Darwen soldier joins hi-tech approach to combat bomb threat

Lee Smalley, 27, of Darwen, is one of the first soldiers in British Army to use the hi-tech Talisman since it was rolled out to the frontline last week.

The technology includes several vehicles and high-tech devices to detect the improvised explosives and mines left by the Taliban.

It is hoped the Talisman will play a major role in reducing deaths and injuries of soldiers on the frontline.

The components of Talisman are aimed to act as a 'super detector’ and combat one of the biggest threats to British soldiers in Afghanistan.

As well as the huge Mastiff patrol vehicle driven by L/Cpl Smalley, there is a Buffalo, mine-protected vehicle with a rummaging arm, a JCB-style excavator, a remote control vehicle and specialised cameras.

Lance Corporal Lee Smalley, from the Royal Engineers, had been searching for improvised explosive devices in Nad Ali when a man ran out onto the road and started shooting at the vehicle.

But the gunman failed to make any impression on the new equipment.

The former Darwen Moorland High School pupil said: “When we got hit it was superficial. It is the best army vehicle around.

“It's brand new and a massive improvement.”

On another search operation the vehicle was hit with a powerful bomb in the Sangin area.

Lance Corp Smalley, who gave up a welding job at WEC Group, Darwen in 2001 to join the army, said: “On the way back we were just in the middle of nowhere but then we hit the front end wheel.

“It was like going over a big pot hole but it was an improvised explosive device which had only caused superficial damage. It just shows how brilliant the vehicle is.

“The majority of the army vehicles are softer and there would have been at least twice as much damage if those vehicles hit that device.

“We found 30 devices in three weeks, 10 a week on average, but with Talisman we found six in just three days.”

* Click on the link below for more stories by Nafeesa Shan in Afghanistan.