Modern AT Mines — A Real and Lethal Threat

Mines, typically an inexpensive means of hailing. impeding. or diverting an enemy force. have goueo much more sophisticated. Using advanced materials and technologies, mines. especially antitank mines, have become harder to detect and destroy, more versatile, more prolific, and more lethal. Modem mines incorp:>rate a greater variety of fuzes and sensors, in addition to conventional pressure, tilt rod, and magnetic fuzes. Both the United Stales and other countries manufacture or are developing mines with acoustic, seismic, and infrared sensors. Microprocessors and smaU, long-life batteries now make everyday "dumb" mines "smart" by giving them, for example, the ability to count five passing vehicles and detonate as the sixth vehicle passes. Methods of detecting AT mines predominantly rely on observing surface laid mines, seeing evidence of buried mines, or detection of the magnetic fields emitted by the metallic components of buried mines. The use of nonmetallic parts (especially plastics) in the manufacture of non-U. S. mines has significantly decreased the magnetic signatures of buried AT mines so that they become nearly undetectable with magnetic mine detection gear. Visual detection of plastic mines has also been made more difficult with the addition of colored dyes to the plastics used for the mine covers. The difficulty of detecting these mines is demonstrated by the fact that there are areas of the Falkland lslands which were cordoned off by the British in 1987 because of the difficulty in finding and clearing the Argentine minefields placed before and during the FalJdands War. I Once detected, it is not easy to destroy AT mines, if a bypass cannot be found and mechanical or manual 48 breaching equipment and methods are unavailable or impractical. Some pressure-activated AT mines are blast hardened through the use of fuzes which will detonate after two pressure impulses or after the application of a sustained pulse. These fuzes prevent the activation of the mines from the blast of artillery, fuel-air explosives. and line charges such as the Mine Clearing line Charge (MICLIC). The only sure way to destroy these lines would be to place explosive charges on each mine and detonate the explosives to achieve a sympathetic detonation of the explosives in tbe mines. Once the mines are destroyed, a cleared lane through them must then be marked with durable, day/night visible markers. This translates into a time-consuming process which will jeopardize lives and possibly the success of the mission. As AT mines have become more difficult to detect and destroy, they have a1so become more versatile. The 1950's-era MIS AT mine. while still lethal, is technologically old and cumbersome. Newer mines are smaller, lighter. have the capability to detect along the fuU width of a vehicle versus the track width-capable MIS, and are deployable from a variety of delivery systems. Many countries can currently deploy AT mines from tracked and wheeled vehicles, artillery projectiles, jets, helicopters, missiles, andlor rockets. Finally, making use of better batteries, integrated circuits, and modem manufacturing techniques, many AT mines are now waterproof in both sa1t and fresh water. and can lie, for weeks on end, under a meter of snow ready to detonate. Microprocessors have also enabled the development of two new classes of AT mines called off-route and wide area mines. The off-route mine is placed some distance back from a route with a clear line of fire to a passing targel The mine fires as it detects the target passing. A wide area mine uses ilS sensors to detect a target in its 360-degree detection zone. The larget is engaged if it subsequently enters the mine's engagement area. These mines typica1ly attack their targets from the side or top and at ranges of up to 100 meters. Sensors in the mine will detect a larget via its noise. magnetism, vibration, or thermal signature and fire either an explosively fanned penetrator (EFP) or a sublet with an EFP at the target. One off-route mine in development is roughly the size of the paperback version of Tom Clanc,y's novel, The Sum of All Fears. Figure 1. Entry hole created by an explosively formed projectile. Figure 2. ExIt hole created by the same explosively Iormed penelralOf. When this photograph was taken, the metal surrounding the hole was still crackUng and sizzling from the heat produced by the penelralor.

There are many manufacturers of AT mines worldwide. Some of the largest producers and exporters are private and national induslries in Italy, China, and the former Soviet Union. Every region of the world, though, has a country or company that produces s0- phisticated AT mines. For instance, a company in Singapore has a license to manufacture Italian mines and South America and Europe have numerous companies and counlries that make AT mines that are available on the world market. Of note is the former Yugoslavia, which has been a leading manufacturer of advanced AT mines. Yugoslavia also worked with Icaq to produce the joint Yugoslavflraqi 262-mm LRSV M-87 multiple launch rocket system which can dispense 30 AT mines per rocket2 The large number and widespread use of both AP and AT mines has created an international problem. The majority of these mines. once deployed, wiU either remain active or become EOD hazards. Countries such as Afghanistan, Cambodia, and Kuwait are currently or have conducted extensive and time-consuming operations to clear their countries of these mines. To preclude the need for these country-wide mine clearing operations, the United States and several other west-Captain James M. Parker was commissioned in 1983 from the University of Delaware and holds a BA in history and an MS in materials science. A graduate of AOBC, AOAC, CAS3, and Materiel Acquisition Manager's Course, he has served as a tank and scout platoon leader, company XO, and 53 plans officer with 2-68 Armor in Baumholder, Germany, and as test offICer, U. S. Army Armor and Engineer Board, and company commander, C Company and HHC, 1-81 Armor at Ft. Knox, Ky. He is currently assistant project manager, Office of the Project Manager for Mines, Countermine, and Demo1itions, Picatinny Arsenal, N. J. He was selected for Major in November 1993.

em countries currently manufacture both AP and AT mines that will either self-neutralize or self-destruct after an elapsed time. United States mines that fall into this category are all of the mines in the Family of Scatterable Mines (FASCAM) such as VOLCANO, the Modular Pack Mine System (MOPMS), artillery delivered RAAM and ADAM. and USAF/USN airplane-delivered GATOR. Figure 3. Effect 01 a scatterable AT mine against Ihree, steel witness plates. The mine was fired from left to right. As stated earlier, the lethality of advanced AT mines has increased. The following figures show the effects of various. representative U. S. mines that are either fielded or in development. Agure 4. Oamaged road wheels and track caused by a track-width AT mine. This type 01 mine Is activated by the ground pressure exerted by an armored vehicle. These figures provide convincing evidence of the lethality of current AT mines. Figures I and 2 show, respectively, the entry and exit holes of an explosively fanned penetrator (EFP) shot through a steel plate. EFPs such as this one are commonly found in off-route and wide area mines that are intended to attack an armored vehicle from the top or sides. Figure 3 shows the effects of a scatterable AT mine against three steel witness plates. One can clearly see that this mine will penetrate the belly armor of an armored vehicle with sufficient energy remaining to cause damage inside the hull. A buried, nonmetallic AT mine would have the same effect. The mobility kill from a mine designed to break track is seen in Figure 4. In this figure, the mine was placed beneath the left side track, between the 4th and 5th roadwheels, on an M48 hull. No damage was seen to the hubs or roadwheel arms, but a three-foot length of track was destroyed and the two road wheels damaged. Had the lank been moving, the track would probably have been laid out also. Regardless, the minimum effect of the mine is a unit that has been delayed in accomplishing its mission and a damaged tank with severa1 hours of labor intensive work to get it mission capable. AT mines have always presented a difficult problem for our annored forces. Today's advanced AT mines are an even greater problem that requires widespread awareness and attention. In our next contingency mission, we may not have the time to become aware of the AT mine threat once in country. Furthermore, we may find ourselves confronting an enemy who not only has advanced AT mines, but also knows how to properly employ them. Thus, the threat posed by advanced AT mines is very large and very real. Noles lHuman Rights Watch/Arms Project. Landmines - A Deadly Legacy (Draft). New yort.. N. Y. I993. 2Foss. Christopher F.• and Gander. Terry 1. (cd). lane's Military LogisLics 1990-91. Jane's Information Group. Surrey. UK. 1990. 49