A technology to counter roadside bombs came out of the shadows in August when the U.S. Army named it one of the year's best inventions. The technology is Jackal, a counter-improvised explosive device (IED) system. An Army briefing describes it as a "passive infrared IED pre-detonation system" and shows it attached to the front of a vehicle to defeat bombs triggered by passive infrared (IR) sensors. Radio-jamming devices are useless against such bombs, which use IR sensors to detect motion. Raytheon last year received a $47 million contract for 250 systems. The company declines to make details of the contract public, and documents about the award are redacted. This isn't the first passive IR pre-detonation system to be deployed. The Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization funded Rhino, which uses a glow plug hooked to a boom in front of a vehicle to pre-detonate bombs, such as this IED in Afghanistan (see photo). Jackal is similar in function, but "modular and adaptable to new and emerging lEDs," the Army says.
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