THE GLOBAL DEFENDER

Attending Agencies
ATF
FBI
Houston, TX Police Dept.
Corpus Christi, TX Police Dept.
US Army EOD

Weather Conditions
Temperature:  60 to 80 deg F
Wind:  North 5 to 7 knots
Humidity:  20%

Test Sequence

1. A 12”x2” galvanized pipe bomb with ¾-pound of Green Dot smokeless powder, 50 grain det-cord placed on the ground.  The pipe bomb was covered with a 6’ Global Defender Blast Mitigation enclosure and detonated.  The bomb was surrounded with a 10’ radius witness fence to demonstrate the ability of the system to mitigate the blast and fragmentation effects.
2. A 1993 Ford Crown Victoria Police Cruiser was loaded with 12”x2” galvanized pipe bomb with ¾ pound of Green Dot smokeless powder, 50 grain det-cord detonated; no mitigation was provided.
3. A ¾-pound binary charge with 16 ounces of purple, chalk-like powder attached to the charge to simulate a dispersible agent such as anthrax or a chemical agent.  The device was covered with a 6’ Global Defender Blast Mitigation enclosure and detonated.
4. A ¾-pound binary charge with 16 ounces of purple, chalk-like powder attached to the charge to simulate a dispersible agent such as anthrax or a chemical agent; no mitigation provided.
5. A 2-pound seismic charge detonated with a perforator device.  The charge was covered with a 6’ Global Defender Blast Mitigation enclosure prior to using a counter-charge to detonate.
6. A 12”x2” galvanized pipe with no explosive was placed on the ground and covered with a 4’ enclosure.  A PAN Disrupter was then used to disrupt the pipe bomb, attempting to blow the end cap off of the device.
7. A 12”x2” galvanized pipe bomb with ¾-pound of Green Dot smokeless powder, 50 grain det-cord placed on the ground.  The pipe bomb was covered with a Ballistic Prototype 6’ Global Defender Blast Mitigation enclosure and detonated.  The bomb was surrounded with a 10’ radius witness fence to demonstrate the ability of the system to mitigate the blast and fragmentation effects.

Results

1. Car Bombs
1. Identical charges were placed under the driver seats of identical 1993 full-size police cruisers.
1. The vehicle without the mitigating agent was heavily damaged; all windows were blown out with the front windshield being blown, intact, over 150 feet from vehicle.  The roof of the car had completely buckled.  Large fragmentation pieces, some over 2 ½ inches long, were projected outward through the driver’s and passenger’s side doors as well as the roof.  Many of the pieces were recovered embedded in the earthen berm surrounding the bomb range.  The interior of the car was completely destroyed.
2. The vehicle filled with the Global Defender Blast Mitigating agent to door level sustained very little exterior damage.  Only the passenger side window sustained any damage.  All other windows, including the front and rear windshields, remained intact.  No fragments escaped laterally through the doors or windows.  The only exterior damage was incurred from a spring in the driver’s side seat penetrating the rooftop.  The only interior damage was to the driver’s side seat and floor pan where the bomb was detonated.  The passenger’s seat and rear seats were undamaged.


2. Pipe bombs covered with a 6’ enclosure
1. One shot was conducted with a 12”x2” enclosure covering a pipe bomb with ¾-pound smokeless powder.  The bomb was surrounded with a 10’ radius witness fence.
1. Upon detonation, the enclosure contained the blast and then gave way, as designed, allowing the foam to be expelled to a distance of approximately 10 feet; barely enough to stick to the walls of the witness fence.  No “fireball” event was observed.  The foam stopped and contained the majority of the pipe fragmentation.  The furthest piece of fragmentation was discovered approximately 15 feet from the blast.  The witness fence surrounding the blast remained completely intact.  Because of range restrictions, an unmitigated pipe bomb detonation was not conducted.  However, past results showed that fragmentation was typically projected well over 300 feet from the blast point and the witness fence was completely destroyed.


3. 1-pound binary charge with dispersible agent attached
1. Two identical shots were performed with a ¾-pound binary charge detonated with 16 ounces of purple, chalk-like substance attached to the device to simulate a dispersible agent.  One shot was covered with a 6’ Global Defender enclosure and the other shot was uncovered.
1. The uncovered shot immediately created a large, purple cloud above the point where the device was detonated.  The cloud elevated to approximately 50 feet and drifted downwind until it drifted into a stand of trees bordering the range.  The powder was blown horizontally to a range of approximately 100 feet and was found in small clumps in all directions from the blast.
2. The shot covered with the Global Defender system contained all visible signs of the agent.  The enclosure was not destroyed by the blast effects and only ruptured on the bottom area surrounding the explosive.  Post-blast inspection determined the purple agent was visible within the foam.  No cloud was observed or present post-blast.


4. 2-pound seismic charge detonated with counter-charge
1. One shot was performed to demonstrate the system’s ability to be used with current disruption techniques such as counter-charges and perforators.  First, a 1½ inch x 4 foot PVC pipe, taped at the end to prevent the counter-charge from touching the device, was placed perpendicular to the device to be counter-charged.  Next, the device was covered with a 6’ Global Defender enclosure.  Finally, the counter-charge was inserted into the PVC pipe and pushed in until it contacted the taped end of the pipe.  The device was then remotely detonated using the counter-charge.
1. This shot was performed solely to demonstrate the compatibility with proven methods of disruption and counter-charge techniques.  The system did an excellent job of mitigating the 2-pound seismic charge resulting in no collateral damage.