The dog school of the Royal Netherlands Air Force has acquired a new technique for detecting explosives. With a camera attached to its head, a search dog can search for explosives by itself.
The dog handler watches the dog’s progress from a distance, on a portable video screen. The training coordinator is enthusiastic about the results: “The interaction between man, animal and technology results in the professional detection of explosives which pose a threat to the lives of human beings anywhere in the world. The development of this training, based on our knowledge and expertise gained during operations, has yielded good results.
During the Dutch mission in Afghanistan, Dutch instructors accompanied the explosives detection dog teams and developed the training programme in the Netherlands. The so-called Route Overwatch Search Dog (ROSD) training is accommodated with 130 Squadron of the Royal Netherlands Air Force Military School at Woensdrecht Air Base.
Explosives Detection Dogs (EDDs) were deployed for 2 years to search for improvised explosive devices during the Dutch mission in Afghanistan. The dogs provided support to the troops in detecting explosives in buildings, in vehicles and on persons.
