Enhanced Tele-Operated Ordnance Disposal System (ETODS). The ETODS is an integrated system operated via remote control to help deminers safely clear vegetation and excavate and neutralize landmines. The ETODS can accommodate a number of attachments for specific missions. A commercial boom may be attached for grass and vegetation mowing and the clearing of small trees. A flail may be used for direct mine neutralization. Mines or suspicious objects already marked or identified with GPS coordinates can be re-located with an on-board commercial detector, then excavated with a modified commercial backhoe, an air knife, excavation bucket, or gripper attachment. The ETODS can be configured with a commercial GPS with less than one meter accuracy. With the proper combination of tools, an AP mine can be excavated in 5 minutes, an AT mine in 10. This equipment has withstood AT and bounding fragmentation AP mines with reparable damage. This device completed operational field evaluations in Jordan and Egypt, where it was found to have several significant limitations which make it less than suitable for humanitarian demining operations. These include the tendency to become mired in mud or desert sand conditions, as well as the requirement for significant training to develop tele-operation skills.

Mini-Flail. The Mini-Flail is a remotely controlled flailing system designed to detonate bounding, tripwire fuzed and simple pressure activated antipersonnel mines. It has been used for vegetation clearance, quality assurance, and perimeter reduction. The Mini-Flail has undergone successful field evaluations in Bosnia, Kuwait, and Jordan.

Seismic Countermine Vehicle. In FY1997, this project explored the use of oil well exploration equipment to aid in the detection and neutralization of landmines. The system was intended to induce horizontal shear waves into the ground, causing the rupture of the hard packed surface of mined areas. It was intended to loosen the soil, and potentially expose mines to infrared and other optical detection sensors. This technique proved ineffective in field tests and the project was terminated.

Swedish Mine Fighter. The Swedish Mine Fighter is an AP mine clearance device. It consists of an assembly of spikes attached to a commercial forklift. A hydraulic system is used to extend and retract each set of twenty-five spikes into the ground. It functions by hydraulically pressing each set of spikes into the soil, spearing and detonating whatever mines it encounters. Though it has proven effective against most pressure-fuzed blast AP mines and can withstand blasts from large AP mines (PMN, M16), too frequently it spears mines without detonating them, thus rendering the mines unstable and very dangerous. The Swedish Mine Fighter failed to meet certain mission effectiveness criteria. Specifically, a sixty-four percent clearance rate is unacceptable, as is the glaring inability of the system to neutralize such commonly found mines as the VS-50 and TS-50. Therefore, based on its performance, the Swedish Mine Fighter cannot be recommended for demining at this time. Future potential of this system is recognized if neutralization capability and robustness are increased.