Sindh Bomb Disposal Squad to get 5 robots and other advanced gadgets

Sindh Police authorities have allowed the Bomb Disposal Squad to procure the gadgets, robots and machinery worth millions of rupees.

This decision has been taken in the light of recent terrorism incidents in the country. The tools include anti-IED (improvised explosive device) robots, explosives detectors, pocket jammers and bomb locators. An official told Dawn about the details of procurement of these high-tech gadgets,

“The aggressive procurement plan has been designed considering the level of threat which demands capacity building of the bomb disposal unit. It’s all being done through the Sindh police budget which has an annual plan for procurement of such gadgets and machinery for the unit,”

He said that currently Sindh Police has one robot which was donated by the United Kingdom and they’re planning to get five EODs (explosive ordinance devices) robots, “A robot of this type costs around Rs10 million and the Sindh police are now procuring five of them in one go.”

The robot is equipped with a variety of sensors, jammers, thermal and infrared cameras, extendable robotic limbs and a gun. It transmits the recorded information to the operator who could be a kilometer away. The robot has 10 hours battery life and it runs at a frequency undetectable by the radar. It has the capability of detecting a bomb or other explosive material. After the detection, it can destroy the circuit of the bomb using jammers, a water gun, or simply by firing at it.

Sindh Police is also acquiring 31 explosive detectors, 10 portable IED jammers, 20 pocket jammers, 7 bomb locators, 4 disrupting pig sticks, 48 safety goggles and 14 high-definition binoculars. The special branch, which looks after the Sindh police’s bomb disposal unit, is in the process of seeking bids from local and international suppliers of such gadgets.

The Bomb Disposal Squad will be trained by British Army and the FBI United States for handling the cutting edge technology.