Last month at the Shooting Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show in Las Vegas, Ring Power Tactical Solutions was on hand to spread the word about its latest modification to The Rook, the company’s armored rescue vehicle (ARV). While the tracked vehicle looks imposing and can defend against gunfire from various angles, the secret of its usefulness lies in its assortment of mission-specific attachments.

The Rook, which has been available for more than a decade, is a tracked ARV that an agency can outfit with a hydraulic breaching ram, a grapple claw, a vehicle extraction tool, and an armored deployment platform (ADP) that has recently been enhanced to give tactical teams an even higher point of insertion when needed.

“This is the roll out for the new edition of the (ADP) platform. We’ve always had a platform, but this is an upgraded version that we’ve come up with for third-floor entry. Originally it was designed to do second-story entries. That fully extended 11 feet to the bottom of the platform,” Ring Power’s Justin Rutherford explains. “We came out with a new design with a ladder system, so you have about 18 feet of access.” 

The latest version of the ADP still has the same armor as the earlier model and provides NIJ Level IV protection with a sloping partial roof and a floor-to-roof front shield that includes two sliding center doors and batwing doors on the outer edges.

The ADP provides room for up to four fully dressed officers and is equipped with two locking gun ports, four 5x9-inch sliding gun ports, four ballistic glass sight ports, and two wireless video cameras attached to the front of the platform with video feed to the equipment operator. The ADP can also be used as a standalone fortified position as needed.

When Delaware State Police, plus local and federal agencies, faced off for 21 hours against a barricaded suspect in the shooting death of an officer in 2017, the Rook proved its worth.

“The armed suspect immediately began to fire a .223-caliber rifle at The Rook ballistic cab and glass from close range. The Rook sustained 12 rapid .223-caliber rifle shots to the front ballistic glass as well as eight additional .233-caliber rifle shots to the ballistic cab. The integrity of The Rook operator cab remained fully intact and provided the lifesaving protection to the PSP SERT Rook operator. None of the rifle fire penetrated any portion of The Rook, nor did any glass spalling occur,” the Delaware State Police said following the incident in which Pennsylvania State Police deployed The Rook to assist.

The Pennsylvania State Police have used The Rook for barricaded gunmen, hostage rescue and officer rescue/evacuation incidents. After putting the first Rook into service, the department soon added a second.

“One of our first deployments with The Rook was a barricaded gunman incident where our PSP SERT Entry team members came under heavy gunfire during an entry. The Rook was instrumental in performing second-floor extractions of PSP SERT members during the gunfight who were trapped in vulnerable areas,” Maj. Keith A. Stone, of the Pennsylvania State Police, said in a testimonial. “Without the reach and ADP of The Rook we would not have been able to safely accomplish that operation.”

“The Rook is a game-changer and is only limited by the person operating it,” says Detective Charles H. Pearson Jr., of Jacksonville (FL) Sheriff’s Office S.W.A.T.

Ring Power Corporation, a full-line Caterpillar dealer in Florida since 1962, custom designs and produces The Rook, which launched in 2007. It features a leveling system and the traction, flotation, stability, and speed to function in a wide range of ground and terrainconditions.