| Pigstick |
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| bombs | |
| land warfare | |
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Its name is an odd Analogy coming from the verb meaning “to hunt the wild boar on horseback with a spear.” It fires an explosively-propelled jet of water to disrupt the Circuitry of a Bomb and thereby disable it with a low risk of detonation. It was invented for the British Army in 1972 ; prior to that time bombs would be dismantled by hand, which was obviously very dangerous. It has to be held three inches from the IED to disarm it, still putting the user in danger. So Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) operators started connecting them to Wheelbarrow s, and “in the period 1972-1978, and taking into account machines which had been exported, over 400 Wheelbarrows were destroyed while dealing with terrorist devices. In many of these cases, it can be assumed that the loss of a machine represented the saving of an EOD man's life.” (http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199798/cmhansrd/vo981021/debtext/81021-17.htm) The modern pigstick is a very reliable device and fires many times with minimal maintenance. It is now used worldwide. It is about 485mm long, 3kg heavy, made of Metal , and can be mounted on a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV). These factors make it a very effective, safe way to disarm IEDs. EXTERNAL LINKS |
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