Concept of an alternative to anti-personnel mines

The paper presents issues related to the global trend of eliminating the arsenal of land anti-personnel mines and replacing them with alternative means. The requirements that an alternative means should meet are defined, and a concept for such a device based on an EFP warhead design is presented. The problem of the inevitable (for socio-political reasons) withdrawal of anti-personnel mines from our Armed Forces should be considered on two levels:
– the objective necessity of replacing these mines with other means – fulfilling their tasks in the operations of the Armed Forces, – the possibility of obtaining a new combat means – by utilizing the current state of knowledge and technology – which will be a qualitatively new type of defensive weapon with incomparably better combat qualities and utility for the Armed Forces compared to current mines (not only anti-personnel ones).
One must also reckon with the fact that the world, in the non-military sphere, will strive for a total ban on the use of combat means that act like mines, i.e., those that react automatically to a technical object, human, or animal approaching them or in direct contact with them, and act upon them in a way that causes damage (injury) or destruction (death) – and in particular, inflicts pain, brings suffering to people, and causes permanent disability. However, in the time horizon of (10÷15) years, we certainly cannot abandon the use of currently utilized (…)

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