A Washington Post article today describes the way toys are being adapted to serve in the battle against improvised explosive devices in Iraq.

Robert Pervere's fight against insurgents in Iraq started with an Emaxx monster truck from Debbie's RC World Inc. in Chesapeake, Va., a $335 toy that he turned into a weapon for U.S. troops against roadside bombs. The 24—year—old engineer replaced about 80 percent of the toy's plastic parts with aluminum, fastened two small surveillance cameras to the top and made room for an explosive that could blow up suspicious objects from hundreds of feet away.

"I get paid to play with [radio control] cars," said Pervere, who helped build the prototype for Applied Marine Technology Inc., a Virginia—based defense contractor that has said it expects to begin receiving military orders in September. "This has been a very rewarding project, working on a tool that's going to be out the door saving lives shortly."

The article describes other instances of adaptation of technologies to the fight against IEDs.

I think it is a glorious thing to use Yankee ingenuity and take off—the—shelf products for use as anti—terror devices. Just as our Soldiers are now using joy sticks and monitors to guide smart bombs, a skill many may have perfected as video gamers, toy trucks and othger devices can be used to great effect.

Hat tip: Ed Lasky

Thomas Lifson  7 29 06