In Iraq, this vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb. The Buffalo Cyclone debris blower, mounted on the front, took the brunt of the blast.
A Cyclone blows a wide swath of air at 180 mph to expose roadside explosives. It’s been used for two years in Iraq.
Engines fit devices that disperse bomb-hiding debris
Modified debris sweepers with Kohler engines are helping save the lives of U.S. troops in Iraq.
JS ONLINE
The machines, mounted at the front of military trucks and mine sweepers, blow away roadside debris to expose bombs planted by insurgents. Often they trigger the bombs and take the brunt of the explosion.
“But I would love to see plenty of engines taking the hits rather than soldiers getting killed,” said Rich Koehl, director of marketing and quality at Kohler Co.’s engine division.
Insurgent attacks on vehicles have accounted for more than half of U.S. combat fatalities in Iraq, according to the military.
As the improvised explosive devices have become more deadly, the Army and Marines have stepped up efforts to get safer vehicles.
They’re also using products such as Cyclone debris blowers made by Buffalo Turbine Co., of Springville, N.Y., with Wisconsin-made Kohler engines.
The Cyclone blows a broad, 180-mph jet of air to expose roadside explosives. The military has more than 100 of the machines in use in Iraq, with more on the way, said Paul Syracuse, general manager at Buffalo Turbine.
In the civilian world, the giant blowers are used to clean debris from streets, golf courses and race tracks. They’ve also been used at the last eight Super Bowls and in city parks.
“They’re a rock-solid leaf blower,” said Tom Tiernan, a Kohler distributor in Pennsylvania.
In Iraq, the blowers have been modified with armor plating and diesel engines. Mounted on the front of a vehicle, usually about 10 feet from the operator’s cab, they blow away garbage and other debris used to hide roadside bombs.
Dozens of bombs found
The bombs are triggered a variety of ways, including electric eyes, infrared sensors and ordinary springs.
“Garbage is the main hiding place,” Syracuse said. “The blowers either trigger the bombs or expose them.”
No soldiers have been killed while using the debris blowers, according to Buffalo Turbine. In about two years of use, the machines have exposed or detonated dozens of roadside bombs.
The idea came from former U.S. troops working for an equipment contractor. Now, the machines are an important part of military convoys in Iraq.
“They cruise alongside the road, sometimes leading a convoy,” Syracuse said.
The U.S. military uses thousands of Kohler portable generators in Iraq in addition to the engines used on debris blowers.
“I would call it the NASA effect. If the military finds a use for one of our civilian products, we will help them develop a special application for it,” Koehl said.
Normally, it can take years for the military to develop and acquire field equipment.
But in 2002, the Army launched an effort to speed things up through a program aimed at identifying unmet needs of combat soldiers and satisfying those needs in 90 to 180 days.
The Army now buys small quantities of equipment and tests it in the field.
Other gadgets
One of the success stories was a remote-controlled robot that looks something like a radio-controlled toy car and is used for detecting roadside bombs. It has a video camera mounted on a retractable arm and headlights to see in the dark.
Another was the use of laser pointers like those used in classrooms as a nonlethal way of dissuading drivers from ignoring security checkpoints in Iraq.
In the past, the bright lights shone at drivers did little to stop erratic behavior. But the green laser pointers, about 50 times brighter than pointers used in classrooms, have proven to be startling and nearly blinding to drivers coming straight at them.
Unlike red laser pointers, the green ones can be seen in midair in the dark. And the unusual color makes them more noticeable.
Initially, at least, aggressive driving was reduced 60% to 80% when the laser pointers were used at checkpoints, according to the Army.
Wild Thing’s comment……..
This is so neat, I love to see a business advertising that they provide equipment used in Iraq. Like the ads long ago my Dad had in a book of saved things from WW11. Things like:
* from “Dodge PowerWagons in Burma”
* “On the Battle lines or the Transposrt lines – GMCs are out in front”
* “Pontiac Reports to the Nation on Arms Productivity”
And so on – back then businesess were proud to get a piece of both the ‘action’ and the contracts.
For more ads there is also a link to some here.
From the CBI website
This ad is not related to CBI but interestingly illustrates what could be called “Censored Advertising.”
It looks like Pontiac submitted the copy for the ad to a military censor who crossed-out any information that might be of help to the enemy. They then prepared the ad with the censored information blacked-out.
The result is doubly patriotic advertising: Pontiac is building arms for the war effort and also will not jeopardize that effort by bragging about it in magazines.
In case the reader did not get the message, it was spelled out for them near the bottom of the ad:
“Seeking to cooperate fully in the war effort, Pontiac has voluntarily censored this advertisement.”
Compare that to todays media who, it seems, cannot wait to leak the latest SECRET and risk the lives of our troops. Back then, the USofA was at War. Today, the Marines are at War, the US is at the Mall. Or as the left keeps saying it is Bush’s war. GRRRRRRRRRRRR
….Thank you Mark for sendnig this to me. This is good! The left needs to have how they are in their face as much as possible and this is good for that.
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