Military RC Helicopter To Detect IED's
The Pentagon is testing an unmanned helicopter that can identify electromagnetic emissions from IEDs.
Roadside bombs have for a long time represented the largest killer of the military in Iraq and Afghanistan, but there's optimism beyond the tough little demolition bots that already work with their individual handlers. The Pentagon now has two airborne drones on the testing schedule as possible countermeasures for improvised explosive devices (IEDs)--one of which we're calling 'Helipanda' for the remainder of this post.
You can see why. The Air Force Research Laboratory assigned their new copter the more deadly-sounding name "Yellow Jacket," and gave it unique anti-IED instruments that include an "accidental electromagnetic emissions" sensor.
This sensor permits the helipanda to sniff out electronic energy from the wireless receivers used by the enemy to trigger IEDs. U.S. researchers have made such detection equipment a priority, and have even developed ways to detect the unintentional emissions in urban environments crowded by signals. Aviation Week reports that a private supplier called CenTauri Solutions received $11.7 million to carry out its Yellow Jacket demonstration, using a Scheibel S-100 Camcopter.
Another unmanned aerial system backed by the Pentagon's anti-IED group (JIEDDO) is the Sentinel Hawk. The small drone is slated to fly over convoys and survey the road ahead for bombs, and can also resist the counter-IED jamming that convoys typically broadcast.
The drones join a host of other technical solutions that the military has sought to counter IEDs, including ray guns and better virtual simulators to instruct soldiers on detecting IEDs.
Roadside bombs have for a long time represented the largest killer of the military in Iraq and Afghanistan, but there's optimism beyond the tough little demolition bots that already work with their individual handlers. The Pentagon now has two airborne drones on the testing schedule as possible countermeasures for improvised explosive devices (IEDs)--one of which we're calling 'Helipanda' for the remainder of this post.
You can see why. The Air Force Research Laboratory assigned their new copter the more deadly-sounding name "Yellow Jacket," and gave it unique anti-IED instruments that include an "accidental electromagnetic emissions" sensor.
This sensor permits the helipanda to sniff out electronic energy from the wireless receivers used by the enemy to trigger IEDs. U.S. researchers have made such detection equipment a priority, and have even developed ways to detect the unintentional emissions in urban environments crowded by signals. Aviation Week reports that a private supplier called CenTauri Solutions received $11.7 million to carry out its Yellow Jacket demonstration, using a Scheibel S-100 Camcopter.
Another unmanned aerial system backed by the Pentagon's anti-IED group (JIEDDO) is the Sentinel Hawk. The small drone is slated to fly over convoys and survey the road ahead for bombs, and can also resist the counter-IED jamming that convoys typically broadcast.
The drones join a host of other technical solutions that the military has sought to counter IEDs, including ray guns and better virtual simulators to instruct soldiers on detecting IEDs.