Explotrain Develops Functional Drone Based IED Simulation and Training System

Explotrain, a US-based company has developed a functional drone based IED simulation and training system.

Asymmetric warfare by its very nature leads combatants on all sides to develop new weapons and defenses. The latest emerging threat in current conflicts is the use of sUAVs or drones as a method, not of reconnaissance, but delivering and deploying weapons in the form of explosives. The drone based IED delivery systems seen most recently in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan are just the latest step in the evolution of the improvised explosives threat, the company said in a statement Wednesday.

While the US military is exploring multiple counter drone technologies, from electronic signal jamming and interception to laser based disabling systems, Explotrain has created the first and only drone based IED simulation system to be used in live training, testing and evaluation. 

“A key challenge in developing, testing and validating the current crop of counter-unmanned aerial systems (cUAS) is a lack of true simulators,” said Michael Hopmeier, an expert on cUAS system strategy and technology. 

Working in conjunction with military, law enforcement and business partners, Explotrain’s new ExploDrone system is able to simulate the two main types of attacks carried out by enemy drones.

Lightweight pneumatic based Explosive Blast Simulators are carried by larger drones and are used to simulate attacks wherein the drone itself is used as an explosive device.

However, unlike their real world counterpart, these training drones and simulators can be reused indefinitely to save training costs. Additionally, smaller drones are used that carry simulations of the repurposed military and improvised munitions that are being dropped onto personnel, vehicles, or other military targets.

These simulated munitions are interfaced with Explosive Blast Simulators pre-positioned in or on the target area to create the realistic effects so necessary to providing psychologically effective training to ground troops.

These advancements are used not only in training scenarios but also as a means of testing and evaluating new tactics and technologies without the risks and expenses of using them against a live threat.