Raytheon Company is working to bring together academics and industry leaders to find a better way to counter the most dangerous weapon U.S. soldiers face in Iraq and Afghanistan.
That problem is improvised explosive devices, essentially a booby-trap-style bomb. The device is the No. 1 cause of casualties in the war; 80 percent of those who have lost limbs in Iraq have done so due to IEDs, according to Herb London, president of the D.C.-based think tank the Hudson Institute.
“They are inexpensive, easy to insert in the ground, and the effect is devastating,” London said.
Raytheon is encouraging industry members to confidentially submit ideas to the company through the Internet, and receive confidential reviews and feedback on their proposed technology.
The companies will retain proprietary control over their suggestions, according to Raytheon, whose Falls Church operation is running the project. Raytheon has done IED-related work for the government in the past but doesn’t publicize which technologies have been successful for security reasons, according to Raytheon spokesman George Rhynedance.
Raytheon has also set up an IED-Defeat Task Force, which works with various branches of the Department of Defense on funded programs concerning the devices. According to Bernard Finel, a senior fellow with the American Security Project, IEDs have been particularly problematic because, as the U.S. has come up with better jamming and detection capabilities, insurgents have developed much more sophisticated devices.
