A
technical is a type of
improvised fighting vehicleAn improvised fighting vehicle is the result of ad hoc modifications to a civilian or military non-combat vehicle, in order to give it a fighting capability...
, typically a civilian or military non-combat vehicle, modified to provide an offensive capability. It is usually an open-backed civilian
pickup truckA pickup truck is a light motor vehicle with an open-top rear cargo area which is almost always separated from the cab to allow for chassis flex when carrying or pulling heavy loads....
or
four-wheel driveFour-wheel drive, 4WD, 4x4 , or AWD is a four-wheeled vehicle with a drivetrain that allows all four wheels to receive torque from the engine simultaneously...
vehicle mounting a
machine gunA machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rifle bullets in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute...
, light anti-aircraft gun,
recoilless rifleA recoilless gun or recoilless rifle is a lightweight weapon that fires a heavier projectile than would be practical to fire from a recoiling weapon of comparable size. Technically, only devices that use a rifled barrel are recoilless rifles. Smoothbore variants are recoilless guns...
, or other support weapon.
The term
technical describing such a vehicle appears to have originated in
SomaliaSomalia , officially the Republic of Somalia and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic, is a country located in the Horn of Africa...
. It is thought to derive from use by the Red Cross there who were often forced to bribe local militias to avoid being attacked and robbed. The money used for such bribe would be budgeted as a "technical expense" to hide its true nature. Technicals have also been referred to as
battlewagons,
gunwagons, or
gunships.
Among
irregular armiesIrregular military refers to any non-standard military. Being defined by exclusion, there is significant variance in what comes under the term. It can refer to the type of military organization, or to the type of tactics used....
, often centered around the perceived strength and charisma of
warlordA warlord is a person with power who has both military and civil control over a subnational area due to armed forces loyal to the warlord and not to a central authority. The term can also mean one who espouses the ideal that war is necessary, and has the means and authority to engage in war...
s, the prestige power of technicals is strong. According to one article, "The Technical is the most significant symbol of power in southern Somalia. It is a small truck with large tripod machine guns mounted on the back. A warlord's power is measured by how many of these vehicles he has."
Combat history
Such improvised fighting vehicles date back to the first use of
automobileAn automobile, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
s, and even earlier, to the horse-drawn
tachankaThe tachanka was a horse-drawn machine gun platform, usually a cart or an open wagon with a heavy machine gun installed in the back. A tachanka could be pulled by two to four horses and required a crew of two or three . It was reputedly invented by Nestor Makhno.There are at least two plausible...
s mounting
machine gunA machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rifle bullets in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute...
s in eastern Europe and Russia. During
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, various British and Commonwealth units, including the
Long Range Desert GroupThe Long Range Desert Group was a unit of the British Army during World War II. The unit was founded in Egypt, following the Italian declaration of war in June 1940, by Major Ralph A. Bagnold with the assistance of Captains Patrick Clayton and William Shaw, acting under the direction of then...
(LRDG), the No. 1 Demolition Squadron or 'PPA' (
Popski's Private ArmyPopski's Private Army was an irregular unit of British Special Forces founded in Cairo in 1942 by Major Vladimir Peniakoff DSO MC...
), and the Special Air Service (
SASThe Special Air Service is a special forces regiment within the British Army which has served as a model for the special forces of other countries. The SAS forms a significant section of United Kingdom Special Forces alongside the Special Boat Service , Special Reconnaissance Regiment , and the...
) were noted for their exploits in the deserts of Egypt, Libya and Chad utilizing unarmored motor vehicles, often fitted with machine guns and cannons of various types. During the 1960s, the popular American television series
The Rat PatrolThe Rat Patrol was an American television program that aired on ABC during the 1966-1968 seasons. The show followed the exploits of four Allied soldiers who were part of a long-range desert patrol group in the North African campaign during World War II...
echoed the British SAS and LRDG use of the Willys
JeepJeep is an automobile marque of Chrysler. It is the oldest off-road vehicle brand, with Land Rover coming in second. The original vehicle which first appeared as the prototype Bantam BRC became the primary light 4-wheel-drive vehicle of the US Army and allies during the World War II and postwar...
, this time fitted with a single 0.50 calibre Browning machine gun.
Western Sahara
Tactics for employing technicals were pioneered by the Sahrawi People's Liberation Army, the armed wing of the
Polisario FrontThe Polisario, Polisario Front, or Frente Polisario, from the Spanish abbreviation of Frente Popular de Liberación de Saguía el Hamra y Río de Oro is a Sahrawi rebel movement working for the independence of Western Sahara from Morocco...
, fighting for independence against
MauritaniaMauritania , officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a country in northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on the west, by Senegal on the southwest, by Mali on the east and southeast, by Algeria on the northeast, and by the Morocco-controlled Western Sahara on the northwest...
(1975–79) and
MoroccoMorocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country located in North Africa with a population of nearly 32 million and an area just under . Its capital is Rabat, and its largest city is Casablanca. Morocco has a coast on the Atlantic Ocean that reaches past the Strait of Gibraltar into the...
(1975–present) from headquarters in
TindoufTindouf is the main town in Tindouf Province, Algeria. It is close to several Algerian military bases, and also to the Western Sahara, which contains several Sahrawi refugee camps operated by the Polisario Front. There is an airport outside Tindouf, north-west of the town, with regular Air Algérie...
,
AlgeriaAlgeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country located in North Africa. It is the largest country on the Mediterranean sea, the second largest on the African continent and the eleventh-largest country in the world in terms of land area.It is bordered by Tunisia in...
. Algeria provided arms and Land Rover jeeps to Sahrawi guerrillas, who successfully utilized them in long-range desert raids against the less agile conventional armies of their opponents, recalling Sahrawi tribal raids (ghazzis) of the pre-colonial period. Polisario later gained access to heavier equipment, but four-wheel drive vehicles remain a staple of their arsenal.
Libya-Chad War
In 1987,
ChadChad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...
ian troops equipped with technicals drove the heavily mechanized
LibyaLibya , officially the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya , is a country located in North Africa...
n army from the
Aozou StripThe Aouzou Strip قطاع أوزو is a strip of land in northern Chad which lies along the border with Libya, extending south to a depth of about 100 kilometers into Chad's Bourkou-Ennedi-Tibesti Region....
. The vehicles were instrumental in the victory at the
Battle of FadaThe battle of Fada took place in northern Chad in 1987, and was a turning point of the Libyan-Chadian War.- Prelude :At the beginning of 1986 the Libyans controlled all Chad north of the 16th parallel...
, and were driven over 150 km into Libya to
raid military basesThe battle of Maaten al-Sarra was a battle fought between Chad and Libya on September 5 1987 during the Toyota War. The battle took the form of a surprise Chadian raid against the Libyan Maaten al-Sarra Air Base, meant to remove the threat of Libyan airpower, that had already thwarted the Chadian...
. It was discovered that these light vehicles could ride through anti-tank minefields without detonating the mines when driven at speeds over 100 km/h. The vehicles became so famous that in 1984,
TimeTime is an American newsmagazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong. As of 2009, Time no longer publishes a Canadian advertiser edition...
dubbed the conflict the "
Great Toyota WarThe Toyota War is the name commonly given to the last phase of the Chadian-Libyan conflict, which took place in 1987 in Northern Chad and on the Libyan-Chadian border. It takes its name from the Toyota pickup trucks used as technicals to provide mobility for the Chadian troops as they fought...
".
Somalia
Technicals played an important role in the 1990s
Somali Civil WarThe Somali Civil War is an ongoing civil war taking place in Somalia, that began in 1991. The conflict has caused destabilisation and instability throughout the country, with the current phase of the conflict seeing the Somali government losing substantial control of the state to the rebel...
and the recent
War in Somalia (2006–present)The War in Somalia was an armed conflict involving largely Ethiopian and Somali Transitional Federal Government forces and Somali troops from Puntland versus the Somali Islamist umbrella group, the Islamic Court Union , and other affiliated militias for control of the country. There is a clear...
. After the fall of the
Siad BarreMohamed Siad Barre was the President of Somalia from 1969 to 1991, and has been described as a dictator. Prior to his presidency, he was an army commander under the then young democratic government of Somalia...
regime and the collapse of the Somali National Army (SNA), it was rare for any Somali force to field heavy armored fighting vehicles. However, technicals were very common.
Mohamed Farrah AididGeneral Mohamed Farrah Aidid was a controversial Somali military leader, often described as a warlord. He claimed to be the President of Somalia from 1995 to 1996...
used 30 technicals along with a force of 600 militia to capture Baidoa in September 1995. After he was killed in clan fighting in 1996, his body was carried to his funeral on a Toyota pickup.
Proving their susceptibility to heavy weapons and their value as a military prize, the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) was able to capture 30 "battlewagons" during the defeat of warlord Abdi Qeybdid's militia at the
Second Battle of MogadishuThe Second Battle of Mogadishu was a battle fought for control of Mogadishu, the capital city of Somalia. The opposing forces were the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism , and militia loyal to the Islamic Court Union . The conflict began in mid-February, 2006, when Somali...
in 2006. That September, an impressive array of 130 technicals was used to take Kismayo from the forces of the
Juba Valley AllianceThe Juba Valley Alliance is a political faction of the Somali Civil War. It was the primary opponent of the Somali Patriotic Movement and the Somali Reconciliation and Restoration Council vying for the control of Kismayo and the Juba River valley, the area known as Jubaland.Following the...
.
The ICU attempted to curb the private possession of technicals, impounding them or appropriating them for use by the army of the Islamic Courts:
We were sceptical, but everyone we have spoken to since—doctors, teachers, journalists, shopkeepers—has talked of a city transformed. Gone are the ubiquitous checkpoints where the warlords’ militias killed, extorted and stole. Gone are their technicals, Jeeps with heavy machine guns mounted on the back. The infamous Bakaro arms markets has been closed. The only guns and technicals now are those of the Sharia courts enforcers.
On November 13, 2006, then President of
PuntlandPuntland is a region in northeastern Somalia, centered on Garowe , whose leaders declared it an autonomous state in 1998. A third of Somalia's population lives in the province, which likewise represents about a third of the nation's geographical area. Unlike neighbouring Somaliland, Puntland does...
, General
Adde MusaMohamud Muse Hersi is a Somali politician. He was the President of the Puntland region of Somalia from January 8 2005 to January 8 2009.-Biography:...
, personally led fifty battlewagons to Galkacyo to confront the Islamists. They were used a month later against the army of the Islamic Courts Union at the
Battle of BandiradleyThe Battle of Bandiradley in Somalia began on December 23, 2006, when Ethiopian and Puntland forces, along with Warlord Abdi Qeybdid fought the forces of the Islamic Courts Union defending Bandiradley...
alongside Abdi Qeybdid's reconstituted militia.
However, forced into conventional battles in the War in Somalia of 2006–07, the unarmored technicals of the ICU proved no match for the
T-55The T-54 and T-55 tanks were a series of main battle tanks designed in the Soviet Union. The first T-54 prototype appeared in March 1945, just before the end of the Second World War. The T-54 entered full production in 1947 and became the main tank of the Soviet Army's armored units, as well as of...
tanks,
Mil Mi-24The Mil Mi-24 is a large helicopter gunship and low-capacity troop transport produced by Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant and operated from 1972 by the Soviet Air Force, its successors, and over thirty other nations...
helicopter gunships and fighter bombers employed by
EthiopiaEthiopia , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country situated in the Horn of Africa. Ethiopia is bordered by Eritrea to the north, Sudan to the west, Kenya to the south, Somalia to the east and Djibouti to the northeast. Its size is 1,100,000 km² with an...
.
Afghanistan
In the
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)The War in Afghanistan is an ongoing coalition conflict which began on October 7, 2001, as the British military participated in the US military's Operation Enduring Freedom that was launched in response to the September 11 attacks...
,
U.S. Special Operations ForcesUnited States Special Operations Forces are active and reserve component forces of U.S. Military. They are designated by the United States Secretary of Defense, and are specifically trained to conduct operations in an area under enemy or unfriendly control or politically sensitive environments to...
are known to use technicals for patrol of the rugged terrain and the nature of their
clandestine operationA clandestine operation is an intelligence or military operation carried out in such a way that the operation goes unnoticed.The Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms defines "clandestine operation" as "An operation sponsored or conducted by governmental departments or...
s. The Taliban also used technicals while they were in power.
Iraq
Technicals were used by Iraqi forces in the
2003 invasion of IraqThe 2003 invasion of Iraq, was led by the United States, backed by British forces and smaller contingents from Australia, Denmark, Poland and Spain. Four countries participated with troops during the initial invasion phase, which lasted from March 20 to May 1...
. The
Iraqi Republican GuardThe Iraqi Republican Guard was a branch of the Iraqi military, which later became the Republican Guard Corps and then the Republican Guard Forces Command. Formed in 1980, it was originally created to be Saddam Hussein's bodyguard but was expanded into a large military force...
and
FedayeenFedayeen is a term used to describe several distinct, militant groups and individuals in Armenia, Iran and the Arab world at different times in history...
emulated tactics of the
Somali National AllianceThe Somali National Alliance was a political alliance formed in June, 1992 with Mohamed Farrah Aidid as its head. Its constituents included Aidid's breakaway United Somali Congress faction, the Somali Patriotic Movement and other southern factions...
with limited success, but were outmatched by
CoalitionThe Multi-National Force - Iraq is a military command, led by the United States, that is fighting the Iraq War against Iraqi insurgents or resistants. Multi-National Force - Iraq replaced the previous force, Combined Joint Task Force 7, on May 15, 2004. General Ray Odierno serves as Commanding...
armour and aviation. In the aftermath of the invasion Technicals saw use by
Iraqi insurgentsThe Iraqi insurgency is composed of a diverse mix of militias, foreign fighters, all-Iraqi units or mixtures using violent measures against the United States-led multinational force in Iraq in Iraq and the post-2003 Iraqi government, or by propaganda or money supportive thereof...
for transporting personnel and quick raids against the
Iraqi policeThe Iraqi Police Service are the uniformed Territorial police force responsible for the enforcement of civil law within Iraq. The current organisation, structure and recruitment practice was guided by the Coalition Provisional Authority following the 2003 invasion of Iraq...
forces. The insurgent use of technicals increased after the
Iraq Spring Fighting of 2004The Iraq Spring Fighting of 2004 was a series of operational offensives and various major engagements during the Iraq War...
.
Many military utility vehicles have been modified to serve as gun trucks to protect Coalition convoys. The
HumveeThe High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle is a military 4WD motor vehicle created by AM General. It has largely supplanted the roles formerly served by smaller Jeeps such as the M151 1/4 ton MUTT, the M561 "Gama Goat", their M718A1 and M792 ambulance versions, the CUCV, and other light trucks...
allows for weapon mounts by design, so it is not generally considered a technical.
The Coalition also supplied technicals to the Iraqi police.
Private military contractorsA private military company provides specialized expertise or services of a military nature, sometimes called or classified as mercenary...
also use technicals and the United States military used modified
Toyota TacomaThe Toyota Tacoma is a compact pickup truck produced and manufactured by the Toyota Motor Company since 1995. The second-generation Tacoma was Motor Trend Magazine's Truck of the Year for 2005. The Toyota Tacoma is named after the City of Tacoma, Washington, USA.- First generation :The Tacoma...
pickups (purchased from auto showrooms in the USA and modified before delivery) as well.
Sudan
JanjaweedThe Janjaweed is a blanket term used to describe mostly armed gunmen in Darfur, western Sudan, and now eastern Chad. Using the United Nations definition, the Janjaweed comprised nomadic Arabic-speaking African tribes The Janjaweed (Arabic: جنجويد; variously transliterated Janjawid) is...
militias use technicals on their
raids against civilian villagesThe Darfur Conflict refers to violence taking place in Darfur, Sudan.The conflict started in February 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Army and Justice and Equality Movement in Darfur took up arms, accusing the government of oppressing black Africans in favour of Arabs. There are various estimates...
in
DarfurDarfur is a region in Sudan. An independent sultanate for several hundred years, it was incorporated into Sudan by Anglo-Egyptian forces. The region is divided into three federal states: West Darfur, South Darfur, and North Darfur which are coordinated by a Transitional Darfur Regional Authority...
,
SudanSudan is a country in northeastern Africa. It is the largest country in Africa and in the Arab World, and tenth largest in the world by area...
, as do the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and
Justice and Equality MovementThe Justice and Equality Movement is a rebel group involved in the Darfur conflict of Sudan. It is led by Khalil Ibrahim. Along with other rebel groups such as the Sudan Liberation Movement , they are fighting against the Sudanese government. The JEM is also a member of the Eastern Front, a...
(JEM) rebel troops in defense of their areas of operations.
Chad
Technicals have been used by both sides in the war in Chad, including at the 2006 and
2008The Battle of N'Djamena began on February 2, 2008 when Chadian rebel forces opposed to Chadian President Idriss Déby entered N'Djamena, the capital of Chad, after a three-day advance through the country. The rebels were initially successful, taking a large part of the city and attacking the...
battles of N'Djamena.
Lebanon
Opposition forces have reportedly used technicals in the fighting for the
Chouf DistrictChouf is a historic region of Lebanon, as well as an administrative district in the governorate of Mount Lebanon....
during the May 2008 clashes in Lebanon.
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