Media Note
Office of the Spokesman
Department of State

Washington, DC August 29, 2006

Major Breakthrough in Landmine Clearance
New Detector Identifies the Real "Hidden Killers"

Since World War II when persistent landmines left after combat emerged as a humanitarian threat, deminers with metal detectors have spent countless hours reacting to "false positive" signals from the myriad bits of harmless metal found on former battlefields and wherever there is human habitation. International mine action standards to which the United States and other responsible nations and demining organizations adhere, require deminers to literally dig up every piece of metal found by their detectors to ensure that no landmine has been missed. Now, following extensive development, rigorous testing in the United States and abroad, and actual operational use, the U.S. Department of Defense is introducing the Handheld Standoff Mine Detection System (HSTAMIDS), enabling deminers to accurately differentiate mines from metal debris.

HSTAMIDS promises to revolutionize mine clearance. It is the first operational dual sensor system that integrates an electromagnetic induction metal detector and a wideband ground penetrating radar in one unit. Its ground compensation and sensor data fusion software discriminates landmines from clutter. HSTAMIDS is now in operation in the notorious K-5 mine belt in Cambodia, in Afghanistan, and in Thailand. See related photos at www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/pix/b/71609.htm.

Several partners from the International Test and Evaluation Program for Humanitarian Demining (www.itep.ws/), to include Canada, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, joined the United States in testing HSTAMIDS during the humanitarian demining field evaluations and demonstrations in Southeast Asia and Africa.

To learn more about HSTAMIDS, see the related Fact Sheet at www.state.gov/t/pm/ rls/fs/71610.htm. Mine action managers who wish to inquire about incorporating HSTAMIDS in their programs may contact Mr. Robert Doheny, the U.S. Department of Defense's lead official for international demining technology, at robert.doheny@osd.mil.

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