BHT: Army commissions first locally made bomb detonator

BHT: Army commissions first locally made bomb detonator

The Nigerian Army on Thursday commissioned Nigeria’s first locally made explosive detonator known as the Rechargeable Blasting Device, with capability of demining planted landmines.

The device, which is a potable electrical device adaptable to both wet and dry conditions, was commissioned after testing, as part of the programme of the 2016 Chief of Army Staff First Quarter Conference held in Abuja.

Maj.-Gen. Gabriel Ode, the Deputy Commandant of the National Defence College and brain behind the innovation said the device was a product of research by the Nigerian Army Corps of Engineers noting that the device could be used for demolition of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and unexploded bombs.

He explained that the research on the production of this equipment lasted for four months while all materials used were sourced locally.

General Ode added that the equipment would be useful in the ongoing clearance operations in the northeast especially in the removal of planted IEDs and unexploded bombs in the liberated areas.

“The production of this device is based solely on researches conducted by Nigerian Army engineers” he said, insisting that ‘from scratch to finish the materials were sourced locally in Nigeria’.

“The average cost of producing one unit of the device is N140, 000 as against N700, 000 required to import same from abroad. The importance of the device cannot be over-emphasized because before now what was used in demolition of explosives were no longer useful and unserviceable.

“We can use these ones in our operations in the northeast and the use of key switches makes it quite unique” Ode said adding that ‘there were other innovative works that Army engineers were working on which would improve the efficiency of the Army’s operations within and outside the country.

END.