The Honolulu Star Advertiser reports that Army demonstrated a remote-controlled underwater robot it will test for possible use to remove unexploded munitions off the Waiʻanae coast at a location known as “ordnance reef”.
The Army said it will begin a 21-day trial run Monday of a remote-controlled submersible designed to remove discarded military munitions from the ocean floor off the Waianae Coast.
The area called Ordnance Reef is littered with more than 2,000 World War II-era munitions including grenades, bullets, bullet casings and bombs, the Army said.
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Officials will use the trial to evaluate the effectiveness of the vehicle to collect munitions, as well as gauge any damage to the reef. If the trial is a success, full-scale removal operations could begin next year.
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Munitions would be brought to a barge equipped with equipment to destroy the munitions, in most cases by cutting them up and baking them in a specially designed oven to render explosive material inert.
The project has an estimated cost of $2.5 million to $6 million, including the $1 million cost of the submersible.
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