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2010-08-09 Afghanistan

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Posted by tipper 2010-08-09 01:46|| || Front Page|| [1 views ] Top

#1 It still impresses me that there might be a better way to detect IEDs, from the air, after they have been emplaced.

When an IED corridor is suggested, send out a helicopter crop duster, spraying a very fine mist of an otherwise invisible fluorescent chemical. There are an enormous number of such chemicals, many of which are cheap and plentiful.

http://chemistry.about.com/cs/howthingswork/f/blblacklight.htm

Once it has been sprayed, the ground can be surveyed, again by air, and mapped for by UV fluorescent signature. For several days thereafter, a quick UV overflight map should clearly indicate "holes" left by digging up dirt. Computers can do a lot of the work.

While it doesn't prove an IED has been emplaced, it is a very potent indicator of what to pay attention to.

Posted by Anonymoose 2010-08-09 09:20|| 2010-08-09 09:20|| Front Page Top

#2 What about ground penetrating radar or sonar to detect IEDs?

We spend a fortune developing full body scanning equipment for airports.

Posted by JohnQC 2010-08-09 09:38|| 2010-08-09 09:38|| Front Page Top

#3 Tech has been deployed to find hidden IEDs. It works in many cases, but the challenges are substantial. See: JIEDDO - Joint IED Defeat Office within DOD.

Posted by lotp 2010-08-09 11:14|| 2010-08-09 11:14|| Front Page Top

#4 Thanks :)

Posted by JohnQC 2010-08-09 11:23|| 2010-08-09 11:23|| Front Page Top

#5 That is temptingly close to JEDI as an acronym (Joint Effort to Defeat IEDs)

Posted by No I am The Other Beldar 2010-08-09 14:59|| 2010-08-09 14:59|| Front Page Top

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