Riverine II.

This is coolbert:

"Back in the Saddle Again!!" - - Gene Autry.

Some of those Vietnam War era riverine vessels used so successfully are still alive and well. Being brought out of retirement, taken out of mothballs, refitted, and sent to the Columbian Navy for THEIR riverine operations.

From that article:

"Rebuilding the riverine fleet"

"a Vietnam-era mini-ATC, or armored troop carrier. Low-slung, squared off, flat-bottomed and armed to the gills, the mini-ATC has been out-of-service with the U.S. for years, but a Virginia-based company has rebuilt 10 of the 36-knot boats for the Columbian military."

[I did not think the ATC could reach a speed of 36-knots. I had thought it was far less. Hmmmm!!??]

"The boats have been entirely rebuilt and up-armored with titanium plates."

I was not familiar with titanium used as armor. Titanium armor seems to be a real growth industry. Is light weight [relatively speaking], but very strong. I recall that the Soviets at one time had achieved building an entire submarine of titanium. But found the metal difficult to work with. The U.S. does not have large reserves of titanium and has to pay a premium for the raw ore to work with?? Is not so much an ore as a nodule, pick from heaps of earth by hand?

Used on the Magdalena river to interdict cocaine traffickers heading north from the hinterland of Columbia. The Magdalena is a major river draining into the ocean and a route frequented by both drug-narcoticos and FARC style guerrillas both??!!



Those ATC's need to be heavily armored and carry some pretty formidable firepower if they run up against those folks [druggies, FARC].

coolbert.