, I’m circulating one of my short test loops in the Audi RS7 of AddArmor founder and president, Jeff Engen. The car is fitted with most of the firm’s defensive features available in the U.S. market, plus several more appropriate for extremely dangerous locations overseas.

Engen with two AddArmor SUVs. Engen served on a Fugitive Task Force in Southern California comprised of federal and local law enforcement personnel.

Drew Phillips

“Rioters, aggressive homeless people, active shooters…they are operating off lizard brain…smash, grab, hit, kill,” says Engen, who was an LAPD officer stationed in South Central LA when the Rodney King riots broke out. Engen later served on a Fugitive Task Force in Southern California comprised of federal and local law enforcement personnel.

Two canisters, one for a smoke screen, the other for pepper spray. All work is to a high order, integrating neatly into the vehicle architecture.

Drew Phillips

Modified by famed Audi tuner APR to produce as much as 765 horsepower and about 800 lb. ft. of torque from its twin-turbo V8, the AddArmor RS7 is a strong sprinter from standstill to triple-digits. This is no lumbering Brinks truck. One can pull up alongside a comparable European sports sedan, signal “game on” and race with style. To save a little weight, this car uses B4-grade composite armor in the doors, which weighs a mere 0.8 lbs. per square foot that adds about 245 lbs., yet can stop extremely powerful handgun rounds. The RS7 also has B4 ballistic glass, which can readily stop handgun rounds. Even with this lighter armor, Dirty Harry and his .44 Magnum wouldn’t feel lucky, unable to punch a hole. It would be a rare Downtown LA or Hollywood Boulevard street urchin armed with anything as powerful or expensive as a .44 Magnum.

Viewed from the inside. B4 ballistic glass, which is considerably lighter than the B6 commonly used in combat situations, will stop anything up to a .44 Magnum.

Drew Phillips

Rocketing up long freeway onramps then braking hard to smoothly blend with traffic, a full pilot’s head swing is needed to see to the left because the driver-side glass performed as advertised in a live-fire demo and subsequent getaway pursuit staged two days earlier for Jay Leno’s CNBC show, which should air in August or early September. For Leno’s cameras, Engen delivered four rounds of 9mm, then took a shot of water to the face to demonstrate the pepper spray system, and also grabbed the electrified door handles. The photo below illustrates how composites work, dispersing energy laterally, but the rounds simply not penetrating.

Barely perceptible at the top of the roof B-pillar, the pepper spray dispenser.

Drew Phillips

Joe Vega is AddArmor’s VP of R&D, advising on the most effective and current materials and security technologies. Vega works for the U.S. Army’s Asymmetric Warfare Group, and serves on the IED Task Force. “Most civilian contractors never meet with the vendors Joe does. All he does 24/7 is work on keeping people out, or getting the good guys in,” says Blaber. Vega is a Master Breacher, the highest rating in the United States. Other military officers describe Vega as the physical and mental archetype of a bad-ass operator. As with Blaber, Vega’s best stories will never be told, but his vast knowledge of the defense industry supplier network and unparalleled experience inform the creation of AddArmor vehicles.

Joe Vega is AddArmor’s VP of R&D. He works for the U.S. Army’s Asymmetric Warfare Group, and serves on the IED Task Force. His work brings fresh ideas to creation of armored vehicles.

Drew Phillips

Because composite can be formed and fitted to the most exacting dimensions, installations requires no butchery of the bodywork that is either ugly or a signal to street criminals that something is out of the ordinary. Climbing into this Audi RS7, only a security professional or someone intensely interested in cars will notice that the black window surrounds are more than two inches thick. Neat and tidy.

The PA system, comparable to systems used in police squad cars.

Drew Phillips

Beyond the pepper spray system, Engen’s RS7 has a broad range of defensive features to fend off Antifa rioters, protesters and street thugs. “I am a fan of all the non-kinetic techniques,” says Blaber. “Every situation is different. We provide options that allow you to have a graduated response with proportionality and discrimination. The PA system is step one: ‘Get back! Do not touch the vehicle!’” The system is like those used by law enforcement and can startle assailants, buying a few seconds to afford a speedy getaway. The car also has police-style blue and red lights hidden in the grille that might have a similar if more subtle effect.

Safe and sound behind B4 ballistic glass and armor. Even with the roughly 1000 pounds of armor and defensive systems, this is a very quick sedan, sprinting to 60 in a tick under 3 seconds.

Drew Phillips

“If they keep moving up, the electrified door handles deliver a 120-volt taser-like shock. If someone is pulling on your door handle, not a good situation,” says Blaber. The back of the Audi has landing lights from a small aircraft that even in broad daylight can prove bright enough to make attackers blink and pause; at night, they will stun anyone approaching the back of the car.

Audi has blue and red lights, which can be a first step to clear a path. The car can ram through improvised road blocks thanks to steel beams  hidden under the front and rear bumper covers.

Drew Phillips

“The sound cannon puts out 120 to 130 decibels,” says Blaber, “that will force people surrounding the vehicle to put fingers in their ears,” providing another opportunity to stand on the gas and escape. Engen mentions that AddArmor has gone so far as installing airhorns from freight trains.

For clients in the U.S. or overseas who believe they face significant threat, AddArmor can create a literal cocoon around the passenger compartment.

Drwe Phillips

“If they’re still wailing on your vehicle with bricks or axe handles, the next step is our pepper spray dispenser embedded along the roof rails,” says Blaber. “This is a last ditch when all other options have been exhausted. That is about all we do for non-lethal defensive systems for the United States market.” The dispensers are tiny, virtually imperceptible to anyone other than an auto detailer applying that second coat of wax, yet they shoot a considerable volume of liquid many feet, enough to put several attackers off their A-game.

Keeping the engine alive is critical in a shooting situation. AddArmor puts ballistic materials in the front quarter panels and wheel wells. AddArmor protects the radiator with ballistic louvers that allow proper airflow to cool the engine. A much heavier steel-armored vehicle left idling for even a short time can begin to overheat.

Drew Phillips

“If all these features have not done it, you need to floor it and get out,” says Blaber. In short, damn the torpedoes. “We install barrier-busting steel bumper reinforcements,” says Blaber. On the Audi these hefty steel sections are hidden behind the factory bumper covers, but they can knock through improvised road blocks like trash barrels or commandeered traffic control barriers. According to Engen, each of these devices can cost anywhere from $1800 to $2800, perhaps $3000 depending on vehicle. Each vehicle is a highly personal creation, made to order.

Push a button on this Iridium phone to connect to AddArmor’s special operations command. Think of it as OnStar crossed with 911 but operated by intel analysts.

Drwe Phillips

“We have a tear gas option. The Audi RS7 you drove has it. That is the next level on the use of force. It has two embedded tear gas canisters, one on the left, the other on the right. Deploying tear gas is always a touchy situation. We have systems that include masks and oxygen tank,” says Blaber. An over-pressure system generates higher air pressure in the cabin, creating a temporary pressure barrier that keeps tear gas or even poison gas from seeping in. “We have a poison gas detection system that can warn if the outside air might have Sarin or other poisons,” Engen adds.

The back of the Audi has landing lights from a small aircraft that even in broad daylight can prove bright enough to make attackers blink and pause; at night, they will stun anyone approaching the back of the car.

Drew Phillips

For markets outside the U.S. that are high risk, AddArmor has developed proprietary drone suppression systems, but this technology is not available to private citizens in the U.S. because it can impact air traffic control, though it can be sold to government entities. AddArmor can also install gun ports.

Up close with two 9mm hits. Ballistic glass is made of highly resistant, optically advanced, and transparent materials that can stop most of the bullets available in the world today. A combination of several layers of glass and avant-garde flexible, transparent materials provide for the best of optics and protection ranging from low-level hand-gun to high-power rifle ballistic protection

Drew Phillips

IEDs are a major threat in many parts of the world, so AddArmor can install a type of Kevlar “blanket” of its own development that is molded to the underside of the car, and in key points around the wheel wells, fuel tank and the engine’s most critical “black boxes.”

APR tuned the twin-turbo V8 to produce 789 horsepower. Even with armor, ballistic glass, and a range of defensive mechanisms, the car can accelerate to 60 mph in less than 3 seconds. A fast car is hard to take down.

Drwe Phillips

“It will protect against the equivalent of two US M67 grenades or equivalent-type mine of C4. Kevlar is the best metaphor to understand any of these composite armoring materials. It is ballistic nylon, with resin and multiple layers,” says Blaber. For clients in the U.S. or overseas who believe they face significant threat, AddArmor can create a literal cocoon around the passenger compartment, with armor in the roof, bulkheads, and portions of the underlying body structure. They also offers ballistic louvers that protect the engine’s radiator.

Most civilians would not notice the depth of the side glass on first encounter. Installation is clean, very close to factory standards. Yet this B4 glass will stop a .44 Magnum.

Drew Phillips

Engen, Blaber and Vega are bootstrapping the company with their own cash. AddArmor has an alliance with International Armoring Corporation (IAC), the established leader in building composite-armored vehicles for military, diplomatic corps and overseas contractors. Much like firms that remanufacture vintage vehicles—ICON, Legacy, East Coast Defender—IAC has a niche assembly line that moves vehicles from station to station, making it easy and cost-effective to install AddArmor’s unique materials and defense mechanisms. Also, armored cars are commissioned, with 50 percent down and the rest due upon delivery, which means cash flow for every vehicle built and sold. Engen, Blaber and Vega are brand ambassadors of a sort thanks to their life experience, and they manage R&D, sales, and post-sale client relations, with a little bit of manufacturing liaison tossed in. This fall, AddArmor will finish its own assembly plant and trained labor force in Latin America, developed in partnership with IAC. AddArmor has access to IAC’s plants in the Middle East, South Africa and Southeast Asia. All AddArmor vehicles for the U.S. market are built at IAC’s American facility.

AddArmor brings a compelling dimension to ensure long-term client retention, a page taken straight from special forces and police work. “In a crisis situation a client can push a button and call into our special operations command. With Interpol-enabled software we can neck down to the local law enforcement no matter if you’re in Tanzania or Turkey or Texas. While staying on the phone with you they will call local law enforcement and get them to you,” says Blaber. Think of it as OnStar crossed with 911 but operated by intel analysts who are dedicated to serve AddArmor clients. The system consists of an Iridium global sat phone as well as a secondary system using a satellite beacon mounted in the car. When activated via a switch in the car or a smartphone app, the beacon goes to the command center staffed by former intelligence officers, first responders, and military veterans and displays the client’s location and prompts a response to a designated cell number, which activates the client’s camera phone to get a voice imprint and visual to assess the situation.

Flip the switch and there is a beacon in your vehicle that connects to a satellite and to the Global Special Operations Command Center [GSOCC].

Drew Phillips

It’s a simple argument Blaber, Engen and Vega forward to high-value civilians in America and around the world who might assume an armored car is a miserable, unreliable rolling tank with practical limits in daily life: for about $30,000, any person who commutes in a potentially dangerous place can have a practical, comfortable vehicle with battle-proven security measures that dramatically raise the chances of safe escape in the midst of an Antifa riot or active shooter situation. For those in the U.S. who write down car leases against an LLP or LLC, AddArmor is currently negotiating with several firms that can finance the cars, making this level of security far more attainable, more sensible. For thirty grand on top of the cost of a luxury sedan or SUV, a real “Lincoln Lawyer” operating in the seedier parts of Los Angeles—or Naples, São Paulo, or any other city that can be home to potential street violence—can have what Blaber, Engen and Vega have christened a “mobile safe room” with armor and defensive mechanisms allied with speed, agility and daily practicality.



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