Fleet of robots sent to disarm Taleban bombs

Published on Saturday 14 November 2009 23:26

A FLEET of military robots is being dispatched to Afghanistan to help soldiers defuse explosive devices.

QinetiQ announced that is has been awarded a contract worth 12m by the Ministry of Defence to supply and maintain 100 Dragon Runner robots.

The small machine weighs between 20lbs and 40lbs and can be carried by a soldier in a backpack.

The robots going to Afghanistan run on small caterpillar tracks that can tackle the rough terrain and have a small arm to help disarm improvised explosive devices.

They can also be used for surveillance and reconnaissance missions and can send back video footage to their operator.

Mary Carver, MD of QinetiQ's Managed Services business, said: "With this very important contract and our work with the UK and US military, Dragon Runner is set to become a vital tool in military campaigns throughout the world.

"The majority of the 3,000 military robots that we have delivered to our customers so far are being used to disable roadside bombs.

"However we're now seeing increased demand for military surveillance and reconnaissance as well as for homeland security and specialist intelligence operations."

QinetiQ was formerly part of a UK government defence and research agency, spun off in 2001 with the government holding a minority stake.

The firm came in for strong criticism last month in an independent review of the mid-air explosion of a Nimrod MR2 spy plane in 2006 that killed everyone on board.