In seeking to address ways to counter the IED threat, NATO doctrine outlines six key operational areas:

1. Detect2. Mitigate3. Neutralise4. Exploit5. Predict6. Prevent.

The European Defence Agency (EDA) also includes other military skills such as search, route clearance, tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs), IED disposal (IEDD) and counter-radio-controlled IED electronic warfare (CREW).

One of the many sensor technologies available to acquire data on IEDs is X-ray imaging, which can see information beyond the range of human capability.

SEARCH AND DETECTIONX-ray is a useful tool in the soldier’s search kit for picking out anomalies and acquiring data on a found or suspicious object. X-ray inspection of any object will reveal its nature and can be deployed as a fast confirmatory tool without the need to pick up the object.

Search equipment needs to be man-portable with the hands left free for other search tools, so compact X-ray systems with flat imaging areas such as Scanwedge that can be carried in a small backpack and weigh less than 10 kilogrammes (22 pounds) fit this job perfectly.

Scanwedge can be pre-cabled inside the backpack so that deployment takes only the time needed to place the imaging equipment at the target end, and start up the laptop and X-ray program

THE ROLE OF X-RAY EQUIPMENT IN THE FIELD OF COUNTER-IED

By Scanna MSC Ltd

Counter-improvised explosive device (C-IED) policy and the development of IED detection capability are currently at the forefront of defence agency agendas across both Europe and the US. Multiple technologies are deployed within C-IED that can assist in early detection, ‘Attack the Network’ and Intelligence-gathering activities to facilitate the eventual detection and disruption of the supply chains and ultimately make IED attacks less effective.

41counteriedreport.com

X-RAY EQUIPMENT IN THE FIELD OF COUNTER-IED

Photo above: X-ray of IED concealed in a lunchbox.

at the control area. Because the X-ray device is controlled by software, if the shot is not right first time, the X-ray power can be adjusted and the object re-inspected remotely without re-approach within just a few seconds. Many charge-coupled device (CCD) systems, including Scanwedge, can be fully integrated onto explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) robots, allowing the EOD team to move the X-ray equipment into place as well as controlling the X-ray system over the robot communications link or via wireless communication where applicable.

High-resolution X-ray can also reveal the construction and location of component parts inside an IED, providing valuable information to the IEDD operator for making a manual or remote intervention.

MITIGATION AND NEUTRALISATIONMitigating the threat of an IED means rapid deployment, fast detection and neutralisation or rendering safe of the device. X-ray equipment used for IEDD tasks needs to have a very high dynamic range to enable fine wiring and circuitry detail to be examined, as well as measurement tools to determine component coordinates and the ability to zoom in and select a region of interest for detailed investigation.

Two X-ray technologies are capable of performing this task, and each has its own specific characteristics beneficial to IEDD tasks.

The first is computed radiography (CR) equipment, which works in a similar way to traditional Polaroid film X-ray systems

in that a photo-sensitive film is used to capture the object X-ray image and then manually processed to view the image.

Polaroid film could only be used once, which meant it was necessary to carry and store boxes of film. Any mistakes meant new film needed to be used, replaced at target end and reshot, repeating until an acceptable working image was achieved. In addition, the film had dead areas where edges of cassettes were joined or unexposed, and where an IED could potentially go unseen. This had obvious disadvantages both in terms of time on task, increased threat to operator and operating costs.

The latest digital X-ray plates offer fast, one-click image acquisition and require only one image to be shot instead of the five or more that might be needed to shoot on Polaroid film. This is because a phosphor imaging plate, which has 10 times the dynamic range of film and imaging software, can be used to reveal a layer of detail hidden in the thousands of greyscale levels that make up a digital image. Digital film can also be used again and again, so ongoing operating costs are much lower.

Another real benefit of a CR system is that the imaging plates are extremely flat and flexible and can be taped or hung from almost any surface. Multiple imaging plates can be taped together to X-ray a larger object in a single X-ray exposure, and the resulting radiographs seamlessly stitched together in a single large image using the X-ray software, which is just not possible with rigid X-ray plates.

More importantly, a CR X-ray system has fast image-processing algorithms for exceptionally high-resolution images with pixel sizes down to 50 microns and capable of seeing 10 line pairs, which could be critical for determining the wiring construct needed for render-safe procedures. Extra clarity also makes component location much faster and accurate, meaning a threat can be mitigated and neutralised quickly and with confidence.

As CR systems are film based there is still the need to process the film before the X-ray image can be viewed, so although all that is needed at target end is a flexible sheet of X-ray film, the size and weight of the image processor needs is a factor for consideration in some field-based operations.

X-RAY EQUIPMENT IN THE FIELD OF COUNTER-IED

42 Counter-IED Report, Autumn/Winter 2012

Scanwedge portable x-ray system used in IED search and detection.

... MORE IMPORTANTLY, A CR X-RAY SYSTEM HAS FAST IMAGE-PROCESSING ALGORITHMS FOR EXCEPTIONALLY HIGH-RESOLUTION IMAGES WITH PIXEL SIZES DOWN TO 50 MICRONS AND CAPABLE OF SEEING 10 LINE PAIRS …

Where man-portability, speed and image resolution are all determining factors, and where there is a risk of chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear (CBRN) material being present in an IED and additional precautions are required, an amorphous silicon, or aSi, flat-panel X-ray system is the most applicable tool for the job. Such imaging systems have a dynamic range so high that they can achieve object penetration and contrast detail previously unobtainable. Small compact systems such as Scansilc 2520 have a 127-micron pixel size that will capture the finest detail of wiring or circuitry with a fast readout time of just 1 second. They can be backpacked for light-scale operations, whereas larger panels can be deployed for large object inspection.

In a suspected CBRN explosives task, aSi X-ray technology can be used with dual-energy modules fitted onto the X-ray source to provide information on potential organic material. Dual-energy technology allows X-rays to be measured in two different energies, which the X-ray separates into different contrasting colours to enable operators to identify and differentiate organic and inorganic materials.

EXPLOITATION AND PREDICTIONIn order to attack the IED network, military intelligence teams need detailed information on the construction and composition of IEDs. Following discovery or activation of an IED, every fragment is essential to the forensic team to understand both its makeup and its likely provenance. These teams gather and exploit evidence from blasts and each device is reconstructed, replicated and tested.

X-ray investigation is a complementary technology that enables forensic teams to recognise an IED signature and also to predict patterns in bomb making that may identify a change in tactics or identify components from a common source. Recent investigation of wires, charges and other explosive components used in a series of bombs have indicated materials are being sourced from specific areas, which means strategies to block these trade routes can be put into place.

Forensic exploitation procedures and post-blast analysis associated with IEDs do not need to be carried out where

the device is found. Ruggedness and portability are therefore less of an issue and image resolution becomes the determining factor.

CR systems such as CR35 or ScanX Scout really come into their own for this type of task, and larger cabinet X-ray systems such as the Scanmax 225 (which runs the same X-ray imaging software as CR35 and ScanX Scout) are also used in Level 2 labs to provide a closed radiation chamber within which objects can be closely examined and documented.

The X-ray image data is used in a number of ways including analysis for identification of explosives/initiators/booby traps, to produce output for technical reports on findings, to develop device profiles and to maintain and document chains of custody of X-ray data.

CONCLUSIONNo single technology can solve the IED problem, however each has a role to play. X-ray analysis and imaging has now become part of a larger data fusion picture where the signature information is exported to a central intelligence point that can reference the image information to other sensory data to complete the profile picture.

This holistic use of X-ray images as part of a larger IED threat analysis framework should provide a much more comprehensive picture for exploiting the forensic evidence within IEDs, in detecting the supply chain, helping to predicting future threats and, ultimately, preventing as many future devices as possible being successful. ■

X-RAY EQUIPMENT IN THE FIELD OF COUNTER-IED

43counteriedreport.com

X-ray detail of a detonator can reveal its likely provenance.

... X-RAY INVESTIGATION IS

A COMPLEMENTARY TECHNOLOGY THAT

ENABLES FORENSIC TEAMS TO RECOGNISE

AN IED SIGNATURE …