The U.S. Department of Defense Humanitarian Demining Research and Development Program In 1994, the United States initiated a research and development (R&D) program to de velop new, internationally shareable technologies for humanitarian deminers and for U.S. troops performing peacekeeping and stability operations. The Humanitarian Demining (HD) R&D Program is part of the overall U.S. effort to assist with the globallandmine problem. by Sean Burke, U.S. Army Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate Introduction The C ountermine Division of th e U.S. Army Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate (NVESD) executes the R& D program for th e Office of th e Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Co nflict (OASD(SO/LIC)). From rhe Pentagon, OASD(SO/LIC) pro v id es funding, guidance and management oversight to rhe program. T he NVESD Counrermine Division is well-equipped to exec ute this program due ro irs extensive counrermine eng ineering expert ise, co upl ed wirh a world-class fabrication facility and access ro exce ll ent resr faci lities. The H D R&D Program res ts, demonst rates and validates equipme nt for imm ediate use in various international HD mi ss ions and environmenrs. Th e goal is to rransirion new technologies to both military a nd civ ilian de mining organizations . A key co mpon ent of rhe • Mine Clearing Culti vator under construction in th eNVESD prototyping facility. pro gr am is co deve l op de m ining t ec hnologi es and rhen co pr ov ide equipmenr ro rhe international demining co mmunity ro assess irs capabilities in actu al de miningcondirio ns. The program f oc uses on R&D technology developme nt char reduces rh e rime and cost associated wirh demining while improving operator safe t y. Thi s is acco mpli sh ed t hrough adapr i ng co rn m erc ial-off-rh e-s hel f equip me nt , integrating ma tur e technolog ies and raking advantage of R& D ac ti vity in tactical cou nrermine and UXO clearance. The program aims ro improve on existi ng techno logies fo r mine and minefield detection, mechanical mine a nd vegerarion clear ance, mine ne utr al ization, indi v idu al d em in er protection, and individual deminer tools. The Annual Requirements Workshop Ar the h ea rr of the development of d em in ing equipment is a multi-year investment strategy dr iven by an annua l requireme nts wo rksh op. Each year, rhe HD R& D Program brings rep resentatives from mine-affected nat ions rogether to and u pd ate rheir most critical needs. The annual HD R&D Re quiremenrs Workshop is one of rhe most importa nt eve nts of the program because it documents required capabiliti es thar truly represent current deminer need s. • 6 • The mo st rece nt workshop, co nducted in August 2002, in c luded rep rese nta tiv es from 12 governmental min e acrion organizations a nd five non- governmenral organizations (NGOs) from Africa, eastern Eu rope, the Middle East an d southeast Asia. The Organization of American Srares (OAS) and rhe !me r- Am e ri ca n D efe n se Board (IADB) represented Cenrral a nd So uth America. Workshop participanrs gave presenrarions on rhe curre nt humanitarian mine actio n siw ari on in their countries, received ralks and briefings on rhe U.S. R&D Program, and wirnessed de mon strations of several pr ororype demin in g t ech no l ogies developed under the program. T he resulr of rhe workshop is a clear pict ure of where rhe HD R&D Program should fo cus irs developme nt efforts. Wirh rhis knowle dge, rh e Program Office struc tures irs execution plan for rhe furu re and submit s ir ro the Pentagon for a pproval. Once a pprov ed, design and developme nt of prototype technologies begin. Thi s is don e inh ouse using th e NVESD Prototype Fabrication Shop as well as by awarding co ntracts to industry and aca de mi a. Inte rn a tional marker sur veys are also co nducted ro help idenri f)r co mmercia ll y available irems rhar could be used or adapted fo r HD applications. Upon co mp letion, prototype irems undergo developmental resti ng ro ens ure rhar a ll design requiremenrs are mer. If rest res ults id en tify engi n eer i ng modifications rhar wi ll impro ve rhe system's performa nce, the changes are made and rhe sysrem re-tested. Operational Field Evaluations Selected sysrems then un de rgo in- counrry oper ati onal field eval uations. Host nation-cond u cted ope rat i ona l fi e ld evalu ations are one of the mo st important parts of rhe HD R&D Program because rhe equ ipment und ergoes testing in actual mined areas. There is no better way to resr rhe effect iveness and sui ta bil ity of a prororype ite m. In -co untr y field evaluations are extremely beneficial to the H D efforr. T hey directl y assist host nation demi nin g efforts. Th ey provide informat i on needed ro determine rhe prototype's suitabili ty an d effectiveness given rhe unique demining envi ronment where rhe resr occurs . The d em ining co mmunity is afforded the opportu nity ro "resr dri ve" n ew e qu i pmen t and technologies in their own env ironme nt prior ro making procurement decisions. The ourcome of rhese field evaluations allows rhe de mining co mmunit y ro formu l ate cost-benefit analysis data to jusrif)r new technology procurements ro rhe donor co mmuni ty. The demin i ng environ menr includes rhe number, va riety and type of mines; terrain; wearher; and infrasrrucrure. The evaluations provide the R&D Program Office "lessons learned" information th at may result in sysrem improvements fo r future funding. Eva lu ation reports also pro v id e in form ation to the e ntire demining communi ty thar co ul d lea d ro furth er evaluations or procu rement. An operational field evaluation begins wirh a hosr narion request to rhe Penragon. OASD(SO/ LJ C) will then organize a site assessment. T he Si re Assessmem Team, which includes represe ntati on from rhe R&D P rogram Office, wi ll assist th e requesting nation to determine the most appropriate prototype equipment given the co untry's sp ecific s it uation. The assessment process e nd s w ith a recomme nd ation of rhe most s uit ab le prorotype and a decisi on to support the evaluation. Evaluations typically lasr fo r six months ro one year. An i mportant parr of the H D R&D Pr ogran1 is the oppo rtunity for supported nations ro participate in rhe developmenr of a spec ific tech n ology from d es ig n t hrough field evalu at ion. When a new develo pme nt project is determined robe the best so lutio n ro meer rh e capability needed by a specific counrry , rhar narion has the opporruniry to participate as rhe user member of rhe development ream. The national mine acrion cenr er wi ll be kepr up-ro-date on rhe sys tem's devel opment progr ess and wi ll be welcome to participate in meetings and observe development resring. ln rerum, rhe hosr nation agrees to conduct an operational field evaluation of rhe system. The hosr nation benefi rs by being parr of a t ec hnolo gy deve l opme nt d es ig ned specifica ll y for rheir problem. The R&D Program benefits from rhe inf ormation and expe rience gained by th e op e rationa l evaluation. Technologies Developed by the Program The HD R&D Prog r am is responsible for kee pin g the mili t ary coun rerm in e and huma ni tarian mine acr ion commu ni ties i nformed of irs tec hn ology developme nrs. Th e Program Office do es so in seve ral ways. Technologies developed are lisred in the Devel op me ntal Tec hnologies Equipment Cata l og available on rhe inrerner, in hard copy a nd on CD -ROM. The Ca ralog is updated approximately every rwo years. Tesr results can be mad e available to orga ni za ti ons a nd indi v idual s in rh e inrernarional demi ning co mmunity for co nsidera tio n in making e quipment investme nt decisions. Jn additio n, rhe R&D Program ma intains a website ar hrrp: //www.humanirariandem ining.org. The H D R&D Pr ogram spans a wide range of technologies, encompassing mine and minefield detection, mechanica l mine a nd vegetatio n clearance, mine neutrali zation, individual deminer tools, and personal protective e quipmenr ( PPE) for demi ners. T here is on ly e nough space to describe a few of th e technologies • 7 • developed by rhe HD R&D Program ro dare. For more information, refer to the informa ti o n sources described above. C urre nt derec ri on projects in volve imp roved electromagnetic (EM) detection, various forms of grou nd penetrating radar (G PR), infrared cameras and chemi cal derecri on of explosive vapor from buried landmines. ln rh e detection arena, rhe HD R&D Program has invested in a remote- co n trolled aeria l se nsor pla rf orm for wide-area detection. The Ca mcopter is a rotary wing unmanned aeri al vehicle rhar can carry a variety of se nsors for mi nefield detection. The R&D Program has used rhe Camco pter with infrared, optical a nd GPR systems ro derecr min ed areas on and off road. Alth ough it is a handheld metal der ecror, the GE M -3 is a signi fi ca nt impro ve m ent ove r st an dard metal detectors used ro find min es. T he GEM- 3 is a broadband digital sensor with target recognition softwa re capable of nor only detecting a mine, bur also discriminating it from cl urrer . Energy-Focused GPR (EFGPR), rhe Mirage Synth e ti c aperture radar (a 40-lb. un ir mounted on rhe Camcoprer) and rhe N II TEK Wichmann systems ar e all exploring various configurations of GPR ro derecr mines. Th e Handheld Sta ndoff Mine Detection System (H STAMIDS) is a dual sensor system consisring of a metal detector and GPR. Thi s is one of several • (Left) Cam copter during test program. (Below) GEM 3.