For Sale: High-Tech, Lethal Weapons (From Private Military Companies)

[babylonsister]

For Sale: High-Tech, Lethal Weapons
Private military companies are expanding their offerings to clients with the latest in high-tech weapons
by Jody Ray Bennet


Since the 11 September terrorist attacks, private military companies (PMCs) have dramatically expanded in number, eager to market and sell their services to governments, multinational corporations, NGOs and other clients.


Companies such as Control Risks Group can gather business intelligence for a firm wishing to open its doors in a hostile region or instruct an NGO on how to respond to employee abduction. Erinys International can guard an oil pipeline or train a domestic force to guard the entire infrastructure. In the event of an attack, CSS Alliance can deploy a team of professionals to respond to medical emergencies.

But while the services offered by such private companies differ, each relies primarily on the physical manpower required to gather intelligence or facilitate a private security operation. However, there is another group of PMCs advertising their own patented, high-tech weapons to many of the same aforementioned clients.

Some companies manufacture large-scale military equipment, like Blackwater’s GRIZZLY Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) - a 22-foot long (6.7 meters), 15-tonne heavily armored land vehicle able to transport up to 10 people and resist “projectiles up to .50 caliber and to provide an IED-survivable envelope.” Manufactured at Blackwater’s Moyock, North Carolina compound, the GRIZZL is equipped with a roof turret designed to mount a 12.7mm machine gun, a feature that is undoubtedly attractive to militaries possessing such a weapon.

While the vast majority of the private military and security industry is made up of US and UK companies, there are explicit differences between the two. The GRIZZLY is symbolic of the US industry, often characterized by heavy-duty, lethal military equipment. The UK industry is in many ways softer, characterized by less lethal security technologies.

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http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/07/28/10651/