(a link will be provided so you can see what I'm talking about)

A Mi-Jack (pronounced my-jack) is a large box-like gantry crane (see link for visual), which can be purchased for under 50,000 USD, making it, in military terms, dirt f******* cheap. The great thing about them is that they have a VERY slim profile as-is, making it difficult to hit any vital spots.

I propose welding large steel plates (only about 1-2 inches thick, they're only intended to actually stop small-arms fire) onto each side of several Mi-Jacks, so they look like huge, rolling steel boxes, and rigging them to be controlled remotely (so nobody is placed in harm's way), which means you can probably remove the driver's cab.

The idea is to send these rolling behemoths ahead of convoys to draw hidden insurgents out of their hidey-holes. The insurgents just see a huge steel box. They don't have any idea what's inside it, but it must be important to be placed in such a large box, right? Right??? RIGHT??????

Wrong. The box is empty. But they don't know that. The Trojan Mi-Jack Box is simply a large, hollow diversion. The steel plates should hold out against small-arms fire for a good while, which the insurgents will quickly notice. That's when they'll bring out the RPG's (Rocket-Propelled Grenades, which would otherwise be aimed at manned convoy trucks), which may or may not bring it down (if they hit it dead-center, they'll completely miss any vital spots). What that'll do is give away their location to our spotters, who will unleash a deadly accurate return volley with extreme prejudice.

Even if they manage to destroy the Mi-Jack, we're only out about 50,000 bucks (plus the cost of the steel plates, which won't be very much). Maybe have some real-looking fake guns mounted on top to reinforce the illusion of danger.
-- 21 Quest, Jul 11 2007

Mi-Jack http://www.mi-jack....g/traveliftrtg.html
[21 Quest, Jul 11 2007]

Why not do the same thing with a cheap pickup truck for $10,000?
-- Galbinus_Caeli, Jul 11 2007


Size. It has to be eye-catching.
-- 21 Quest, Jul 11 2007


Sounds like one of those tricks that will work well, once.
-- wagster, Jul 11 2007


Perhaps... but even a cheap, one-time trick might save a lot of lives in a single ambush. I think would be worth it.
-- 21 Quest, Jul 11 2007


Utterly ineffective and ignores the objectives and problems of guerrilla warfare. [-]
-- nuclear hobo, Jul 11 2007



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