MARCH 20, 2024 – The Ammunition Recovery Section that supports Yuma Test Center has one of the most dangerous jobs on the proving ground.
The Ammunition Recovery Technicians, all former military who attended explosive ordnance disposal school, are called when there’s ordnance that needs recovery, removal and or disposal. To make their mission as safe as possible the section recently purchased three robots. Two Pacbots 525 and one Kobra.
“It’s a new technology we have, and we are happy to have it,” remarked Ammunition Recovery Technician Brittan Forster. Forster is familiar with the Pacbot 525 robot. “A lot of us used these in the military. At least the smaller one, the exact same one is utilized in the military so if you got out in the last five to ten years, nine times out of ten you used that on a deployment or stateside training with your unit.”
These robots are currently the fielded robot in the U.S. Army and have impressive features. They are equipped with lights for night operations. Each model has three or four cameras to provide different angles, even a camera that rotates back to serve as a backup camera.
“These have the 4k definition on them and the tablets themselves have much better clarity,” remarked Ammunition Recovery Operations Chief Josh Laudermilk.
The tablets are used to see what the robot’s cameras are sending back and provide sharp color images. This is vital when looking for signs of arming which include color of lights and parts out of place. They also have another bonus feature explained Laudermilk.
“Each one of these will link to any one of robots which is something new. The older robots had their individual systems, and they were big heavy and bulky. These are small easy to transport, ready to go.”
This allows a team lead to monitor the mission from another location and provide guidance if needed. The team has a Robot Operations Trailer which travels to test sites with a command center used to monitor the test site.
“I can be sitting here; they can take off in the MRAP [Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle] over there and I can still see what they are doing and if they have questions or I have questions we can communicate that way. It’s something we’ve never had.”
Because these robots are the Army standard, repairs are not an issue. “The parts and replenishment systems is in place for the Army. If anything goes down or parts need to be ordered we got the backup for all of that,” explained Laudermilk.
While the robots are tactical, they are not clunky.
“One uses like an Xbox controller it’s super user friendly. The other one uses the touch screen,” explained Forster.
There is no lag in movement, and operators can modify the speed, and sensitivity of movements. That feature works for the arms, grippers, and track wheel speed. It’s all adjustable.
Forster explains, “If you need to pack it up and go, you can turn the speed up, put it in its pack up position, it will itself go into its position, then you can drive out of there. Or if you are down on an ordnance and you need fine movements, you just turn the speed down.”
Technicians chose which robot to use depending on the situation and the weight of the item. The Kobra can lift a 155 round and reach higher. The Pacbot has more maneuverability and it’s lighter. The team utilizes the robots for various reasons which include, dragging the ammunition away to allow a safety buffer or lifting it for inspection.
Laudermilk explains the scenarios, “We utilize the robots to move items to a safe disposal area, safe holding area, or remote disassembly area. We can also move explosive charges to the item and blow it in place if necessary.”
He further explains, “If the item needs to be remotely recovered and disassembled, we have remote procedures in place for that too. We incorporate the robots, in combination with other remotely operated equipment, to accomplish various disassembly tasks. The smaller robots are typically used for the more precise movements required during the disassembly process.”
These features plus the mesh networks that allows technicians to extend the communication range by placing the radios as relays to give more distance between them and the explosives keep the Ammunition Recovery team away from danger — which is YPG’s top priority.
Story by Ana Henderson
U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground