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Thai army fails bomb detector demonstration |
The military on Wednesday maintained its support for the so-called GT200 bomb detectors by conducting a demonstration in front of reporters instead of putting it through scientific tests as demanded by academics.
The bomb detector, which is widely used in the restive South, became the subject of controversy after the UK banned the export and use of a similar type of bomb detector going under the name of ADE 651 and arrested its manufacturer Jim McCormick. |
Colonel Thaveesak Chantarasin, head of the Anothai Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit, invited the media to witness the demonstration at a military camp in the western province of Ratchaburi.
The Thai Royal Army has been using the GT200 detectors since 2005 after it became impressed by its performance when it was used by the Thai Royal Airforce to search for explosives, he said.
The colonel explained that the Army had decided to purchase the GT200 units from the sole vendor who was selling the equipment at that time.
The Army now has more than 500 units of GT200 for use in the restive South, where violence erupted since the beginning of 2004. The equipment costs between Bt900,000 and Bt1.2 million per unit depending on its number and type of software.
Last year, the equipment successfully detected more than 23 bombs, saving many lives in the deep South, Thaveesak said, without saying how many times it was used.
However, the detector was reported to have failed twice in October, costing several lives in the Yala and Narathiwat provinces. But Thaveesak defended these failures, blaming it on human error instead of the equipment's ineffectiveness.
During the demonstration, the GT200 was able to detect a bomb hidden 700 meters away. However, this demonstration could not be considered a scientific test. All bomb detectors must undergo the double-blind test, something that has not been done on the GT200 so far. The Science and Technology Ministry and a Chulalongkorn University academic have said that they are willing to conduct such tests.
Yet no bomb detectors, claiming to be as good as a dowsing rod, have so far successfully passed the double-blind test. Several previous tests, including one conducted by the US Navy in 2005, found that the performance of bomb detectors, similar in technology to GT200, was any better than "random chance".
Meanwhile, academic Srisompob Jitpiromsri from the Deep South Watch said the demonstration was not the correct method for the Army to use to convince public about the bomb detector's effectiveness. The Army has to prove that the equipment is effective in a real situation.
Fourth Army Region Commander Lt-General Pichet Wisaichorn challenged the academics to join the military in detecting and defusing bombs in the deep South, instead of voicing their criticism in an air-conditioned room.
"Of course, it is not a 100-per-cent perfect, but it is the best we have in hand at present," he said.
The Nation/Asia News Network
Colonel Thaveesak Chantarasin, head of the Anothai Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit, invited the media to witness the demonstration at a military camp in the western province of Ratchaburi.
The Thai Royal Army has been using the GT200 detectors since 2005 after it became impressed by its performance when it was used by the Thai Royal Airforce to search for explosives, he said.
The colonel explained that the Army had decided to purchase the GT200 units from the sole vendor who was selling the equipment at that time.
The Army now has more than 500 units of GT200 for use in the restive South, where violence erupted since the beginning of 2004. The equipment costs between Bt900,000 and Bt1.2 million per unit depending on its number and type of software.
Last year, the equipment successfully detected more than 23 bombs, saving many lives in the deep South, Thaveesak said, without saying how many times it was used.
However, the detector was reported to have failed twice in October, costing several lives in the Yala and Narathiwat provinces. But Thaveesak defended these failures, blaming it on human error instead of the equipment's ineffectiveness.
During the demonstration, the GT200 was able to detect a bomb hidden 700 meters away. However, this demonstration could not be considered a scientific test. All bomb detectors must undergo the double-blind test, something that has not been done on the GT200 so far. The Science and Technology Ministry and a Chulalongkorn University academic have said that they are willing to conduct such tests.
Yet no bomb detectors, claiming to be as good as a dowsing rod, have so far successfully passed the double-blind test. Several previous tests, including one conducted by the US Navy in 2005, found that the performance of bomb detectors, similar in technology to GT200, was any better than "random chance".
Meanwhile, academic Srisompob Jitpiromsri from the Deep South Watch said the demonstration was not the correct method for the Army to use to convince public about the bomb detector's effectiveness. The Army has to prove that the equipment is effective in a real situation.
Fourth Army Region Commander Lt-General Pichet Wisaichorn challenged the academics to join the military in detecting and defusing bombs in the deep South, instead of voicing their criticism in an air-conditioned room.
"Of course, it is not a 100-per-cent perfect, but it is the best we have in hand at present," he said.
The Nation/Asia News Network