5637
VIEWS
VIEWS
17 Oct 2011DEFENCE: SA’s Husky 2G Honoured As a Top Ten “Greatest Inventions”
Recent Gauteng Business News
The award, bestowed in Washington DC in mid-October, is particularly prestigious, considering that nominations were submitted from within a broad research and development community, including the US Army Space and Missile Defense Command, Army Corps of Engineers, US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, US Army Research Institute, US Army Research, Development and Engineering Command and Army Material Command.
Husky 2G – Proudly South African
The Husky 2G is designed and manufactured in South Africa by RSD and marketed internationally through a partnership between RSD and US-based CSI. The vehicle is a unique two-seater landmine detection unit that is blast-survivable, overpass-capable and field-reparable. This exceptional vehicle is a derivative of the single occupant Husky that has been combat proven in conflict situations around the world since the early 1980Â’s.
The Ability of the Husky 2G
The Husky two-seater variant allows for a second person to be placed in the vehicle. This two-seater VMMD responds to the warfighterÂ’s immediate need to mitigate the risks of task overload on a single Husky operator, increases the Route Clearance PackageÂ’s (RCP) ability to find and neutralise improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, and provides direct fire capability for the lead vehicle of the RCP.
The vehicleÂ’s kit allows for the platform to be transported with air assets in a roll-on/roll-off configuration, increasing the readiness level and, at the same time, decreasing the logistical footprint and costs of maintaining the equipment in the theatre of operations. The Prototype Integration Facility (PIF) of the US Army Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center (AMRDEC) has integrated ground-penetrating radar, a remote weapon station and various other devices onto this innovative multi-purpose sensor platform, considered to be the safest in the world.
The US Army's Greatest Inventions awards have been described as being “truly Soldiers' Choice awards”. A panel of non-commissioned officers with recent combat experience as well as hands-on, practical experience, in addition to a panel of TRADOC (Training and Doctrine Command) field grade officers judged the nominations and voted for what they considered to be the most innovative, in-use advances in army technology for the past year. This selection process reflects the voice of the warfighter and gives insight into future army equipment.
The awards were presented by General Ann E Dunwoody, Army Materiel Command commanding general, during the Association of the US Army Annual Meeting. The US Army Materiel Command originated the annual army-wide awards programme in 2003 to recognise the armyÂ’s latest inventions in science and technology, which demonstrate a significant impact to army capabilities, potential benefits outside the army and overall inventiveness. The Husky 2G is now one of the top inventions used by the US army and is rightfully seeking all the plaudits.
Business News Sector Tags: Motoring| Engineering|
