Remote Weapons System Deployed At Oak Ridge Nuclear Plant

The Y-12 nuclear power plant in Oak Ridge, Tenn., will be protected with a new weapons system that will allow the facility’s security force to remotely control machine guns and other weapons from up to a mile away.

The remote-operation system was developed by the Sandia National Laboratory in New Mexico, and it will be part of an overall emphasis by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) to aggressively use new technology to guard the country’s nuclear installations, says Jerry Paul, NNSA’s principle deputy administrator.

The weapons system allows the plant’s security personnel to remotely control multiple weapons through the use of a simple joystick. Thd remotely-operated machine guns are mounted in hard cases that open like clam shells.

The weapons platforms can be used on poles or atop armored SUVs and can be equipped with grenade launchers, M-16s, M-249 machine guns, or other weapons.

The weapons system, having been subjected to three years of testing, is a “first-of-its-kind technology for providing security” at nuclear installations and will serve as “a force multiplier,” not a replacement for security guards, says Paul. The new weapons system gives security forces the ability to train a high degree of firepower on adversary forces from a safe distance, Paul says.
Abstracted by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center(NLECTC) from the Southern Standard (09/02/05) . http://www.southernstandard.net/news.ez?viewStory=20410