Obama's 'Beast' of a car revealed - BBC News

[Yrys]

Obama's 'Beast' of a car revealed

It looks like something out of a James Bond film.

But the presidential seal on the side marks this hulking limo out as something not
even the superspy will be able to get his hands on. These are the first pictures of
the new armoured limousine which will be used to ferry Barack Obama around.

Nicknamed "The Beast", the Cadillac will make its debut on 20 January, as part of
the inaugural parade. It is traditional to show presidential cars off for the first time
in this way.

'State of the art'

The Secret Service said the 2009 limo would provide it with a "valuable asset" in
providing its occupant with the highest level of protection.

As expected, they are not giving too much away about the car, but Nicholas Trotta, their
Assistant Director for the Office of Protective Operations is quoted in their news release:

"Although many of the vehicles' security enhancements cannot be discussed, it is safe to
say that this car's security and coded communications systems make it the most
technologically advanced protection vehicle in the world."

Observers say the car is likely to include bullet proof glass, an armoured body, a separate
oxygen supply, and a completely sealed interior to protect against a chemical attack.
Some joke the car is so tough it could withstand a rocket-propelled grenade. Its tyres are
said to work flat, so the vehicle will keep going even if shot at.

While the car's interior is a closely guarded secret, there is no doubt "The Beast" has been
kitted out with the best and most up-to-date equipment.

David Caldwell, a spokesman for General Motors which makes Cadillac, told the BBC that
the car is made to specifications that the company is given by the federal government.


"One of the specifications is that we don't talk about the specifications"
David Caldwell
General Motors

But Mr Caldwell did reveal that the car has been made in keeping with the design of a
contemporary Cadillac, and would include a hand-crafted interior. When asked if it
included such extras as an ipod dock, he said he could not comment specifically, but
added that the limo would have "state of the art electronics".

 

[Marshall]

Guess President Obama really is trying to make any use of technology modern and "hip" hehe. (Youtube broadcasts, a beast of a car)  ;D

That car won't even need escorts, it probably has an inbuilt rocket systems or something  :threat:

 

[Kat Stevens]

Doesn't look very green to me.  8)

 

[Marshall]

Doesn't look very green to me.   8)

Neither did Mr. Greenshift's (Dion) transportation 

 

[OldSolduer]

Doesn't look very green to me.   8)

At least President-Elect Obama didn't platform on environmental issues.

 

[Yrys]

Data on Obama helicopter leaked

Any helicopter in the fleet carrying the
president is known as Marine One

The US military is investigating how technical data about a helicopter used in President Barack
Obama's fleet was found on an Iranian computer. Reports say the data had been on a
computer belonging to an executive of a defence contractor which was also being used to share
files over the internet.

Analysts say hackers are increasingly using music and video file sharing networks to access
sensitive data. The Pentagon said the risk of someone exploiting the data was very low.

The discovery was made by data monitoring firm Tiversa, which monitors peer-to-peer file
sharing networks for government agencies and large enterprises. Keith Tagliaferri, director
of operations at Tiversa, said the employee who inadvertently disclosed the information was
a high-level executive - and the breach had taken place outside the company's offices. The
file was found on an Iranian computer on 25 February.

Tiversa did not name the contractor, or give any information about the Iranian computer.


Officials alerted

The company said it had also alerted federal officials and a defence contractor about the
"open window" last October.

Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said the information accessed about the aircraft - a
Sikorsky VH-60 - is unclassified. He said the VH-60 is used to carry White House staff
and guests. A larger Sikorsky helicopter, the V-3, is used for the president.

Navy spokesman Lt Clayton Doss said the service was "looking into the matter". He said
that even though the helicopter data was "relatively dated", the information "should not
have been made available on the internet or placed in the public domain". He added that
Sikorsky was not the source of the breach.

The White House's current fleet of 19 helicopters was built by Sikorsky Aircraft more than
30 years ago. Lockheed Martin currently has a multibillion-dollar contract to replace the fleet.

Company spokesman Troy Scully said it had been told by Tiversa that it was not the source
of the breach.