The military showed a laser installation for the clearance of mines

The US Army and Air Force are developing laser weapons,capable of detonating mines from the ground. It will allow vehicles to safely destroy mines and other explosives from a distance. Currently, robots or specially trained people in bulletproof vests are engaged in the clearance of mines and unexploded ordnance.

According to the Daily Mail, Recovery ofAirbase Denied by Ordinance, or RADBO for short, uses a laser to defuse explosive devices from distances up to 300 meters. In its work, the installation also uses a manipulator capable of lifting more than 20 kilograms of cargo from under the rubble. The system is supplemented by infrared cameras and two generators that produce more than 1100 amperes.

The advantage of the laser is that from a safe distance it negates the threat of explosion of improvised explosive devices, bombs, mines and other non-detonated ammunition.

Military participated in the development of RADBOAMRDEC Research Center (U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Research Development and Engineering Center), Prototype Integration Facility, U.S. Air Force Air Combat Command, and Redstone Test Center.

Developers say the RADBO system is capable ofquickly clear the territory of hundreds and even thousands of small unexploded ordnance left on the runway. This can greatly help speed up the process of restoring the aerodrome's suitability for flying. Demining the runway in the usual way takes days and even weeks.

The laser system is still in the prototype stage, but after all the tests, the military plans to release more than one dozen RADBOs.