The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) recently touted the completion of its Underminer program, which provides logistics support while delivering potential ongoing resupply as troops navigate a contested area.
“The technologies demonstrated in the Underminer program offered unique insight into applications for tactical tunneling networks,” Andrew Nuss, Underminer program manager in DARPA’s Tactical Technology Office, said. “Through Underminer, DARPA has advanced the community’s use of high-speed tactical tunnel creation, sensing and positioning.”
While tunneling capabilities exist in domestic, commercial applications via primarily the oil and gas, utility, geological and environmental sectors, the Department of Defense is not presently taking advantage of the technologies or equipment to support tactical tunnel creation or exploitation.
“Tactical tunneling capabilities have tremendous opportunities to expand the combined arms maneuver trade space to include the vertical dimension in both natural and man-made subterranean environments,” Nuss said. “These unique capabilities have the potential to create secured logistics pathways in contested environments.”
Teams from the Colorado School of Mines, the General Electric Research Center, and Sandia National Laboratories collectively produced and matured technologies for rapid tunnel creation, focusing on diameter, distance, speed, and accuracy.
The developments have resulted in increased insight with regard to drilling fluids management; drill bit localization without the use of beacons; and conducting branching operations while drilling at high rates of penetration.