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Hard Charger
 
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October 31, 2003
Turret blown off in Tuesday tank attack
The improvised explosive device that killed an M1 Abrams tank Oct. 28 in Iraq blew the turret completely off, Army Times has learned.
Two soldiers were killed when the device —a 155mm round packed with 50 pounds of C4 explosive — detonated near the tank on patrol about 45 miles north of Baghdad.
The Defense Department announced that Spc. Isaac Campoy, 21, of Douglas, Ariz., and Sgt. Michael Paul Barrera, 26, of Von Ormy, Texas, were killed in the incident. They were assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment, Fort Hood, Texas.
Maj. Josslyn Aberle, a spokeswoman for the 4th Infantry Division, told the Associated Press that a third crewman was evacuated to a U.S. hospital in Germany. Sources in Iraq said he was seriously injured and has lost at least one leg.
The tank kill came amid a week of escalating anti-U.S. violence. Improvised explosive devices have claimed 35 soldiers’ lives since the first death was attributed to an IED June 28, according to a statistical analysis of Pentagon press releases.
Army Times research shows that this is the second tank killed by enemy action since President Bush declared an end to combat operations May 1.
The other, an M1A1 Abrams, was hit by an as-yet unidentified round while on patrol in Baghdad on Aug. 28. The projectile pierced the armor of the vehicle’s skirt and hit a few critical components before boring into the hull on the far side of the tank. Two tankers sustained minor injuries.
The Army is investigating both incidents.
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Proof that even in a tank a mine is deadly. So what chance does a Bradly or Stryker have ? Detection of explosives has to be top priority.
1.The Interim Vehicle-Mounted Mine Detector (IVMMD) is the Army's only vehicle-based mine detection platform. Purchased in 1996 from Rolling Stock Division in South Africa during a foreign comparative test, it consists of a lead detection vehicle (Meerkat), a proofing system (Husky with detonation trailers) and spares (red and blue packs). It detects large metallic antitank mines on routes. The detonation trailers, pulled by the Husky, provide a full-width proofing capability through a series of offset wheels. The red packs provide spare front and rear wheel assemblies, and the blue packs provide additional spares.
The Meerkat and the Husky are antitank mine overpass-capable and have a reduced vehicle weight and low ground pressure tires. These vehicles employ an angled hull and armor to provide operator survivability in blast mine encounters. Both vehicles have frangible wheel assemblies that shear off at designated points in a mine strike. The red pack front and rear wheel assemblies are used to repair the system rapidly, typically in less than two hours. Vehicle teleoperation is being developed for this system to gain standoff between soldiers and mine locations.
Ten systems have been purchased and are in contingency stocks at Sierra Army Depot. The IVMMD system is a starting point for the development of future ground vehicle mine detection systems.
2. The Ground Standoff Mine Detection System (GSTAMIDS) program is a spiral development effort designed to provide the warfighter with an incremental, near-term capability to execute on-road countermine missions. GSTAMIDS is being developed in three distinct blocks.
GSTAMIDS Block 0 is an upgrade of the current IVMMD system. Its primary mission is route clearance. The Block 0 program entered engineering, manufacturing and development in FY 1999 and was contracted with EG&G Management Systems Inc. in Albuquerque, N.M. The detection vehicle will be teleoperated from a mine-protected control/clearance vehicle (MPCV), and it will automatically detect and mark all metallic and nonmetallic antitank mines. Antitank mine detection capability is enhanced through maturing GPR, enhanced metal detection and infrared camera subsystems. The edges of the swept path will also be marked. Ten GSTAMIDS Block 0 systems will be purchased to support the force through the countermine contingency stocks for contingency operations. GSTAMIDS Block 0 development directly supports the follow-on GSTAMIDS Block I system.
GSTAMIDS Block I provides enhanced detection capability and faster clearance though emerging mine confirmation and neutralization technologies. The lead vehicle, or mine detection vehicle, will be specially designed and constructed to support the GSTAMIDS mission. Its only tactical employment will be through teleoperations. The Block I system will clear 40 kilometers of road in six hours.
While GPR, mine detection and infrared detection subsystems will continue to mature, other technologies such as quadrupole resonance and the acoustic vibrometer may be available as either confirmation or primary scanning sensors. Neutralization technologies that cause deflagration (low-order burn versus high-order explosion) are being explored, and they will be incorporated into the program to minimize collateral damage to the road and surrounding area upon mine detonation.
A control vehicle will be used to support mine detection teleoperations, mine confirmation and mine neutralization functions. Standard communication channels to the maneuver commander for force protection will report minefield information.
This system will be fielded to the corps wheeled combat engineer battalions beginning in FY 2005.
3.The Airborne Standoff Mine Detection System (ASTAMIDS) is a developmental effort to provide the tactical commander and the stability and support operations (SASO) commander with an airborne capability to detect mine threats. ASTAMIDS will identify minefield locations and alert the commander to locations where he can or cannot maneuver freely.
The tactical ASTAMIDS system will fly on a tactical unmanned aerial vehicle. It will detect families of scatterable mines, recently buried and surface-laid antitank mines, and it will provide real-time countermine information to the maneuver force commander. Timely information will allow the brigade commander to select a bypass or task-organize for a breaching operation.
The SASO ASTAMIDS system will be flown on a UH-60 helicopter. It will locate all surface-laid or buried and weathered mines. Multi- or hyper-spectral imaging data will be collected on board the helicopter for processing by soldiers once they are on the ground. Soldiers will examine the data to identify suspected mines and minefield locations.
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Hard Charger
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Those are all admirable programs, but how do they work against command- or remotely-fired mines? I haven't seen the detailed reports, but my assumption has been that many, if not most of these IEDs, are manually detonated.
Martin  "When I'm in command, every mission is a suicide mission" - Zapp Branigan, Futurama
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Seasoned Vet
Group: Past PNET Supporter
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quote:
Originally posted by Ranger Daddy
Now coudn't a device be made to broadcast these types of frequencies, kinda like a reverse scanner and mounted on the lead vehicle? It would be pretty nice to drive around Bagdad setting off the explosives beforehand.
Yes, it sure could. Thieves use these devices to break into people's houses by opening their garage doors. All you need is a really strong transmitter that operates on that frequency range. You could have it frequency hop while broadcasting.
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Seasoned Vet
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It seems like sniffing for HE would work well.
Go with God, but make Him walk the point.
If you load a mudfoot down with a lot of gadgets he has to watch somebody a lot more simply equipped - say with a stone axe - will sneak up and bash his head in while he is trying to read a Vernier. - Robert Heinlein
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