The density of minefields in the Zaporizhzia direction.
The density of minefields in the Zaporizhzia direction.
Source: https://t.me/operativnoZSU/124126
Translation:
The occupiers densely mined the fields in the Zaporizhzhia region
TM-62 anti-tank mines are installed in a checkerboard pattern with an interval of just one meter from each other.
Despite these circumstances people complain from the comfort of their armchairs that the counteroffensive is going too slow.
The colors on the map need to change so that I know the big red arrow that I drew on the map is working.
It's going to take a lot of brave people and a lot of money to demine Ukraine. Luckily, Ukrainians are very brave and they have some extremely rich friends.
Is it a war whoopsie to use POW for de-mining? Cause that would be convenient
Edit: Denmark, UK, Russia, and others did it with German prisoners after WW2. Good to know it's no longer acceptable
Can cluster bombing the entire field detonate all of the mines to clear the path? Might take a lot of bombs but it's gotta be faster than de-mining by hand.
Can it clear some mines? Absolutely, you can blow up minefields. Can it clear ALL mines? Very likely not.
Mines can explode from getting hit, but AT mines are far more likely to just get flung away a bit, and will just sit in their new position, probably in between craters. So you'll have fewer mines, but also less passable terrain. And more dirt, and less predictable ground too.
Craters could be advantageous. Bring lots of dirt that you know is clean, plug the craters with said dirt with combat bulldozers, then get your tanks through quickly before the enemy can call in artillery.
Easier said than done though, and there still will be casualties.
I think that there's a 5% failure rate of cluster bombs. So if you drop a few, there will be a few UXOs still laying around.
Best bet is to use a MICLIC or those mine sniffing rats.
They have custom launched destination lines they can use too. I think that's cheaper and more controllable than cluster munitions. But sometimes the mine fields are deep enough you need two or three shots to get all the way through.
@JohnDClay There are demining vehicles as well. Not sure how effective they can be with such a density but I think they can do some work.
Yes, and there's a reason the recommended placement distances, if one of these goes off it's going to sympathetically setoff others.
The easy way is det cord jammed into defused grenades to make a ghetto mclc and well bravery mixed with a bit of stupidity wouldn't hurt.
That was my initial thought as well. Or if you needed a clear path across, specifically bomb one out so you could be sure you aren't walking through that. I have no idea how practical that would be though.
According to a quick Google, the only thing that detonates the plastic explosive in TM-62s is a shockwave, which is how the primer detonates the mine.
So something that generates shockwaves violent enough to get through their casing over a wide area might work on all the exposed mines.
It might not be as effective on mines that are buried.
This is a nightmare.
The problem isn't the antitank mines, which obviously aren't even buried. The problem is whether antipersonnel mines are buried around them.If concussion can set these off, maybe they can be remote detonated by a sniper firing at them? That would in theory get rid of all the AT mines so you could send in a demining vehicle to remove the AP mines.
But that's a slow and expensive process. This looks like a legacy of war Ukraine is going to be dealing with for decades.
@LaFinlandia The density of these is so big that they don't even bother covering them. Or maybe they simply used one of those mine-laying vehicles that drops them in series on a conveyor belt or something
MRAP go brrrrrrrrr