The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has selected three teams to develop technologies and solutions for the ‘Underminer’ program, which aims to demonstrate the feasibility of rapidly constructing tactical tunnel networks.
The networks could provide secure logistics infrastructure to pre-position supplies or resupply troops as they move through an area.
The capability will need to surpass current commercial drilling capabilities by a factor of 20, with the goal reportedly set at 10 cm per second.
Tunnels have been used extensively by insurgent groups, including the Viet Cong, Daesh, Hezbollah and Hamas. The US military has capabilities dedicated to detecting and destroying tunnels, but does not possess an offensive tunnelling capability. It currently relies on exploratory bores and above ground guidance beacons.
Teams from General Electric Research Centre and Colorado School of Mines will focus on development of an integrated solution for Underminer technology and operational needs. A third team, Sandia National Laboratories, will conduct technology exploration and integration to address current process and system limitations.
The teams will focus on tunnelling approaches, downhole sensing, and operations concepts. Underminer seeks to merge breakthroughs in horizontal drilling, trenchless boring technologies, and robotics to create a set of systems allowing consistent underground access.
“The Underminer program aims to develop and demonstrate tactical uses for rapidly created underground infrastructure in contested environments,” Dr Andrew Nuss, the Underminer program manager in DARPA’s Tactical Technology Office, said. “The ability to quickly bore tactical tunnels could benefit contingency operations such as rapid ammunition resupply, rescue missions, or other immediate needs.”
Resulting new technologies could improve future underground infrastructure systems, including, but DARPA says are ‘not limited to’, high speed drilling, precise positioning without external aids, obstacle avoidance and sensing, and drilling analytics.