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In Detail ILDS

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Background  —  ILDS Project  —  ILDS  M113  Protection Vehicle

First In  ...  the  M113A2  PV The first pass through a mine- field  is made by a "Protection Vehicle".  This tracked vehicle is a modified M113A2 APC.[1] The PVs are closely related  to the old DAREOD mine plough but, unlike  those earlier M113 derivatives,  PVs are remotely- controlled.   Guidance  signals from a  Control  Vehicle can be received at  a range up to 2 km.

For mineclearing, PVs depend on ploughs called the Surface Munition Clearing Device for removing tripwires and mines laid close to the surface.  For deeper mines,  a PV operator uses sensors in combination: the  infrared imaging  camera, and magnetic detection coils mounted on the mine-plough. At the centre-rear of each PV is a fluorescent mine-marking system which allows the second remotely-controlled ILDS component  –  the 'Remote Detection Vehicle' to accurately following in the PV's cleared path.

The RDV lacks the PV's plough but is able to detect non-metallic mines (right) and it is able to confirm the presence of deeply-buried mines using a 'sniffer' system which detects the nitrogen content of explosives [see: ILDS In Detail for more detail on the sensor operation]. The advancing age of the M113A2 vehicle also imposes limits on the PV as do the characteristics of any tracked chassis. [2] Still, the PV is intended to be sacrificial lamb of sorts and the system performs the function demanded of it well.

[1] The M113A2 had the advantage of availability and there is no plan to bring the 4 converted PVs up to modernized M113A3 standards. [2]  Some other operators have been using specialized wheeled mine-resistant vehicles  (both manned and remotely-operated)  in this role. The obvious advantage is that such vehicles are designed to be blast-resistant from the outset and  MRVs can self-deploy at road speed. On arrive at the minefield, the rubber road tires are exchanged for sturdy, all-steel wheels.  Such MRVs can sometimes remain mobile after the complete loss of a wheel. Once M113s shed a track, they become mobility kills and, in the case of  PVs, must then be recovered from a minefield. According to DND reports, "ILDS is a maintenance intensive system" and the M113's age will add considerably to that burden.