U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Humanitarian Demining Research and Development Program

The U.S. Humanitarian Demining Research and Development (HD R&D) Program was established by the U.S. Department of Defense in 1994. It focuses on the rapid development, testing, demonstration, and validation of technologies that increase the efficiency and enhance the safety of humanitarian demining operations. In this mission, HD R&D may adapt commercial off-the-shelf technologies, use mature technologies, or leverage existing military countermine technologies.

HD R&D partners with humanitarian demining organizations to conduct operational field evaluations in their own demining operations and provide assessment and feedback on new technologies. Field evaluations are one of the most important aspects of the HD R&D Program because the equipment undergoes testing in actual minefields. These evaluations allow the host country to operate the equipment and determine whether it is useful, cost-effective, and costefficient.

HD R&D’s current technology development areas include hazardous area confirmation, vegetation/obstacle clearance, mine and UXO detection, mechanical-mine and UXO clearance, mechanical-mine neutralization, post-clearance quality control, and information management. Technology development plans are based on feedback from field evaluations and biennial requirements workshops with implementing partners and country programs.

In 2019, HD R&D performed testing and operational field evaluations in Afghanistan, Angola, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Chile, Colombia, Iraq, Kosovo, Lebanon, Palau, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Syria, Thailand, Ukraine, Vietnam, the West Bank, and Zimbabwe. Since 1995, HD R&D technologies have cleared 68 million square meters (16,803 acres) and removed or destroyed approximately 209,000 mines and UXO. The program has fielded technologies in support of 234 operational field evaluations in 43 countries.

The program receives funding and strategic oversight from the Department of Defense Deputy Assistant Secretary for Stability and Humanitarian Affairs and coordinates with the U.S. DoD Geographical Combatant Commands’ Humanitarian Mine Action officers and the U.S. Department of State’s PM/WRA.

http://humanitarian-demining.org

Photo caption: Field testing of the Mini MineWolf in Thailand. Photo courtesy of HD R&D.