Handmade Explosives (HME) and explosive materials cause thousands of people to die, get injured, and suffer psychological harm every year. Countries put tremendous effort into ensuring their national security and make significant expenditures to develop measures against Handmade Explosives. Even the most powerful armies struggle to come up with solutions for their detection. For the Turkish Armed Forces, handmade Explosives pose a significant problem as well. Due to their frequent use in recent years in terrorist acts within our country, combating HME gains increasing importance day by day. The GMKA continues its efforts towards the detection and disposal of such explosives.
Methods for Detection of Handmade Explosives and Explosive Materials
The detection of a buried explosive material beneath the surface is a challenging process that requires obtaining information about the terrain structure, environmental conditions, climate and characteristics of the buried material. Due to various factors such as terrain conditions, required distance, sensitivity, and duration, there is no standard method for Handmade Explosives (HME) detection. Hence, GMKA Defense conducts numerous studies on a wide range of methods.
We evaluate all types of technical and physical infrastructure used in detecting explosive materials. The most suitable technique must be chosen based on factors such as the type of explosive material to be detected, environmental influences, distance, depth underground, chemical components and more.
Consequently, GMKA aims to develop systems that not only provide quick and highly accurate measurements but also reduce human errors, thereby preventing civilian and military casualties. By comparing the methods used in the detection of handmade explosives and explosive materials, GMKA is working to develop systems that can prevent such incidents. Furthermore, looking at the broader picture, GMKA is not only focused on HME detection but also on pinpointing explosive materials, explosive ammunition, unexploded ordnance, abandoned ammunition and mines.
An ideal system should be capable of detecting and identifying multiple types of explosives, both the explosive material itself and its traces, adaptable to different targets, capable of detecting both buried and surface-level targets, usable in various forms depending on the threat (such as handheld or remote operation), capable of scanning a wide area, and providing high positive detection and low false alarm rates independent of air and soil conditions in which the explosive is located.
Furthermore, an ideal system should have limited vulnerabilities to countermeasures or interventions, be user-friendly, require minimal maintenance, have low cost, space, and power requirements, exhibit high reliability, and it won’t consist of a single integrated system. It would emerge from the combination of different systems, each with its own developed sensors, as well as the integration of these sensors. GMKA Defense is working on developing both individual sensors and integrating them, aiming to create a system that meets these criteria.
GMKA Defense is dedicated to rapidly producing solutions to protect not only the Turkish Armed Forces but also other armed forces worldwide from such threats.
We are developing the above-mentioned detection methods using nearly all regions of the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible, ultraviolet, X-rays, gamma rays, etc.) for the purpose of explosive detection. Understanding the advantages and disadvantages of these methods, making informed operational choices accordingly, or aiming to create new systems that combine the strengths of these methods is our target.
Electromagnetic Spectrum
Some of the techniques proposed in the literature have the potential to damage the molecular structure of explosive materials. The detection and diagnosis of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) using spectroscopy emerge as a non-destructive, safe, and harmless technique that is gentle on human health.
Since the energies of IR (infrared) rays are relatively low, they do not excessively excite the electrons of molecules to transition to other energy levels. Thus, this energy level can only induce molecular vibration and rotation. In this regard, techniques such as Terahertz, Raman, and IR spectroscopy are utilized for detecting fingerprint regions of explosive materials, employing non-destructive/harmless methods. Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy also allows for detailed identification of functional groups and fingerprint regions of explosive molecules. Some of the mentioned methods distinguish explosive materials from soil, some detect metal content, while others search for explosive substances both within and on the surface of the explosive device.
In the second type of methods, knowing the chemical structure of explosives is essential for accurate detection and classification. Many known explosives contain specific proportions of nitrogen (N), carbon (C), oxygen (O) and hydrogen (H). In comparison to other classes of organic compounds, explosives are characterized by being nitrogen and oxygen-rich, while being poor in carbon and hydrogen content.
Sequentially: Point Scanning, Line Scanning, Plane Scanning, Single Shot
Representative Passive Hyperspectral Imaging System
Hypercube and Representation of a Pixel in the Spectral Dimension
Passive Hyperspectral Imaging
Considering the distance to the area of imaging and the power required for illumination, passive hyperspectral imaging is particularly employed for satellites and airborne platforms.
Active Hyperspectral Imaging
Active hyperspectral imaging refers to obtaining hyperspectral images from reflections generated by illuminating the target area. This is especially used when illumination is performed with lasers. In laser-based configurations, due to the overlap of the laser’s rotational and vibrational frequencies with those of many molecules, advantages such as speed, precision, non-contact detection and non-destructive identification are available for chemical characterization.
An Example Analysis Process
