In collaboration with its partners, IAEC is leveraging an active interrogation nuclear technique that is capable of detecting the presence of explosive material contained within a landmine. By safely interrogating the ground with ionizing radiation and then detecting the specific radiation signature associated with explosives, this nuclear technique can successfully detect buried landmines in a wide range of field conditions.
This technique offers a unique method of locating landmines that does not rely upon the detection of metal, thereby avoiding false positives caused by the presence of metal debris or buried metal conduits in the ground. In addition, by utilizing the nuclear signature from the explosive itself, this technique is not susceptible to interference from cold weather or wind, which can often limit the detection capabilities of canines or rats.
The nuclear interrogation technique offers a powerful detection approach that can be integrated with other orthogonal detection technologies, such as acoustic detection, in order to provide rapid, high reliability landmine detection capabilities.