IEDsArmy wants IED detecting paintball gun
The U.S. Army is currently exploring how to turn an ordinary paintball gun into an explosive detecting tool; the Army hopes to create a gun that can shoot specially designed projectiles at a suspected improvised explosive device (IED) to determine if it is an explosive or not
The Army is seeking a paintball filled with explosive detection material // Source: eventomio.com
The U.S. Army is currently exploring how to turn an ordinary paintball gun into an explosive detecting tool.
The military hopes to create a gun that can shoot specially designed projectiles at a suspected improvised explosive device (IED) to determine if it is an explosive or not. More specifically, paints and powders that can detect explosives have already been developed, so the Army is seeking a delivery mechanism that can allow troops to identify an IED at a safe distance without triggering it.
Raptor Detection Technology has created SAFE-T Spray, which turns orange when it comes into contact with certain explosives, but loading the spray into a paintball gun and firing at a target has proven to be a difficult task. Paintball guns are inaccurate, especially at distances, a key requirement for avoiding deadly IEDs.
Currently the Army wants a gun that can accurately shoot a paintball at a target 100 meters away, but this distance poses another challenge in visibility. A paintball usually holds about 2.5 milliliters of paint, which is hardly visible from 100 meters away.
So the Army needs a system that can accurately fire a large amount of bomb detecting paint that splatters more than a traditional paintball, but hits the target gently enough to avoid setting the bomb off.
The paintball gun is one of many Army projects aimed at detecting IEDs, the deadliest killer of U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Other experiments have included lasers, explosive-sensitive plants, and dynamite-detecting bee venom.
