MODERN MINELAYING MEANS OF MODERN ARMIES

PART I

Minelaying is the installation of minefields, stripes and single land mines in order to inflict casualties on the enemy, complicate his maneuver and to his assets. The methods of minelaying depend on the conditions of the combat situation, the purpose of the minefields, the nature of the terrain, the type of mines, the duration of their installation, the time of year (day) and the availability of mechanization means. Depending on these factors, anti-tank/anti-personnel minefields can be installed: manually; using mechanization means; remotely. Manual minelaying is carried with portable mining kits or manual mining kit. Mechanized minelaying is carried out using trailed, tracked, combined, armoured minelayers. Remote mining is carried out portable mining kits, aviation, missiles and artillery mining systems.

Remotely installed minefields are divided into anti-tank, anti-personnel, mixed and anti-airborne. They are installed for a certain period, after which they self-destruct. They are characterized by length and depth, varying from several hundred meters to several kilometers. The installed mines are located on the ground haphazardly.

It is obvious that without a good knowledge of military engineering, it is hard to achieve success in combined arms combat. An important component of military engineering is demolition work, which includes various systems and means of mining, as well as mine-explosive barriers. According to experts, mine weapons can be used not only in defense, but also during an offensive, since modern means of mining allow their fast installation, arranging minefields during the battle. The warfare in Ukraine demonstrates effectiveness of remote mining systems - area subjected to intense shelling, plowed by shells, cleared by sappers, even after being passed by modern armour, can be toughly mined in several minutes during the battle by means of remote mining.

Some NATO member countries remote mining systems are presented in Armenian and Russian versions.




Published: 13/11/23