Enhanced Electromagnetic Tagging for Embedded Tracking of Munitions and Ordnance During Future Remediation Efforts. Revision 2

Abstract : The program's objective was to investigate means of tagging ordnance items before they are fired or launched and thereby allow a more efficient means for locating unexploded ordnance (UXO) while maintaining very low false alarm rates. Five candidate munitions were selected as being representative of meeting the criteria. Physical mounting options for these five candidate munitions are documented in this report. After investigating radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, Battelle concluded that the Texas Instruments' Tiris 125-kHz magnetic field-sensitive tags offer the highest probability of success for detecting munitions buried three feet or less below the surface. Battelle concludes that using Tiris RFID tags on munitions before they are fired would pay dividends to the U.S. Government. Battelle believes that our testing at the Aberdeen Test Center in 2005 and 2006 demonstrated that properly embedded tags on UXO items can be detected to the needed depth of three feet. Fully developed above-ground interrogators could scan munition ranges at reasonable rates, with a one meter-wide swath and an estimated speed of 2 to 3 mph.