Lowell Sun August 3, 2005
Billerica-made bomb-seeking vans heading to Iraq and Afghanistan
By Evan Lehmann
WASHINGTON -- The plain white van comes with a warranty, spare parts and the Billerica manufacturer's pledge to provide round-the-clock service “wherever needed.”
That includes Iraq.
Belying its generic appearance, the van, which Merrimack Valley residents may see being test-driven, contains sensitive X-ray equipment that can peer through the trunk of a car approaching military checkpoints containing insurgent-made bombs.
The price tag also diverges from the van's inconspicuousness: each one costs upward of $850,000.
The Army bought eight this
“The van can be used to stop bad guys from doing things,” said Joe Reiss, director of marketing for the company. “It's a system that's particularly well suited at finding improvised explosive devices.”
The contract, which requires ASE to have the vans ready by Sept. 1, comes as the U.S. military faces stronger roadside bombs and insurgents rising use of car bombs.
Seven American troops were killed in Iraq yesterday; one of the soldiers died from a homemade bomb, pushing the total number of Americans killed in the war to at least 1,801.
Thirty-nine U.S. troops died from IEDs in July, the highest monthly fatality rate since the war began. All together, 471 Americans have died from improvised bombs, according to the Iraq Coalition Casualty Count, an independent research group.
“They know they've got a big problem,” John Pike, a military analyst and director of GlobalSecurity.org, said of the Army's view on IEDs.
The Pentagon, he said, is “pursuing a lot of different approaches to it and they're trying to get them out there quickly.”
The vans, named Z Backscatter Vans, will be deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, the Pentagon announced yesterday. A spokesman said he knew no more about the contract.
Reiss likewise eschewed discussing details about the vans use or the company's clients. He said the company has sold about 93 vans, including the eight purchased by the Army. Seventy of the vehicles have gone to the U.S. government, he said.
Reiss said ASE clients “don't like us to talk about their tactics,” noting that some of the vans are used by domestic police departments to thwart terrorist attacks.
ASE developed the backscatter X-ray technology about 20 years ago. It reads the light that bounces off soft organic material, like the ingredients in some bombs.
Pike said the X-ray technology could be used at military checkpoints and border crossings with Syria, which is suspected of infusing insurgent fighters into Iraq.
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