SWAT vehicle

Armored vehicles of the BRI-PP

Among other armoured vehicles, the SWAT units of the French police unit National Police, RAID and Research and Intervention Brigade (BRI) are equipped with different armoured vans.[2]

Armoured police vehicles were first introduced after World War I by German police forces, ho had more than hundred armoured vehicles called German: Sonderwagen (German for special wagon) . Nowadays the Federal Police and the state police forces still maintain armoured vans, like Sonderwagen 4 and Sonderwagen 5. The federal police recently also ordered the LAPV Enok in addition to its Mowag Eagle and ATF Dingo. The SEK special state police units use armored vehicles like the LAPV Enok and the Survivor R.[3][4][5]

A Special Armored Vehicle Type PV-2 of the TMPD

Riot Police Units have been operating some series of armored buses (警備車, Keibi-sha), mainly used as mobile shelters and barriers. And in addition to them, more heavily-armored vehicles called Special Armored Vehicles (特型警備車, Tokugata-keibi-sha) were introduced in the 1960s. The first deployed model was called Type F-3, based on Mitsubishi's cab-after-engine trucks. They were initially treated as idlers because there are only few reports of gun violence in Japan, but they were highly appreciated during the Asama-Sansō incident in 1972 and their significance were widely recognized.[6]

After several model changes, Type PV-2 based on the Mitsubishi Fuso Canter is now deployed nationwide, mainly for Anti-firearms squads. There are also simplified version called Special Armored Van (特型遊撃車, Tokugata-yūgeki-sha), and much larger Heavy Special Armored Vehicle (銃器対策警備車, Jūki-taisaku-keibi-sha); the latter is dedicated to the Special Assault Teams.[6]

PSNI Land Rover Tangi passing Belfast City Hall

The United Kingdom police, particularly the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), has a great number of police role armoured vehicles based upon a range of base platforms including the Land Rover Defender and the OVIK Crossway. The internal security situation in Northern Ireland demands that the police operate up to 450 armoured vehicles which are optimised for public order duties. The PSNI uses OVIK Pangolin armoured public order vehicles.

SWAT units may also employ ARVs (Armored Rescue Vehicle[7]) for insertion, maneuvering, or during tactical operations such as the rescue of civilians, officers, firefighters, and/or military personnel pinned down by gunfire. Helicopters may be used to provide aerial reconnaissance or even insertion via rappelling or fast-roping. To avoid detection by suspects during insertion in urban environments, SWAT units may also use modified buses, vans, trucks, or other seemingly normal vehicles. During the 1997 North Hollywood shootout, LAPD SWAT commandeered an armored cash-delivery truck, which they used to extract wounded civilians and officers from the raging firefight with the heavily armed bank robbers.