There is a touch of James Bond surrounding TACARM’s headquarters.

Unintentionally clandestine, the Auburn-based armored vehicle manufacturer’s shop is nestled in the back of an ordinary cabinet manufacturing company in an unassuming industrial park by Emerald Downs.

After winding through the cabinet showroom, a suite of offices and a workshop, Don Wilde of TACARM opens the back door, revealing the company’s primary product, the Juggernaut, a tactical armored assualt vehicle as impressive as anything in Bond’s stable.

More than 13-feet long and clad in flat black armor plating with a 26 foot-long boom on the front, the Juggernaut is designed to give SWAT teams a leg up on their foes when breaching houses.

According to Wilde the machine got its start more than two years ago when former President of the Washington Tactical Officer’s Association and SWAT team leader Steve Roepelle asked him and Eric Hamilton to design and manufacture the Juggernaut.

“His (Roepelle) partner was also a SWAT captain in Tacoma and was killed breaching a door. So my brother-in-law, Steve, decided they needed something different, something more than a shield to hide behind,” Wilde said. “He wanted to come up with a machine that would open doors, open windows, put in chemical agents, put in flash bang diversionary devices, all the things they have to do on foot.”

The trio soon jumped into action, using a Caterpillar 277b skid-steer bucket loader as the base for the Juggernaut.

“It started as a little front-end loader, most people know them as a Bobcat,” Wilde said. “We took a torch and cut everything off until we got down to just the framework, the drivetrain, and then we built it up from there. It was just a little teeny machine, big enough for just one person. We made the cab large enough to hold an entire entry team, five or six SWAT team people.”

According to Wilde, the team first made a mock up of the Juggernaut using plywood.

“Being carpenters, we built a plywood replica,” Wilde said. “In fact, we built three until we were happy with it.”

Then the replica, along with the drivetrain, was sent to Florida where an armor manufacturer built the actual body.

Wilde explained that the Juggernaut features level three armor plating, capable of stopping 7.62 mm, .308 caliber and .223 caliber, or “most of the military rounds.” It can also be upgraded to level four plating, which will stop heavier rounds.

Inside, the controls would be familiar to any video game player. It features two joysticks, similar to fighter jet or video game controls, with one controlling the actual movement of the Juggernaut and the second controlling the movement of the boom. The interior also features controls for video cameras and the public address sound system.

Care has also been taken to ensure that the officers manning the Juggernaut are comfortable, a crucial consideration in the event the machine is used in a prolonged standoff.

“It’s basically a black box, so it’s something that is going to get really warm in hot weather,” Wilde said. “So we have 32,000 btus of air conditioning to cool it. We also have heat in there to keep you warm. So it’s designed not only so police can breach and get into buildings, they can also use it while they’re planning, to cool off or warm up.”

Outside, the Juggernaut features an armored hatch on the roof and two 500,000 candle power lights on both sides – which can be controlled either inside the machine or by remote control outside of the cab. There are also loudspeakers and sirens, as befitting any law enforcement vehicle.

The Juggernaut’s main feature is the 26-foot-long boom on the front of the macine. With claws capable of grabbing and ripping through windows, doors, even the siding of houses, the boom makes the Juggernaut a powerful tool for ending standoffs in a jiffy. The boom also features a video camera and a device to insert chemical agents, such as tear gas and flashbangs, into houses.

“It originally started as a bucket loader, so we tore that off and started from scratch,” Wilde said. “Everything you see on the front end is totally custom. We can actually take this arm, stick it right through the roof and look around. It can also be used by fire departments to vent a roof without having to send a firefighter up there.”

Able to be towed into place easily by a police department armored transport, or even an ordinary truck, once off the trailer Wilde said the machine is nimble and maneuverable.

“It’s very versatile,” he added. “It can climb stairs, go up and down small rockeries. It’s narrow enough that it can fit between houses. It can go through most any fence.”

So far the Juggernaut has been a hit at conventions that feature the latest tactical hardware available to law enforcement.

But with a price tag of just under $300,000 – including the trailer – so far the company has yet to sell one.

“SWAT guys love it,” Wilde said. “It’s just a matter of getting someone in the city administration to sign the check.”

Still, Wilde and the rest of the gang at TACARM are hopeful that someone will see the need for the Juggernaut.

For more information on the Juggernaut and TACARM, visit www.tacarmonline.com