U.S. Military Goes A-Team, Orders Covertly Armored Toyotas for Testing

Toyota SUVs and pickups are popular with insurgents in overseas conflict zones, so why shouldn’t the U.S. military kick the tires on some?

The U.S. Special Operations Command just placed an order for up to 556 vehicles outfitted for “unconventional warfare” use, most of them Toyota Land Cruisers, Military Aerospace reports.

SOCOM’s contract with Battelle Memorial Institute of Columbus, Ohio will produce 396 armored and 160 unarmored off-the-shelf vehicles for testing purposes. The armored vehicles will be outfitted to survive a firefight while remaining incognito in global hot spots.

While the bulk of the contract is for Toyota Land Cruiser 76 and 79 variants (the SUV and pickup versions), some of the vehicles will be Toyota Hilux pickups and Ford Rangers. The idea of the testing program is to one day deliver a battle-ready vehicle to Special Forces that doesn’t carry a neon sign reading, “We’re here!”

Batelle will modify the vehicles, keeping their stock appearance while adding “special armor, suspension, brakes, frames and body reinforcements, as well as infrared lighting, blackout mode, and Special Operations command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR) equipment,” the report states.

Once the Special Operations upgrades are complete, the fleet will undergo a design review process, then contractor and government testing. If SOCOM likes them, the military will issue production orders.

ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq love the Hilux and Land Cruiser — it’s their go-to ride, and the U.S. Air Force can’t destroy enough of them. Being able to fly under the radar in a secretly A-Teamed Toyota would give Special Forces a real edge in their mission. They love it when a plan comes together.