Remote Control Systems Clear Mines, Keep Soldiers Safe In Kosovo
UROSEVAC, Kosovo --- Two remote-controlled mine clearing devices are being used in Kosovo to help keep U.S. peacekeepers safe. "This equipment gives us the capability to take soldiers out of harm's way," said Lt. Col. Everett McDaniel, commander, 9th Combat Engineer Battalion (Mechanized). "Machines are replaceable -- soldiers are not." Three robotic devices known as Mini-Flails were used for the first time the week of Sept. 27 to clear a narrow path running several miles in southeastern Kosovo, in support of civil affairs soldiers installing a water pipe from a stream to the village of Cesare, Kosovo. "The area lies on the fringes of known minefields along the Macedonian border," said Maj. Joseph T. Hand, operations officer, 9th CEB. "The Mini-Flail clears lanes in the field to provide footpaths. You send it through to check for anti-personnel mines when you don't know if an area has been cleared," Hand said. The Mini-Flail uses a small skid-loader chassis without the operator cage. It has a roller on front that rotates and "flails" chains at the ground, striking with some 300 pounds of force per square inch, Hand explained. The other mine-clearing device is the Panther, a modified M-60 tank, which carries nine-ton rollers out in front that search for anti-tank mines in a large area. Developed in Israel, the rollers detonate mines with pressure from their weight. Typically they can survive an exploding mine with little or no damage, according to Chief Warrant Officer Robert Steele, systems manager with the Unmanned Ground Vehicles/Systems Joint Project Office, Redstone Arsenal, Ala. The Panther remote control fits into a small suitcase. According to Steele, it is basically a personal computer with video simulation software and radio devices that trigger actuators on the tank. It can start and drive the Panther from as far as 800 meters away, he said. The Mini-Flail controller is a small, hand-held device no larger than a field radio. It has small joysticks, allowing the user to maneuver the robot, Steele said. Steele demonstrated the equipment for the combat engineer battalion. He said he saw the Panther used in Bosnia, where minefields were prevalent. "The engineers used it to 'proof' base camp sites and quite often for 'proofing' routes. They would run the Panther out in front of the convoy with the control vehicle operating a safe distance behind it," Steele said. Both systems are diesel-powered, and the Panther has controls that can be overridden to allow manual operation. "This Panther is a more advanced system than the earlier version in that you can turn off the automatic control and run it manually to set up, then turn the remote back on to proof the field," said 2nd Lt. Lucius Mitchell, 9th CEB. (by Dana Finney, Engineer Regiment Public Affairs Office.)
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Remote Control Systems Clear Mines, Keep Soldiers Safe In Kosovo
