AST Digital Magazine July 2017 Digital-July | Page 59

Volume 14
The Explosives Division (EXD) of the Department
of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Science and Tech-
nology Directorate (S&T) has taken measures to
address this threat directly.
EXD’s Homemade Explosives (HME) program
conducts Large–Scale VBIED testing to mitigate
the threat posed by massive car bombs and to
ensure such attacks do not occur in the U.S.
This program is part of S&T’s Homeland Security
Advanced Research Projects Agency.
Recently, S&T EXD conducted a series of ex-
plosives tests with varying charge sizes to learn
more about mitigating these threats, based on the
size and composition of the explosive device.
These large-scale explosives tests, conducted at
Fort Polk, Louisiana, brought together the HME
preparation expertise of the U.S. Naval Surface
Warfare Center’s (NSWC) Indian Head facility
and the live fire testing capability of the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers’ Engineering, Research, and
Development Center in Vicksburg, Mississippi.
“Due to the wide variety of types of and materi-
als used to make improvised explosives, we of-
ten must use simulations to model the behavior
of large scale events,” according to HME Deputy
Program Manager Dave Hernandez.
“When current methods are no longer effective,
we have to conduct controlled real-life events
to discover new ways of combatting emerging
trends in explosives.”
The data from the Fort Polk tests will allow us to
understand the damage that different types of
HME mixes can inflict.
July 2017 Edition
Such information on large-scale detonations
could not be accurately calculated before these
tests were conducted. This information will fa-
cilitate the development of new mitigation tech-
niques for larger-scale explosions.
The results of these tests will also be detailed in
a report for stakeholders and archived for future
reference and distribution by the program office.
“
The S&T HME Characterization program informs
the explosives community on current material
threats, explosive characteristics, and any poten-
tial data enabling mitigation measures such as
the development of detection technologies and
support those responsible for safety and security
in the blast communities in order to prepare for,
and prevent, such an attack in the United States”,
said HME Program Manager Elizabeth Obregon.
“The information generated from this testing will
aid the Department of Defense and law enforce-
ment communities by revealing data on the im-
pact of a large–scale VBIED, enabling better
protection for vulnerable targets.”
“As the HME threat is constantly changing, a
continued effort in this area is required in order to
provide timely information to those organizations
conducting analysis and acquisitions,” Obregon
concluded.
Reflecting the DHS “Unity of Effort” goal, these
tests included participants from the National
Ground Intelligence Center, ERDC, U.S. Navy,
Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office,
ATF, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, the
Department of State, and other U.S. agencies.
The program has also gained visibility within the
blast mitigation and effects community as well as
the international community.
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