AFRL robots work to counter bomb threats

  • Published
  • By Larine Barr
  • Air Force Research Laboratory Public Affairs
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AFPN) --  After a civil engineer was injured by a submunition while clearing a beddown area during the early days of Operation Iraqi Freedom at Tallil Air Base, Iraq, it was time to find a solution to the problem

Robotics research group officials are investigating the next generation of robotic devices to address rising threats from terrorist explosives.

The Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., based group is developing small robots that will be able to conduct visual reconnaissance and detection as well as defeat the devices. It is part of the Air Force Research Laboratory’s materials and manufacturing directorate.

The currently used system began as a range-clearing platform in 1996.

Before that, the Airborne Red Horse explosive ordnance disposal Airmen did not have equipment with the capability to defeat large weapons of mass destruction, nor a device that could remotely detonate and remove unexploded ordnance from mission-critical airfields or beddown locations, officials said.

They had to walk a patch of land looking for evidence of explosives poised to rip apart anyone and anything in its path.

“Our EOD teams were limited to using a slow and extremely hazardous one-man, one-bomb technique to clear (unexploded ordnances),” said James Russell, program manager for Air Combat Command’s EOD modernization at Langley AFB, Va. He is in charge of Air Force agile combat support modernization initiatives.

New equipment being studied include a large robot, weighing about 9,000 pounds, developed to defeat large vehicle bombs. These larger robots can carry a “significant sensor payload” to detect bombs and move at higher speeds, said Al Nease, the group’s director.

“Given the vastness of the terrain to cover, we are investigating robots that can move at significantly higher traversal speeds,” Mr. Nease said. “So far, we’ve achieved stable control of an all-terrain vehicle that reached 48 mph on relatively flat terrain. Higher speed would achieve a greater standoff and response capability and ultimately a longer range of operation.”

The new system and other robots are vital to ensuring experts can clear the way in treacherous environment, said Mr. Russell, who is a former EOD Airman.

“(The system) and the family of Air Force robots are saving EOD lives and making a difference in terms of supporting critical missions worldwide,” he said.