Weird concept from PT. Lundin, tank boat equipped with CMI's 105mm HP cannon. (Photo by: @arcinc_id) pic.twitter.com/3RGRmqaakM
— Taz Imansyah (@KaitouTaz) April 28, 2015
It’s already been an awesome morning for future vehicle news, but it just got a little awesomer with news of the X-18 Tank Boat:
North Sea Boats’ new X-18 Tank Boat feels like it should be a G.I. Joe toy. The 60-foot long catamaran can travel up rivers, carry a small inflatable boat on its back, and deliver either 20 Marines or Navy SEALs to shore. It also has a tank cannon in a turret on top of the main cabin, and if that isn’t enough, it’s possible to put an automated heavy machine gun turret on top of the tank turret.
Designed for a crew of four, the Tank Boat punches well above its weight. The smaller turret can be outfitted with guns ranging from 7.62 machine guns to 30-mm light cannons, and the bigger guns punch through armored targets up to 3 miles away. The 105-mm cannon can also angle up to 42 degrees, letting it lob explosives over 6 miles. Landing on beaches is never easy, but a landing craft with deadly firepower makes it a lot easier.
Enough firepower makes everything a lot easier, including otherwise lousy news cycles.
If we had had enough X-18 Tank Boats in 1941, the Japanese never would have risked attacking Pearl Harbor. And if they had, the war would have been over by mid-1942.
As an stress-relief exercise you can try at home or in your office, say “Tank Boat” out loud a few times. I promise you’ll be smiling.
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