Robots

Robots could eliminate explosives, rebuild airfield after attack

The Air Force wants its bases to be up and running as quickly as possible following an airstrike or other attack — so it's asking businesses for help.

The service is working with RE2 Robotics, which is developing a robotics system that would inspect an airfield for unexploded IEDs, ordnance and other debris in the aftermath of a hostile airstrike or attack, eliminate any dangers, and repair the damage.

“We are demonstrating capabilities the Air Force can use,” Jorgen Pedersen, president and CEO of RE2 Robotics, told Air Force Times last week.

The company signed a three-year, $3.3 million subcontract with Applied Research Associates May 24 to test its robotic system at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, under the Air Force’s rapid airfield damage repair program.