Dec 24 2010
The US Army has demonstrated the M1 Abrams Panther II Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV), an exclusive mine-clearing vehicle. It features Omnitech’s built-in tele-operation system as well as mine rollers for shielding the vehicle against mines and for clearing the dangerous minefield.
M1 Panther ROV
Panther II includes a magnetic ‘dog bone’ for clearing magnetic mines and slant rods. Recently, the 9th Engineer Battalion of the Army presented a demo of the Panther II clearing a minefield measuring 50,000 sq ft with imaginary mines. The ROV completed its task within one hour.
The ROV can also be driven manually by two military personnel, one as a driver and the other one as a tank commander. The latter sits in the crew compartment and will offer guidelines to the driver. 2nd Lt. David C. McKelvin, Platoon Leader of 3rd Platoon, Bravo Company, 9th Engineer Battalion, has stated that the vehicle makes several passes on the minefield to cover the entire area.
Panther II was previously utilized in Bosnia. According to Capt. Christopher T. Simpson, Commander of Bravo Company, 9th Engineer Battalion, panther vehicles are very effective as the landscape is flat and these vehicles are highly successful in desert areas.