Kelly Pedro
The London Free Press
December 16, 2005

London police’s “new” tactical rescue vehicle is a life insurance policy for police and citizens in Southwestern Ontario, the city’s police chief said yesterday. The 10-tonne MARS RG-12, built by a South African firm and marketed in North America by London-based General Dynamics, was donated to the London force yesterday.

London police accept donated MARS RG-12

General Dynamics had used the armored vehicle as a demonstration model for other police forces interested in buying one. But the company isn’t marketing the vehicle any more so it doesn’t need it, said Ken Yamashita, manager of corporate affairs. “It was the perfect place for us to donate the vehicle,” he said of the decision to give it to the London force. For more than a decade, General Dynamics had company-made vehicles available to city police if they needed one — and if one was available.

The MARS RG-12 seats 10 people, can travel as fast as 100 km/h and be deployed in less than 30 minutes. It will be made available to police forces across Southwestern Ontario, said Chief Murray Faulkner. “They (General Dynamics) have given us an insurance policy that we could never have afforded,” he said. The vehicle costs about $500,000 new and comes with a mobile adjustable ramp system that rescuers can use instead of a ladder to enter tall buildings. The ramp system gives police the ability to enter several different floors of a building at once. The MARS RG-12 can also be used during emergencies such as hurricanes, floods and tornadoes to quickly evacuate people, or by port authorities, who can use the vehicle at airports to board 747 airplanes.