The present invention relates to a method for neutralizing surface-laid or camouflaged land mines and to a mobile unit, apparatus or vehicle for performing the method.
The land mine is an active obstacle to stop, delay or render impossible movement by the other side. In future, it will continue to be an important combat support element. Not only the reliability, but also the effectiveness of mines has been improved through the use of electronics.
Different types of mechanical mine sweeping or clearing systems are known, such as mine ploughs and/or rollers, whilst explosive mine clearing systems are also known. Traditional systems, such as e.g. explosive charges, fuses and mats are being increasingly supplemented and in part replaced by fuel--air--explosive systems (FAE-systems). The latter is able to neutralize more than 90% of all known mines with pressure detonators, but FAE-resistant mines are also known.
Modern mines are much more difficult to clear than mines having pressure detonators. An integrated digging up or removal blocking means, which if necessary can also be switched off, prevents easy cleaning. Seismic sensors prevent mines being cleared by hand. An electromagnetic field artificially produced for clearing purposes remains ineffective, if the correct alarm sensor is made to operate beforehand. Against modern mines, pyrotechnic clearing means are also not very effective, because they have a high resistance to blasting. Such sudden and powerful position changes of the type produced by detonating explosive, are absorbed by a shock blocking device fitted into land mines and consequently detonation is prevented. Mechanical clearing means, such as rollers and striking chains can only function against pressure sensors and can also destroy mines with sensor combinations, but the risk rate is high. However, these clearing means are not only very slow and clumsy, but become worn after a certain number of mine detonations. The most effective clearing method consists of removing the mined ground with the entire width of vehicle, but high technical expenditure and effort are required for this. In this clearing method soil and mines are hurled to the front and sides and consequently absolute mine-free corridors are formed. However, the clearing speed of this method is not very high. Among the most reliable, but also dangerous and time-consuming clearing methods is the use of inindividual relays charges, which are manually placed directly on or at the mine. However, this clearing procedure is completely unsuitable for the rapid overcoming of mine barriers.
Modern, so-called intelligent land mines are characterized in that they cannot be discovered or eliminated with conventional means. Such land mines are made from very difficulty detectable materials, such as e.g. nonmetals, plastics, etc and in certain cases are covered with local materials for camouflage purposes, e.g. with vegetation, soil, etc. The increasing "intelligence" of land mines, e.g. made possible through the use of microelectronics in connection with the igniting or detonating mechanism, leads to the failure of traditional mine clearing means. Surface-covering blasting with the aid of explosive fuses and mats or fuel--air--explosion systems does not always lead to the elimination of intelligent land mines.
A conventional solution to the problem would consist of firing conventional ammunition in a systematic, surface-covering manner, so as to hit each land mine and consequently detonate the same by detonating the detonating mechanism. However, such a method cannot be realised for logistic and cost reasons.