Army turns to Huskies in fight against IEDs - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

Army turns to Huskies in fight against IEDs

The Army is turning to an old friend in the growing fight against improvised explosive devices.

IEDs remain the primary threat to soldiers in Afghanistan and are responsible for roughly 57 percent of coalition combat deaths in Afghanistan this year, according to iCasualties.org.

To counter the threat, the Army is nearly doubling the number of NIITEK-produced Husky Mounted Detection Systems in theater.

The main component of the Husky is ground-penetrating radar called the VISOR 2500. One of the enduring frustrations with IEDs in Afghanistan is that often components are nonmetallic and nonmagnetic, making them difficult to detect using conventional methods. NIITEK says the radar system allows soldiers to detect threats through the ground that metal detectors wouldn’t pick up.

The most recent contract, awarded June 2, cost the Army $106.5 million for the 76 systems to be installed on Husky tactical support vehicles, as well as for spare parts, maintenance support and training for soldiers.

Many of the details of the HMDS are classified, but NIITEK provides training at installations around the U.S. and in Afghanistan, said company spokesman Terrance Marsh.

The Husky-linked system primarily is used to clear main supply roads. But the Army Engineer School performed preliminary tests late last year on NIITEK’s new miniaturized, remote-controlled version of the system that the company is shopping to the military.

When the U.S. began to field the technology, officials described it as a “game changer” in the fight against Afghan IEDs.

The Joint IED Defeat Organization said on its website that during testing in Afghanistan beginning in 2008, the system successfully detected pressure-plate IEDs before they detonated.

While the details of device’s success are scant, other NATO countries are examining the system. Canadian forces have 21 systems in Afghanistan. The Army and Marine Corps have 80 systems in theater.

NIITEK would not comment on when the new additions to the HMDS inventory would be in Afghanistan, but the June 8 contract announcement said the systems are intended to be immediately shipped to the war zone.