Mysterious SUVs in the US President's motorcade in Vietnam

Up to a dozen Suburbans could be tasked with carrying electronic warfare equipment, Secret Service, weapons and communications centers.

President Obama’s motorcade includes a number of SUVs as well as a number of pickup trucks with modified rear beds for specialized missions, the most numerous of which are Chevrolet Suburbans. These large, high-chassis vehicles are mostly painted black and perform a variety of missions, from defense to combat.

A Chevrolet Suburban goes ahead of two The Beasts with electronic warfare missions. Photo: Ba Do.

The vehicles in the motorcade have the responsibilities of advance guard, road opener, convoy leader, camouflage and decoy vehicle for the President's car, secret service vehicle, electronic warfare vehicle, ambulance, media vehicle, support vehicle and many other purposes.

Appearing in the motorcade in Vietnam, ahead of the two The Beasts reserved for President Obama is a black Chevrolet Suburban. This is an electronic warfare vehicle, always ahead of the President's car and behind the Vice President's car if traveling in the same convoy.

The identifying mark of the Suburban on this mission is the two short vertical antennas mounted on the roof, which have many functions including detecting missiles, sending signals to jam electronic equipment and even improvised explosive devices.

The height of the antenna can be changed depending on the Secret Service's assessment of the situation, the higher the antenna, the wider the jamming range or change the jamming frequency range. Provide electronic systems.

In addition to the electronic warfare vehicle, the convoy also has an unusual Chevrolet Suburban called Roadrunner, whose main mission is to connect the President's car with other cars in the convoy as well as between cars in the convoy. This convoy even has the ability to connect satellites to the White House, where staff closely monitor every move of Obama whether he is traveling in Vietnam or anywhere else in the world.

Another Suburban in the Presidential motorcade. Photo: Ba Do.

In addition, there are many other Suburbans that are tasked with carrying Secret Service agents, and the CAT team is ready to get out of the car and move closer to protect the President whenever they reach a stop. But there is one special Suburban that no Secret Service agent jumps out of, with its windows completely blacked out, that is the vehicle used to carry a special weapon, the M134D. This is a typical 6-barreled machine gun used by the US military in combat, capable of taking down infantry, armored vehicles, warships, helicopters, and many other forces. If necessary to attack, the gun that the Secret Service will shoot out from the roof of the vehicle to carry out the mission.

Finally, the convoy also includes Suburbans that are tasked with transporting the President's staff, support staff, and doctors. Depending on the purpose of the trip, the entourage accompanying him may ride in the Suburban or other vehicles provided by the destination. For example, during this visit to Vietnam, many business leaders accompanying the US President were transported in dozens of Ford Transit vans.

According to VNE