The Land Forces of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) signed a multi-million euro contract with BAL Bauer Industries Ltd. for the procurement of large-scale mine clearance machines “MineWolf”. The purchase follows extensive trials of the MineWolf in harsh desert conditions in the Gulf region in 2006, and includes special modifications for lifting mine fragments buried in sandy terrain to the surface.
BAL Bauer Industries Ltd., who acts as General Contractor for this contract, and MineWolf Systems were selected based on their superior technology, extensive regional experience and military know-how. The systems were delivered at the beginning of 2008 six month after contract signing and the training of the UAE personnel is being carried out at the present time.
It is the first army in the Middle East to procure the MineWolf.
The MineWolf is a tracked mine clearance machine implementing an interchangeable tiller or flail system. It has been proven effective against anti-personnel (AP) and heavy anti-tank (AT) mines in many mine-affected countries including Sudan, Jordan, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia (humanitarian projects). The system is capable of clearing up to 30,000 square metres per day.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
UAE get Swiss mine clearance machines
Monday, March 10, 2008
From one pocket ...
The Guardian has just told this story of creative accounting, or movable priorities.
"Money set aside to clear landmines and remove arms from conflict zones is to be raided to pay a private defence contractor to keep Tornado jets flying in Iraq, according to a confidential memo seen by the Guardian. The Ministry of Defence plans to pay BAE Systems from the multimillion-pound Conflict Prevention Fund - which covers projects such as destroying weapons in Bosnia and landmines in Mozambique - to subsidise the £5m-£10m cost of servicing each of the six planes."
Read the full story here.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Mini MineWolf successfully tested by German Army
The German Army’s Technical Center for Weapons and Ammunition based in Meppen, Germany has published their final results of trials with the 8.1 metric ton remote-controlled “Mini MineWolf” against simulated AP and live AT mines with explosive yield up to 13.5 kg TNT. Both the tiller and flail working tools were tested for effectiveness in clearing AP mines and survivability against 7 different AT mine types, including stacked mines.
The results of the trial were excellent, with the Mini MineWolf demonstrating survivability of both tiller and flail working tools against heavy AT mine detonations. It also achieved impressive results close to 100% with both flail and tiller attachments against simulated AP mines. All damage was repairable in the field with the prime mover suffering no damage, underscoring the economic viability of mechanical demining in high-threat environments.
According to Colonel Radlmeier, Chief Development Division of the German Army Engineering School. ”The ability to provide safe clearance capabilities in areas contaminated with explosive remnants of war is becoming increasingly significant to the future tasks of the German Army's Corp of Engineers. To improve the protection of soldiers in conflict scenarios we need a reliable, quickly deployable mechanical mine clearance tool. The Mini MineWolf is, based on real-world tests and its convincing results, a very interesting option to fill this gap."
AP mines were simulated using computer-controlled “WORM” mines (Wirelessly Operated Reproduction Mine) developed by the Canadian Centre for Mine Action Technologies (CCMAT). They are able to detect and report damage inflicted by the machine to a remote computer via a wireless link. The purpose of the trial was to determine the capability of the Mini MineWolf to clear (i.e. detonate or destroy) mines at different depths in different types of soil: gravel, sand and topsoil, as well as to survive large AT blasts with minimal damage, repairable in the field.
Click on photo for larger image.
India to make purchase from Bumar
Various sources are reporting that Poland's state-run Bumar is set to sign a US$1.2bn deal with India.
The agreement purports to include: Kroton de-mining vehicles, Loara mobile anti-aircraft units and self-propelled cannons. Several sources mention "WZT-3 armoured cars".
To our knowledge, the WZT-3 is actually a tracked armoured recovery vehicle capable of coming to the aid of damaged combat vehicles with it's hydraulic cargo crane, main towing winch of 840 kN and rigid towing shaft.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Naval airborne anti-mine system update
Raytheon has been awarded a $7,733,484 contract modification for three Low Rate Initial Production units of the Airborne Mine Neutralization System (AMNS). The purpose of the AMNS is to reacquire and neutralize mines after detection. The AMNS will be employed by the MH-60S helicopter to explosively neutralize unburied bottom, close tethered and moored sea mines that are impractical or unsafe to counter using existing minesweeping/mine neutralization techniques.
Work will be performed in Portsmouth, R.I., (56 percent); Waterlooville, United Kingdom (23 percent); Claremont, N.H., (11 percent); Windber, Pa., (5 percent); West Wareham, Mass., (3 percent); Biddford, Maine (1%), and Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (1 percent) and is expected to be completed by Nov. 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.
Photo: Sikorsky
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
NGOs to receive new mine detectors
Thanks to Ares, a recent article in Financial Times Deutschland indicates that the American Handheld Standoff Mine Detection System will be available to NGOs in Afghanistan.
The HSTMIDS looks like a standard metal detector but takes multisensor approach with stand-off alerting to mines out to 10 meters.
Photo: US Army
