An Cosantóir

12 | Back row (l-r): Zeljko Tebes (MineWolf), Pte Kevin Reid (Eng Gp, DFTC), Cpl Marcus Varley (2 Fd Eng Coy), Pte Paul Cahill (1 Fd Eng Coy), Coy Sgt Tommy Lynam (4 Fd Eng Coy), Cpl Paul Howe (Eng Gp, DFTC) & Matt Ackroyd (MineWolf). Front row (l-r): Pte Patrick Wade (Mil Eng Sch), Pte Tomas Tallis (4 Fd Engr), Pte Stephen Rodden (2 Fd Eng Coy), Sgt John Malone (2 Fd Eng Coy) & Pte Damien Pierce, (Mil Eng Sch) on route-clearance operations in Afghanistan, using the robotic arm to lift IEDs out of the way to where they can be dealt with later by IEDD specialists. The MW 240 is operating worldwide in various environments from the extreme mud and bogs of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the dry sands of Iraq and Afghanistan." Unfortunately, minefield records detection dog (EDD) team." He also pointed out that there can be terrain where no machine can go, and which, therefore, can only be cleared using ESSC or EDD teams. As can be seen from the above, mine used on their own. "Say we have to clear an area for a new camp over- seas," explained Coy Sgt Tommy Lynam (4 Fd Eng Coy), "we will use mechanical ground preparation and either an ESSC team with detec- tors and prodders or an explosive giving the exact perimeter, quantities and types of mines used, are not al- ways available post-conflict. Making an area safe and returning it for pub- lic use is a multi-phased process that is collectively described as 'clearance'. The perimeter of an affected area is marked out and divided on a grid basis. Then if mechanical clearance assets are available and suitable, a vehicle such as an Aardvark, MW 240, or Doking MV4 advances into the contaminated area and systematical- ly clears each grid. For quality control purposes each grid should then be checked manually to ensure that no hazardous items remain. Mine-clearing machines are rarely clearance is a systematic process that uses a combination of tools at the En- gineers' disposal to survey, recce, iso- late, search, detect, clear and dispose of any mines or other unexploded ordnance located in an area. Looking at an area that has been machine control is quite straightfor- ward but even operating in hilly areas can be managed using a remote base station. In that scenario, cameras on the MW 240 give live feedback to the operator who can make adjustments accordingly. Two experienced combat engineers flailed by an MW 240 it is hard to image any explosive object surviv- ing intact. The machine moves very slowly while it literally devours every- thing in its path. As the flail rotates, each individual chain hits the ground seven times per second, exerting a ton of pressure on each strike. "It is very important that the op- erator knows the machine's capabili- ties and understands the hazards in the area he is operating in," Coy Sgt Lynam said. "A post-conflict non- technical or technical survey will give us as much information as possible, but you can never be 100% sure; that's why you may have to manually proof the ground as well." Given the relatively large size of the MW 240, it can be hard to imagine that it is remote controlled but it is. If the operator has line-of-sight to the An Cosantóir June 2012 www.dfmagazine.ie on the course, Cpl Paul Howe and Pte Kevin Reid (both Eng Gp DFTC), found the equipment user-friendly. "It is straightforward enough to operate," Cpl Howe said, "and with practice you quickly get used to it." "From a maintenance point of view it is mechanic friendly," Pte Reid added. "Diagnostics can be run on a computer to tell you if there's any- thing wrong, and the compartments are easily accessible. It must be thor- oughly cleaned and greased every day, and the fuel lines and hydraulics checked for leaks. Cleaning is a big job after the machine has been used as you can see: the mud is literally caked on and there is debris in the tracks - that all has to be cleared off." With the addition of the MW 240 the Corps of Engineers now has the capability of deploying a large, flex- ible suite of mechanical mine-clear- ance solutions that can be adapted to meet a wide variety of scenarios that may be encountered, particularly on overseas peacekeeping missions.

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