Distance is the only protective equipment that works

No equipment protects against the effect of an explosive device — only distance does. A vehicle can create that distance without anyone having to go closer than necessary.

The situation

Routine work, not an exceptional case

In Germany, explosive ordnance disposal is everyday business. The disposal service of Lower Saxony alone — one of the country’s sixteen federal states — cleared some 232 tonnes of ordnance from both world wars in 1,349 operations during 2025; in 74 cases it had to be destroyed on site because the find could not be moved. Across Germany the legacy is estimated at around 100,000 tonnes, of which roughly 18,000 to 20,000 tonnes are unexploded ordnance.

This is not a remainder that will be dealt with in a few years. It is a permanent task with a predictable volume — and with a risk that no amount of training removes. Every country that was fought over has its own version of these figures.

Two fields of work

Different authorities, different situations

The term covers two areas that differ markedly in procedure and in what they demand.

Legacy ordnance clearance

Finds from both world wars, handled in Germany by the disposal services of the individual federal states. Usually plannable: construction site, survey, excavation, assessment. The surroundings are known, time pressure is limited, and access is often poor — excavation pit, soft ground, confined conditions.

Typically: bringing camera and sensors down into the pit

Suspect devices

Ordnance of more recent origin and unclear finds fall to the state criminal police offices in Germany; the bomb disposal units of state and federal police work here. Unlike clearance work, the situation is dynamic, the surroundings are unknown and time pressure is high.

Typically: assessment from a distance before any further decision

Tasks

What the vehicle takes over

Approach and look. Reaching the suspect point and delivering a reliable picture before anyone decides whether and who approaches. Camera with zoom and lighting, from a distance that would not be justifiable for a person.
Survey the surroundings. Access, ground conditions, obstacles, further finds. In clearance work, additionally the question of whether the ground will carry heavy equipment.
Bring the sensors to it. The vehicle is a carrier for whatever measuring equipment the specialists want to deploy — including radiological measurement where that is required.
Handle and move. Repositioning objects, securing them or taking them out of the danger area where the procedure calls for it. For heavier loads the winch takes over what the arm cannot manage.
Document. Position, image and reading remain traceable — for the assessment and for the record.

Limits

Where the machine’s remit ends

The decision stays with the specialists. Assessment and procedure rest with trained ordnance technicians and bomb disposal officers, under the rules of their own authority. The vehicle replaces the walk to the object, not the decision — and no course of training.
It is a carrier, not a procedure. We supply the platform with camera, sensors and manipulator, plus a documented interface. Which equipment goes on it and how it is used is for the authority to determine.
The ground has a say. Excavation pits, waterlogged soil and constricted access are the normal case. Tracked running gear and platform size are not a matter of comfort here; they decide whether the vehicle gets there at all.
It can be lost. Anyone sending a vehicle into a situation like this has to reckon with a total loss. That argues for equipment with a documented spare parts supply rather than for one-off builds.

Configuration

A typical platform for these situations

Platform: PALLAS.75 for constricted access, excavation pits and interiors; larger sizes where a manipulator and a transport task come together
Payloads: RGB camera with zoom, manipulator, CBRNE mapping for radiological measurement, transport and load module
Extensions: lighting for pits and night work, winch for loads and self-recovery
System components: data link with relay nodes for operation from a safe distance, control station for imagery and documentation

Closely related are hazmat and CBRNE incidents — the same logic of measuring, assessing and handling from a distance, with a different hazard picture.

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