Whether safety or disaster becomes a reality in a given area may well depend on the proximity one must approach a given device. The Navy and Marine Corps are now entering the arena with the T7, a tracked heavy lift robot that maximizes the distance one must be from a bomb or an improvised explosive device in order to be able to control it.
The T7 robot tips the scales at over 700 pounds in its baseline configuration. It can run for more than eight hours on a twelve BB2590 battery charge while performing stair climbing, rubble traverses, and lateral stability on 30-degree slopes. This kind of mobility is more than a show piece. It allows it to traverse ship ladders, obstacles in the dock area, and urban areas where threats are normally found. Its skid steer mechanism and capacity to climb slopes of more than 45 degrees give it access to areas where wheeled robots cannot.
The manipulator arm is where the strategic superiority of the T7 is evident. It extends 2.2 meters horizontally and 3.1 meters vertically, with a lift of over 113 kilograms near the base and 27 kilograms at extended reach. This enables the operators to manipulate heavy-disruptor weapons, extract a suspected package from a car, or emplace explosives while maintaining a safe operating range. The gripper features force feedback and a non-conductive wire cutter. The maximum number of disruptors is four, two of which possess the capability to disable complex devices. The set of cameras encompassing the front and rear views of the driver, corner cameras, 30x zoom mast cameras, and gripper cameras with zoom capability enables the operators to have a complete awareness of their surroundings.
However, the current explosive threats are typically found in regions where EMI levels are high, which could be enemy EMI or friendly jamming. In this respect, the T7 provides EMI protection for active jamming environments. The system provides line-of-sight control beyond 1,000 meters and non-line-of-sight control beyond 300 meters. Thus, the EOD teams will be able to apply counter-remote tactics without any effects on their control of the devices, which will be very important in determining whether the convoy should move or take control of the threatened port.
The introduction of the T7 into the Navy and Marine Corps’ inventory means an operational change. The explosive threat is no longer a concern for counterinsurgency but rather a concern for a Distributed Maritime Operations environment, like that found in Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations, which could be catastrophic for the resupply point or beach exit early in a crisis. IEDs and Unexploded Ordnance are now a concern for sabotage/coercion for the Navy’s Expeditionary Forces, in the very areas of operation where freedom of action matters most.
The former EOD robot platforms, PackBot and TALON, were already proven to be effective but needed improvements in lift capacity and range. This led to the technicians being closer to the danger area than present safety standards allow. The introduction of the T7 EOD Robot into service in 2021 by the Air Force means an operational change from considering the robot as a secondary system to one of primary concern. This matters concerning ship distance, where an operational failure could mean a stalled operation.
However, aside from the characteristics of the T7, the introduction of the T7 EOD Robot also concerns the awareness concerning the possible health risks for EOD personnel as a result of the overpressure caused by the shock waves. Research studies concerning the operational use of the robots have already established a correlation between the regular exposure to the shock waves to the established health risks concerning traumatic injuries to the brain.
The introduction of the T7 will go a long way in alleviating this risk by offering the possibility to render safe operations from a distance. Due to the onset of deliveries for the introduction of the new system, this will also mark the point when the Navy and Marine Corps will join the ranks of other allied countries, not just in the U.K. but also in Australia, which have introduced the T7.
