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This book examines potential technologies for replacing antipersonnel landmines by 2006, the U.S. target date for signing an international treaty banning these weapons. Alternative Technologies to Replace Antipersonnel Landmines emphasizes the role that technology can play to allow certain weapons to be used more selectively, reducing the danger to uninvolved civilians while improving the effectiveness of the U.S. military. Landmines are an important weapon in the U.S. military's arsenal but the persistent variety can cause unintended casualties, to both civilians and friendly forces. New technologies could replace some, but not all, of the U.S. military's antipersonnel landmines by 2006. In the period following 2006, emerging technologies might eliminate the landmine totally, while retaining the necessary functionalities that today's mines provide to the military.
At the rate that government and nongovernmental organizations are clearing existing landmines, it will take 450-500 years to rid the world of them. Concerned about the slow pace of demining, the Office of Science and Technology asked RAND to assess potential innovative technologies being explored and to project what funding would be required to foster the development of the more promising ones. The authors of this report suggest that the federal government undertake a research and development effort to develop a multisensor mine detection system over the next five to eight years.
Although FM 20-32 prescribes protective minefields to "provide the defender with close-in protection during the enemy's final assault, the U.S. military will soon be banned from using antipersonnel landmines (APL) meet this force protection role. The magnitude of human suffering resulting from landmines has caused the world humanitarian and diplomatic communities to join forces in September 1997 to produce the Ottawa Convention, a treaty that bans all APLs, to include self-destructing devices. That same month, the President directed DoD to develop antipersonnel landmine alternatives, to include mixed anti-tank systems, for use outside Korea by 2003 and for the Korean Theater by 2006. If this is achieved, the United States will then sign the Ottawa Convention. Lead for this effort fell to the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology (USD(A & T)). Based on preliminary research, the Under Secretary issued a 1997 report focused on integrating technology, combat forces, and military doctrine. The concept was that any lethal APL alternatives would incorporate real-time surveillance, precise firepower to immediately suppress enemy forces, and "man-in-the-loop" command and control Systems to cue engagement. Given the DoD interest in nonlethal weapons, it is only natural that this technology would also be among the options examined to satisfy the force protection role historically played by the APL. The die has been cast. Early in the 21th century, high-tech nonlethal and man-in-the-loop defensive weapon systems will fill the limited remnants of the 20th century antipersonnel landmine force protection role not made obsolete by operational doctrine and precision, standoff weapons.
This study was undertaken in response to a request by the U.S. Air Force that the National Research Council (NRC) examine whether the technologies that underlie the concept of a hypersonic, air-launched, air-breathing, hydrocarbon-fueled missile with speeds up to Mach 81 can be demonstrated in time to be initially operational by 2015. To conduct the study, the NRC appointed the Committee on Review and Evaluation of the Air Force Hypersonic Technology Program, under the auspices of the Air Force Science and Technology Board.
The U.S. military has a stockpile of approximately 400,000 tons of excess, obsolete, or unserviceable munitions. About 60,000 tons are added to the stockpile each year. Munitions include projectiles, bombs, rockets, landmines, and missiles. Open burning/open detonation (OB/OD) of these munitions has been a common disposal practice for decades, although it has decreased significantly since 2011. OB/OD is relatively quick, procedurally straightforward, and inexpensive. However, the downside of OB and OD is that they release contaminants from the operation directly into the environment. Over time, a number of technology alternatives to OB/OD have become available and more are in research and development. Alternative technologies generally involve some type of contained destruction of the energetic materials, including contained burning or contained detonation as well as contained methods that forego combustion or detonation. Alternatives for the Demilitarization of Conventional Munitions reviews the current conventional munitions demilitarization stockpile and analyzes existing and emerging disposal, treatment, and reuse technologies. This report identifies and evaluates any barriers to full-scale deployment of alternatives to OB/OD or non-closed loop incineration/combustion, and provides recommendations to overcome such barriers.