Chopper UAV designed to destroy IEDs

Aviation Week:

Roadside bombs remain the biggest killers of coalition soldiers in Afghanistan, despite the weight of technology and force brought to bear on the problem by the US. Two new approaches to the issue are to be tested by JIEDDO, the Pentagon organization formed to defeat the IED threat.

One is Yellow Jacket, an Air Force Research Laboratory program to demonstrate a small unmanned helicopter carrying a specialized anti-IED payload. This comprises a high-definition electro-optical sensor and an "unintentional electromagnetic emissions" sensor, according to contractor CenTauri Solutions.

The latter is the key. All active electronic devices, including wireless receivers used to trigger to IEDs - radiate electronic energy, and US researchers have developed ways to detect and identify such devices based on these "unintentional" emissions. Techniques have been developed to detect receivers at safe distances, even in "noisy" urban environments. Unintentional emissions from receivers are hard to eliminate and may be stronger than those from transmitters, they say.

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The photo looks pretty cute. Hopefully, these new birds are not too far from deployment. They are needed most ricky-tick in Afghanistan. They would be a significant force multiplier in dealing with these booby traps.