Countering terror with high tech: Rheinmetall HPEM systems foil the bombers
Protecting convoys and installations
11/23/2005
Improvised explosive devices – or IEDs – are among the most dangerous weapons used by terrorists and extremists, posing a global threat to civilians, military personnel and police – and not just in crisis regions. Moreover, this is a threat to which there has been no effective answer.
Most IEDs are detonated using wireless communications technology (radio, mobile phones, pagers). In many cases, suicide bombers do not set off their bombs themselves; more often than not, an accomplice does this by wireless remote control, operating from a safe distance. Other IEDs are sensor-triggered, e.g. movement sensors set off by passing convoys.
Rheinmetall Waffe Munition (RWM) GmbH – a global leader in HPEM, or "high power electro-magnetics" – has successfully developed a system for countering the IED threat. Based on ultra wide band technology, the system prevents the detonation of radio-controlled IEDs, as well as setting off sensor-triggered IEDs prematurely. The technology is now being readied for serial production.
Rheinmetall's ultra wide band HPEM technology offers a number of compelling advantages over high power microwave (HPM) technology.
Because ultra wide band (UWB) impulses are generated with an extremely short build-up time, each individual impulse simultaneously covers the entire frequency spectrum from a few MHz to 3 GHz. This, in conjunction with a very high average rate of impulse generation, makes it virtually impossible for a terrorist to detonate a bomb with a mobile phone or radio.
As a result, it can operate in the entire frequency spectrum with 100% coverage – and without the need for a conspicuous forest of antennas; indeed, the system can be configured to be completely invisible to the enemy.
It can also be deployed to set off sensor-controlled IEDs before they are triggered by a passing convoy, for example. In such cases, the explosive device is detonated from a safe standoff, posing no risk to the convoy.
Furthermore, it can serve as a jamming device for disrupting radio-based communication. Here, too, UWB-HPEM systems offer an unrivalled advantage: one system that simultaneously jams every frequency. It is capable of reliably jamming all military and civilian radio systems as well as mobile phones and pagers, no matter what the frequency.
Modular in design, these innovative Rheinmetall systems can be inconspicuously built into a briefcase or vehicle, or integrated into furniture or buildings of practically any type. To protect against roadside IED attacks, military and civilian vehicles can be equipped with integrated or add-on HPEM systems.
Furthermore, discretely concealed in a TV or cupboard, these systems can be used to shield offices and hotel rooms from electronic eavesdropping. The modular unit can be equipped either with an integrated directional or omni-directional antenna.
The systems are designed for easy handling, and can be operated either manually or by remote control. They are MIL-STD-810F-qualified and meet the safety requirements of the World Health Organization, etc.
Scheduled to go into production in mid 2006, Rheinmetall UWB-HPEM systems can be adapted to meet special customer requirements. With the product development phase now over, Rheinmetall is poised to become one of the world's leading suppliers of HPEM systems.
The company cooperates in this field with Diehl BGT Defence GmbH & Co. KG.
Contact
Rheinmetall AG
Corporate Sector Defence
Press and Information
Oliver Hoffmann
Rheinmetall Platz 1
40476 Düsseldorf
Germany
Phone: +49 211 473-4748
Fax: +49 211 473-4157
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