Tech company unveils roadside bomb neutralizer

Posted on Fri, Jul. 08, 2005

Ionatron invention improving the fight against terrorism

Stennis-based technology company unveils roadside bomb neutralizer

By EBA HAMID

SUN HERALD

STENNIS SPACE CENTER - Tom Dearmin, Ionatron president and CEO

Technology company Ionatron unveiled a vehicle Thursday to help counter improvised explosive devices - roadside bombs - in Iraq.

The joint IED neutralizer (JIN) was developed by Ionatron employees at Stennis Space Center. The machine, which can destroy, detonate and disable IEDs, can reach speeds of more than 25 mph.

"When you're driving through the streets of Iraq, you never know when something's going to blow up," Ionatron spokesman Mark Corallo said. "JIN disables and destroys devices before terrorists set them off."

Gov. Haley Barbour attended Thursday's unveiling and said JIN would greatly benefit the military and Iraqi civilians.

"Almost all our casualties in Iraq are from IEDs," Barbour said. "The roadside bomb is not a form of war. It is a form of terrorism."

Twelve of the counter-IED vehicles will be tested and deployed to Iraq within the next 40 to 60 days.

Ionatron president and CEO Tom Dearmin said the company hopes to have many hundred more units sent to Iraq in the future.

"It's not about policy or politics. It's about terrorism and fighting against terrorism," Dearmin said. "This extendable vehicle represents our contribution to serve the people in uniform and innocent civilians."

At the unveiling, Dearmin invited attendees to sign the weapon prototype.

Maj. Anthony Smith and Sgt. Mark McCrory were among the many military officials who signed the JIN model Ionatron will display at the Space Center. Both Smith and McCrory spent a year in Iraq.

Smith said while the United States has the most sophisticated military in the world, roadside bombs are hard to detect, increasing the possibility for attacks or casualties.

"I think (the JIN) allows the playing field to be more leveled," Smith said.

Ionatron's 70 employees at Stennis helped develope the machine. Dearmin said the company hopes to employ 100 at its Mississippi location by the end of the year.

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