TOP 15 Presidential Convoy Secrets and Tactics

from the vehicles that are used to the staff and support structures in place the u.s presidential motorcade is one of the most secure in the world today we'll be taking a look at the strategies and techniques that are used to keep the president safe so join me as we take a look at 15 amazing presidential motorcade secrets and tactics number 15 nuclear biological chemical vehicle the president reportedly gets as many as 30 death threats per day and while it's not fully clear how many of these represent legitimate plans to end their life the secret service has to go to extreme lengths to ensure no one manages to enact a plan they can never be sure where or how a risk may present itself so there's a little known vehicle that's a part of the motorcade that plays a hugely important role known as the nuclear biological chemical vehicle or nbc for short it's a version of a military vehicle that's often deployed in war zones inside there's a sensor suite as well as a connection to a meteorological system and it continuously collects and tests samples from the surrounding environment mainly through the use of a chemical biological mass spectrometer those inside the vehicle are kept safe by using a positive overpressure system where the internal pressure is higher than the outside and this prevents any material from leaking into the nbc while it's in operation needless to say at the first sign of any nuclear or chemical threat the alarm is raised and the president is evacuated while a specialized team will move in to determine where the reading had come from and hopefully who was responsible for the attack it also carries the necessary protective equipment needed to protect people within the affected radius and medicines to help counteract radiation poisoning if needed [Music] number 14 the beast every part of the motorcade is designed with one purpose in mind to keep the president safe and a major part of that is the vehicle that they travel in which is known as the beast this 11 ton monster is a converted cadillac but it's very different from anyone you'd be able to buy and it's packed full of defensive features the vehicle is hermetically sealed from the outside to protect against fluid and chemical attacks it has run flat tires night vision cameras smoke screens and oil slicks and reportedly has armor that's made of aluminum ceramic and steel the walls of the beast are eight inches thick or about 20 centimeters the multi-layered windows are 5 inches thick or about 13 centimeters and the doors are said to each weigh as much as that of a boeing 747 door because of how heavily armored they are the beast has its own air supply too it carries backup bags of the president's blood and also carries a large arsenal of weaponry with it such as pump action shotguns and a grenade launcher the beast is virtually a fortress on wheels that's capable of defending against anything that the enemy can throw at it but with all that weight the only downside is that it's relatively slow in comparison to the other vehicles so there's still the need to have support vehicles with it just to make sure everything else is safe number 13 counter assault team most parts of the motorcade are designed to protect the president but there's one element that's responsible for the opposite approach the counter-assault team is a highly specialized tactical division of the secret service but instead of shielding the president and evacuating them will instead actively track and engage with any aggressors a member of the counter-assault team is permanently assigned to the president's detail and is known by the code name hawkeye making up a larger part of the motorcade with several members present cat members usually wear black battle dress uniforms and as standard are equipped with an sr16 rifle a sig sauer p229 pistol and flashbang grenades depending on the mission requirements they may also be given heavier weaponry and need to be able to operate the entire arsenal to even be considered as part of the team it's probably the most competitive division within the secret service and to join it members must have already completed an eight-month course at the federal law enforcement training center in glencoe georgia and have served in the secret service for several years then there's a further seven-week training course that involves close quarters combat and counter ambush tactics and requires applicants to be able to complete three pull ups while wearing a 45 pound vest and complete a one and a half mile or 2.4 kilometer run in under nine minutes it's thought that only one in ten of those who apply are ultimately accepted into the counter assault team they truly are the best of the best number 12 driver training most motorcades around the world are processional affairs where people responsible for driving the main vehicles are police officers members of a security force or even the vips themselves but not so for the u.s president's car from the moment they're voted into office the president is no longer allowed to drive their own vehicle this rule even continues years after they've left office as for who is actually allowed to drive it's not the rank and file secret service agents in the front of the beast there are two specialized members of the agency one who sits in the passenger seat and is trained to be the first responder to medical emergencies as well as being proficient with all of the weapons on board and the other who does the actual driving and has to have completed a course and be regularly trained in protective and evasive maneuvers the initial five-day course called the protective operations driving course is conducted at a special track in maryland the skills they learn there include the notorious j-turn which sees the driver spin the reversing cadillac 180 degrees and continue quickly facing forward according to sources there's just a 60 pass rate of the driver training and while agents who fail are able to remain on the secret service detail they're only allowed to retry a couple of times before failing for good number 11 marine one while traveling around in the motorcade the president and their support teams take virtually everything they need with them but there's a backup contingency that's always close by just in case things take an unexpected turn that's marine one it's the name given to the presidential helicopter that depending on location is either a sikorsky vh3dc king or a vh-60n whitehawk the marine one fleet is maintained in quantico virginia by a team of around 800 personnel and at any time it flies it will always do so in a group of five identical helicopters so no one can ever be certain which one the president is actually on travel by marine one is seen as preferential to using a motorcade because it's far more secure but sometimes there's no choice but to travel by road equipped with anti-missile countermeasures it's always on standby when the president is traveling by motorcade and can be deployed within a moment's notice either to help defend the motorcade itself or perform an emergency evacuation at a predetermined location number 10 accompanied on foot when you see the presidential motorcade moving through urban areas you'll see countless motorcycles and vehicles traveling alongside the president's car but you'll have also noticed the large number of secret service agents traveling by foot this isn't simply because they've forgotten to bring enough vehicles to transport everyone and is instead a vital part of keeping the procession completely secure each of the agents are expertly trained in threat detection and protective techniques and it's far easier to monitor crowds adjust positions and communicate with one another when moving by foot as opposed to being inside a car it's these agents that are responsible for the vast majority of risk analysis and situational awareness as the motorcade moves they'll also be able to react the quickest if anyone does decide to attack each of these agents is armed with lightweight weaponry and because of how they're spread out in formation it's impossible to take all of them out in one go so they'll almost certainly be agents ready to take over the protection of the president if somehow someone is able to incapacitate the car and the agents inside number nine road runner the vehicles involved in the presidential motorcade will often change depending on where the president is traveling and the particular risks that have been determined but one that's a mainstay of every one is called the roadrunner it's a heavily modified chevrolet suburban that's fitted with run flat tires protective armor a vehicle transponder and a turbocharger and the way that you can recognize it is by the antenna platform that's mounted on the roof because this is the white house communications agency vehicle its platform contains a saccom dome that has a tracking dish within it and acts as the primary data uplink and downlink and it's the main communication path for the entire motorcade it's responsible for encrypting duplex radio and streaming video which is then set up to a military satellite with all voice channels being encrypted and the ability to contact any part of the government the roadrunner not only ensures secret service can keep the motorcade locked down and safe but also enables the president to run the country in virtually the same way that they can from the white house amazingly the roadrunner is so important that to ensure there's always one available for a motorcade a total of 22 of them have so far been built they're constantly being upgraded with the latest technology by the naval research laboratory number eight secret service intel the best way to keep everyone involved with the motorcade safe particularly the president is by having a comprehensive intelligence operation that monitors all the potential threats that may be encountered the secret service is responsible for all of this and while it was originally set up to combat counterfeit currency as a part of the department of treasury it officially became a part of the department of homeland security in 2003. the agents you see accompanying the president and other high-profile individuals just scratched the surface of the total number of people employed by the secret service which is believed to be around 7 000 and the agency has an annual budget of around 2.2 billion dollars it's responsible for protecting the president and other leaders and also safeguarding the financial and critical infrastructure of the country so a vast majority of personnel and funding goes to the intelligence department that sifts through and researches countless pieces of evidence in collaboration with other agencies to ensure they know exactly what they can expect while the motorcade is designed to react to any unpredictable events it's the overwhelming success of the secret service in recent decades that means the convoy has always been planned in a way that has avoided any dangerous situations from arising number seven the stagecoach and the spares the presidential limousine called the beast is given the code name the stagecoach when it's traveling in the motorcade and this is the vehicle that every other part of the convoy is tasked with protecting observers though may not know which one it actually is because there's more than just one beast not only are there at least 12 versions of the current model that are used but previous models of the cadillac are also sometimes present in the motorcade as well the secret service drivers take a meticulously choreographed route which sees these vehicles swap position and move in front of each other with the intention being that it's not always clear where the president is to anyone apart from those responsible for their security of course as these spare beasts are also fitted with the same levels of defensive armor and counter-attacking capabilities they're usually carrying a team of secret service agents in each and if anyone does launch an attack to the actual one the spares will move into the line of fire to try to block the assault and will then be able to launch a counter-offensive of their own number six route car and pilot car if you've ever watched a presidential motorcade the first thing you're aware of is probably the wailing sirens of the escorting police motorcycles but the truth is it began a lot earlier than that the secret service knows the president's movements well in advance so plan out the route that will be taken and when possible will arrive on location several days before to conduct a security sweep to ensure there are no dangers in the way and that the roads are suitable for the extremely heavy presidential limousine when it's actually traveling a route car will drive the planned route several minutes before the main motorcade and this is used to conduct a check to ensure the roads have been closed off and secure and provide guidance for the sweepers which are the police on motorcycles responsible for the main part of crowd and road control the pilot car then performs the same role but just a few seconds ahead of the main motorcade to act as the final check to be certain it's safe to proceed this car is in constant communication with the rest of the motorcade and can change the direction or speed at any moment then behind the police bikes the first car of the actual motorcade is the lead car and this is used to guide all of the other vehicles and to act as the first buffer with what lies ahead just in case the route car and the pilot car have both missed something by using this setup the secret service leaves absolutely nothing to chance number five inside the beast the beast is undoubtedly one of the most secure and safest vehicles ever built and it contains a number of secret surprises that lay in store for anyone that manages to get too close most of these haven't been made known to the public but the details that have been released show that the designers have thought of everything up to seven people can sit inside including the two secret service agents in the front but the rear cabin is separated from them by a glass partition something that can only be opened by the president as the windows are bomb and bulletproof they aren't exactly installed in the same way as in other cars this means that only one of them is able to open and even then it can only lower a couple of inches to allow the driver to speak to agents that are on the outside thanks to the dedicated communications car the beast is also extremely well connected but it also features its own sat phone so if all else fails the president will be able to communicate directly with the pentagon furthermore with the greatest risk to the president and the motorcade arguably coming from the betrayal of someone they've invited into the beast there's also a discreet panic button alongside the president's seat which if triggered will result in the car being surrounded and everyone that isn't the president being pulled out within a matter of seconds number four destroying the limousine the united states president isn't the only leader around the world to have special cars designed for them to allow safe transport across the country but while there are museums elsewhere dedicated to the history of those vehicles you'll be hard-pressed to find a retired u.s presidential vehicle that's because they're destroyed by the secret service when they're taken out of commission this isn't just a case of sending it to the scrap yard or carefully dismantled either it's quite an explosive affair secret service agents are invited to fire on the vehicle with bullets and explosive rounds until there's virtually nothing left of course with the tough armor that's used to build it this can take quite some time and that's exactly the point the process is carried out to prove to the agents responsible for protecting it as well as those planning on attacking it just how strong and durable that the limousine is and no matter how much you managed to isolate the beast it'd take far too long to actually harm someone inside before support troops made it to fight back the other reason for ending the limo in this way is to simply ensure that all of the classified and secret technology and systems fitted to the car are completely destroyed which means that it's impossible for people planning an attack to learn how to get around those defensive measures number three no handles if you've ever looked close enough at the presidential limousine you may have noticed one unusual design on the doors that you won't see on any other car it doesn't have any handles instead it has a series of loops and these are designed to make it easier for the secret service agents to hold onto it and because of the body posture they're forced to adopt while doing so almost create a human shield around the beast that raises the question though of how you actually open the doors and the simple answer to this is that no one knows for sure each of the doors weigh at least a couple of tons and this would make it difficult to move them without some form of electronic assistance it's been suggested that the doors feature an encrypted lock system that can only be opened with a key card and a code the manufacturers of the car along with the secret service have kept that information classified to make sure no one tries to design a way around it number two electronic defense of all the vehicles that accompany the presidential limousine in the motorcade the one that's arguably the most important and by far the most advanced is the us secret service electronic countermeasures suburban which is also known as the watchtower while most vehicles are designed to assist with the defense of the president this one not only protects against electronic warfare but can also launch its own offensive attacks usually taking place in front of the presidential spare coach it's used to counter guided attacks such as those from ieds rocket-propelled grenades and anti-tank gutted missiles it has two antennae on the roof that are used for barrage jamming which is the main method of countering those threats and the setup of these antenna can be adjusted based on the frequencies they need to operate at there's also two dome-shaped electronic warfare sensors which can be used to detect the launch of rpgs or anti-tank missiles and upon detection of a laser rangefinding illumination the system will automatically trigger a salvo of infrared smoke grenades that will act as both a visual block and an ir block too the presidential limousine is equipped with a vision enhancer system that enables it to continue driving even if those counter measures have been deployed meaning the electronic countermeasures suburban can then focus on detecting and eliminating those responsible for the threat alongside the counter assault team number one backup routes when the president plans to travel somewhere a huge amount of prior research and planning is carried out so that the secret service is prepared for everything when they decide upon the exact roads that the motorcade will take they have to consider the extreme weight and ground clearance of the presidential limo and ensure that it'll actually be able to travel on those roads this is more difficult than it may originally seem however because not only does the planned route need to be checked and in some cases even manhole covers are welded shut to reduce points of danger but all of the emergency alternative routes have to be thoroughly investigated too according to a former secret service agent there's virtually an entirely different backup route planned for every road junction that a motorcade passes through with the possibility of an attack at all times the cars need to be able to quickly divert in a different direction to get out of danger and this is an extraordinary level of preparation all the drivers of the important vehicles need to know the plans of these alternate routes which often involve the quickest way back to a secure compound and if that's not possible they'll head towards marine one which will have been strategically positioned to be able to conduct an emergency evacuation at the first sign of trouble these backup plans aim to have the president in a place of absolute safety within just a few minutes something that will also rely on the high-speed evasive skills of the limo's driver watch our vehicles playlist for more top 15 videos about amazing vehicles sit back relax and binge watch all of our best vehicle videos [Applause] you

Channel: Top Fives

Views: 595,410

Keywords: Convoy, motorcade

Id: 17Idf8jgWK0

Length: 19min 44sec (1184 seconds)

Published: Mon May 23 2022