GROUND-BASED MOBILE MINE SYSTEM

IN ALL RECENT CONFLICTS, MINES HAVE PLAYED VERY SIGNIFICANT ROLES. MINES ARE GENERALLY LOW COST COMPARED TO OTHER TYPES OF WEAPONS, YET THEY CAN CAUSE SEVERE PHYSICAL DAMAGE TO THE ENEMY, AND THEIR PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACT CAN BE GREAT. WITH MINES, THE ENEMY CAN NEVER FEEL SAFE. ALTHOUGH EFFECTIVE, MINES HAVE ONE MAJOR SHORTFALL IN THAT THE ENEMY MUST COME TO THE MINE. A MINE HAS NO CAPABILITY TO SIGNIFICANTLY CHANGE ITS POSITION ONCE SET IN PLACE. IF A MINE IS NOT SET IN A USEFUL PLACE, IT IS USELESS. IF THE BATTLE CHANGES, SO A NEW POSITION OF THE MINE WOULD BE PREFERABLE, THERE IS NO WAY TO ALTER THE MINES POSITION. THIS PROPOSAL OUTLINES ALTERATIONS WHICH COULD BE MADE TO THE WIDE AREA MINE SYSTEM WHICH WOULD GIVE THAT MINE THE ABILITY TO MOVE IN RESPONSE TO EITHER PREPROGRAMMED SEQUENCES, OR RADIO TRANSMITTED INSTRUCTIONS. DURING THE CONTRACT, WE WILL FIRST STUDY THE FEATURES AND PERFORMANCE PARAMETERS NEEDED BY A MOBILE MINE. THE PROPOSAL SUGGESTS AN INITIAL MECHANICAL DESIGN, AND A CONTROL APPROACH, AND AFTER THE INITIAL STUDY TO ESTABLISH REQUIREMENTS, WE WILL REFINE AND EVALUATE THE MECHANICAL DESIGN AND CONTROL APPROACH TO DETERMINE IF THE REQUIREMENTS COULD BE FEASIBLY MET.