REV Group is a Milwaukee-based manufacturer of specialty vehicles, with so many categories that almost anyone can find something that works for them. But the companyβs latest product has a new feature thatβs a bit more serious than an RV with the stylings of a luxury car.
REVβs Ambulance division has launched the first ambulance thatβs made with ballistic protection built in to the vehicle. Thatβs right β itβs bulletproof.
REV says the feature has become a necessary one, as first responders are increasingly finding themselves in threatening environments. While many are issued bulletproof vests and helmets, REV says its Guardian model is wrapped entirely in Level IIIA ballistic protecting material, meaning the occupants of the emergency vehicle would be protected head to toe.
The divisionβs president, Bob Collins, says itβs βunfortunateβ that such a product needs to exist, and that the company was responding to requests from customers for something that offered protection but still functioned like a regular ambulance and didnβt look like an armored vehicle.
As standard, unique features include run flat tires, in the event that the vehicle tires become punctured or compromised. A βfull envelopeβ of ballistic Kevlar wraps the ambulance, and the windows are even treated with bulletproof glass.
Shootings were responsible for 81 percent of the 2018 homicides in REV Groupβs hometown of Milwaukee, so the need for the Guardian bulletproof ambulance, sadly, hits close to home.
