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'Python' is British Army's winning weapon against Afghan roadside bombs
Deborah Haynes, February 17, 2010
An explosive hose has become an unlikely weapon against roadside bombs, the biggest killer of British soldiers in Afghanistan.
The 230-metre long snake-like device, attached to a series of rockets, is fired on to an area thought to contain improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
Moments after impact, the hose explodes, detonating bombs nearby and clearing the way for soliders to advance forward.
Royal Engineers fired the Python rocket-propelled mine-clearing system for the first time in Afghanistan on Saturday, clearing a suspected IED belt in Nad Ali as part of a major offensive against the Taleban in Helmand province.
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It was used again today along a dry river bed, landing with a thump and detonating a number of bombs, which created a huge cloud of smoke.
The rockets, which carry the hose, are fired off the back of a Trojan armoured engineer tank. The hose snakes through the air before landing with a bang.
Staff Sergeant Mark Eastley, from 30 Armoured Engineer Squadron, said: It takes your breath away." The 35-year-old from Devon added: "You see the flash, hear the bang and then feel the shock wave.
The Ministry of Defence said that all families in the area are contacted to ensure that no civilians come near the blast.
Taleban fighters have planted more roadside bombs than had been expected in Majrah, just south of Nad Ali, the focus of the latest Nato offensive.
Major General Nick Carter, the British commander of Nato forces in southern Afghanistan, said that the bigest danger for advancing troops was IEDs.What has surprised us is the quantity. They have had a long time to prepare this and they have not been idle in terms of getting it right.
Sapper Guy Mellors, 20, a bomb disposal expert from 36 Engineer Regiment, is the latest British serviceman to be killed by a roadside bomb. Sapper Mellors, from Coventry, died while on a counter-IED mission on Monday.
'Python' is British Army's winning weapon against Afghan roadside bombs - Times Online
Deborah Haynes, February 17, 2010
An explosive hose has become an unlikely weapon against roadside bombs, the biggest killer of British soldiers in Afghanistan.
The 230-metre long snake-like device, attached to a series of rockets, is fired on to an area thought to contain improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
Moments after impact, the hose explodes, detonating bombs nearby and clearing the way for soliders to advance forward.
Royal Engineers fired the Python rocket-propelled mine-clearing system for the first time in Afghanistan on Saturday, clearing a suspected IED belt in Nad Ali as part of a major offensive against the Taleban in Helmand province.
Related Links
It was used again today along a dry river bed, landing with a thump and detonating a number of bombs, which created a huge cloud of smoke.
The rockets, which carry the hose, are fired off the back of a Trojan armoured engineer tank. The hose snakes through the air before landing with a bang.
Staff Sergeant Mark Eastley, from 30 Armoured Engineer Squadron, said: It takes your breath away." The 35-year-old from Devon added: "You see the flash, hear the bang and then feel the shock wave.
The Ministry of Defence said that all families in the area are contacted to ensure that no civilians come near the blast.
Taleban fighters have planted more roadside bombs than had been expected in Majrah, just south of Nad Ali, the focus of the latest Nato offensive.
Major General Nick Carter, the British commander of Nato forces in southern Afghanistan, said that the bigest danger for advancing troops was IEDs.What has surprised us is the quantity. They have had a long time to prepare this and they have not been idle in terms of getting it right.
Sapper Guy Mellors, 20, a bomb disposal expert from 36 Engineer Regiment, is the latest British serviceman to be killed by a roadside bomb. Sapper Mellors, from Coventry, died while on a counter-IED mission on Monday.
'Python' is British Army's winning weapon against Afghan roadside bombs - Times Online
