USMC Commits up to $48.6M for Vallon’s Hand-Held Mine Detectors

Minehound VMR2 In early December 2010, WM Robots, LLC in Colmar, PA won a maximum $48.6 million firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contract for hand-held detectors of low-metallic and non-metallic buried explosives, for use in Afghanistan. One legacy of the war against the Soviet Union is a tremendous number of buried land mines, which continue to present a danger to anyone who ventures off of known safe routes. Then there are land mines emplaced by the Taliban and their allies. It makes for a dangerous environment, where mine-clearing has benefits beyond just roads and trails. WM Management Group’s Vallon GmbH subsidiary makes the hand-held UXO detectors, whose primary technologies include magnetometers, EMI, and radar. Differential Magnetometers detect small changes in magnetic fields to find ferrous metals. EMI (Electromagnetic Induction) uses a coil in a search head to emit and electromagnetic pulse train, which influences eddy currents in any surrounding metal that can be read. The Minehound VMR2 even adds ground-penetrating radar. Accompanying EVA2000 software, data loggers, and logging accessories can ultimately overlay a field or borehole map of GPS encoded results on a Google Earth map. Vallon detectors basically come in 3 physical styles: Compact; One-Piece; & Two-Piece. The contract will have […]