DRDO offers anti-explosive 'robots' to CentreWith terrorists striking Delhi and some major cities, the country's premier R&D institution, DRDO, is hard selling three of its anti-explosive devices to the Home Ministry to tackle the threat.
"We are in discussions with the Home Ministry to sell our three devices -- a remotely operated bomb disposal vehicle (ROV), 'Sujav' Electronic Support Measure and 'Safari' Electronic Counter Measure -- to agencies dealing with explosive-related cases," a top DRDO scientist told PTI here today.
Developed by Pune-based Research and Development Establishment (Engineers) of the DRDO, the ROV could be used for disposing off bombs without the personnel coming in contact with explosive material.
Since the time army began using the devices in insurgency-affected Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan and North Eastern States three years ago, they have been of great attraction both among the personnel and the public, who get to watch the machine in action on several occasions.
ROV robot could be used by the defence and paramilitary forces for mine detection and nuclear-biological-chemical (NBC) threat surveys too and it does the job without exposing the men to threats from anti-personnel mines or NBC weapons, DRDO scientists said.
A totally indigenous product, the robot has been developed by a team of 10 engineers about five years ago and it promises to drastically cut down loss of life of personnel in the urban warfare setting.
Another version of the ROV robot -- its controller unit works from 500 metres -- is equipped with four cameras and an extending arm that can be used to pick up suspicious objects to check for explosives and to defuse bombs.
Using an inbuilt x-ray scanner to detect explosive devices in a suitcase or a bag, the ROV uses an on board water jet to fire a stream of water capable of piercing a suitcase or half-an-inch of plywood to defuse the bomb, scientists said.
Suspicious objects can be scanned with the x-ray and the water jet can destroy the batteries which power the bombs, they said.
The robot, which has an endurance of three hours, can also climb stairs and is therefore useful in multi-storied buildings, where bombs have been placed.
The ROV is also designed for carrying out nuclear, biological and chemical reconnaissance and can even monitor contamination levels using its sensors and detectors.
The DRDO is also proposing to the Home Ministry that it purchase other indigenously developed counter-insurgency assets for its anti-terror operations, particularly for jamming radio signals used to trigger bombs.
First among the two products were 'Sujav', a compact communication electronic warfare suit, which is basically a frequency jamming equipment.
'Sujav' has an in-built ability for direction finding, search and monitoring capabilities covering 30 to 1,000 Mega Hertz and jamming within 30 to 500 MHz frequency range.
Another product is the 'Safari' device for jamming Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) basically to ensure protection of convoys moving in troubled areas.
"What DRDO is offering to the Home Ministry is a combination of both 'Sujav' and 'Safari' to ensure both electronic support measure and electronic counter measure. That way we would be able to ensure safety of vital installations across the country, security of market places and also VVIPs," the scientists added.
Sorry boss, the army is wholly justified if this Israeli mortar is the one. 
