Russian military scientists develop system to detect suicide bombers in crowds based on research due to experiences in Syria
While opinions on Russia’s military intervention in Syria have always been mixed back home, there’s one outcome that everyone will see as a positive. The army has discovered a way of locating suicide bombers in crowded areas.
Servicemen of the Russian Ground Forces’ Fifth Scientific Regiment have unveiled a new device at the Army-2020 international military and technical forum, which is capable of detecting suicide belts and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in crowds.
It features a set of sensors, software and a mobile operator’s dashboard, according to the developer, and can function at mass events, large venues, crowded places, checkpoints and within transport infrastructure, TASS reports.
“If there is a suicide bomber in the crowd, the system will detect them thanks to a unique radio frequency signature, characteristic only of suicide belts or IEDs,” a representative of the 5th Scientific Regiment said.
“The operator will receive information about the object’s location, it’s distance to the nearest sensor, and – in case of moving targets – about the target’s movement, which would allow the operator to sound an alarm and give commands to neutralize the threat.”
According the developer, the invention of the system was inspired by the Russian Army’s experience in Syria. “The work began about three years ago, when our servicemen detected and seized a large number of belts and IEDs during the transportation of militants, the repatriation of refugees and mine-defusing operations,” the developer explained.
“The seized suicide belts and IEDs were studied and catalogued; this led to discovery of features, unique to improvised explosives,” he continued. “For example, our system will never mix up a terrorist with a man carrying a bag of bolts from a store.”
He emphasized that the system had finalized testing and will soon be shipped to a security agency. Currently, there are 17 scientific regiments in Russia, involving more than 650 people. There are also four scientific and production regiments, with over 200 members.
The Army-2020 international military-technical forum opened at the Patriot conference and exhibition center near Moscow on Monday and will run until Saturday. Some demonstrations are underway at the Alabino shooting range, the Kubinka airbase, and the Ashuluk range in Astrakhan Region. The forum’s organizers expect guests from around 100 countries. More than 1,500 organizations and manufacturers will present approximately 28,000 exhibits. Nearly 700 pieces of modern weaponry and other military hardware will be on display.
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