Science & Technology

Syrian Rebels Field Homemade Armored Vehicle Steered With a Game Controller

Yes, really

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From a distance it looks rather like a big rusty metal box but closer inspection reveals the latest achievement of Syrian rebels: a home-made armoured vehicle waiting to be deployed.

Sham II, named after ancient Syria, is built from the chassis of a car and touted by rebels as "100 percent made in Syria."

It required a "month of work" for the design, assembly and development of the vehicle, says its designer Mahmud Abud from the Al-Ansar rebel brigade in the Aleppo region of northwest Syria.

The fully-enclosed vehicle made from light steel is about four metres (yards) in length and two metres across, mounted with a 7.62 mm machinegun controlled from inside the cabin.