In the late fifties, the Armed
Forces began to procure their first AP and AT mines, which they decided to
procure under license from foreign countries. The first AP mine procured
by the FAF was a product of the Swedish company LIAB - the metal-free
DM-11 AP mine whose explosive charge is strong enough to damage vehicles.
This landmine was produced under license by Diehl, a German
company with headquarters in Nürnberg/Röthenbach in its factory of
Mariahütte (Saarland). According to government sources, the FAF bought a
huge number of these landmines until 1964 at a cost of 19.2 million DEM.
Specific data is classified even though these landmines were removed from
stockpiles in 1994. Knowing that around 1.27 million of these mines were
sorted out still in 1994, and assuming that a landmine of this design
would not be cost more than 6 or 6.5 DEM, the total number of procured
mines could be estimated at three million.
From 1962-1967 the
company Industriewerke Karlsruhe (later: Industriewerke Karlsruhe
Augsburg, IWKA) produced the DM-31 AP mine for the FAF. According to
government sources these procurements cost 49.2 million DEM. The German
government keeps the number of procured mines secret. Assuming that the
cost of the mine would be between 30 and 45 DEM, the total number of
procured mines could be between one and one and a half million mines.
According to the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense only 3,000
DM-31 mines have been retained for training purposes by the Federal Armed
Forces. This mine is a bounding device which, upon explosion of its
bursting charge, showers the surrounding area with small fragments of
chopped steel rod.
The Armed Forces also has DM-39s -- so-called
"explosive charges" ("Sprengkörper"). The costs and number of these
devices are unknown. DM-39 are designed to protect DM-11 and DM-21 AT
mines from neutralization. In other words, this "explosive charge" (the
DM-39 and DM-39 A1) is used as an anti-handling-devices. If anybody tries
to clear an AT mine fitted with DM-39 or DM-39 A1 a pressure release fuse
is activated, causing an explosion powerful enough to detonate the AT
mine. Out of Germany these devices are classified as AP mines, e.g., U.S.
Department of Defense Humanitarian Demining Database. The plastic-bodied
DM-39 is available in a sheet-metal version, the DM-39A1. For practice
exercises both mines are available as training versions with active fuses
and smoke charges. The nonmetallic practice mine is designated the DM-68
and the metallic version the DM-68A1.
By 1967 the basic landmine
stocks of the FAF were full and purchases were not necessary for the near
future. Consequently efforts concentrated on research and develop of new
types of mines and new methods of laying them.
The company
Industriewerke Karlsruhe (IWK, later: IWKA) developed for production a
new, improved German AT mine, called the "Panzermine II." This metal
bodied mine weighs less than 10 kilograms and is scatterable by helicopter
up to a height of ten meters.. A ignition canal exists at the bottom of
the mine, which is able to be connected with DM-31 anti-handling-devices.
Under the name DM-21 this IWK-development was procured by the
Federal Armed Forces between 1980 and 1982. At this time this mine was
produced by company Diehl, because IWK sold the facilities to Diehl just
before procurement. According to government sources, the cost of
procurement amounted to 88.1 million DEM. Assuming that in the early
eighties the DM-21 cost about half that of the later, much more
technically perfected DM-31 ATM, the costs per mine could be calculated at
approximately 600 DEM. Thus the number of mines procured would be at least
150.000.
The 1970s heralded a transition to significantly changed
mine warfare equipment of the FAF. After development dating back to 1956,
the Armed Forces introduced a weapon system in 1970 which has strongly
influenced mine warfare doctrine of the FAF. This system was the LARS
(Light-Artillery-Rocket-System - Leichte Artillerie-Raketen-System) rocket
launcher, which also could be provided with warheads containing AT-1
mines. From 1970 till 1972 the Federal Armed Forces procured 209 of these
landmine delivery systems. According to government sources, the cost was
72.2 Million DEM. Approximately 65 of these mine delivery systems are
still in use.
At the same time Nobel developed a warhead called
"Pandora", which was able to hold six AT-1 mines. These mines were
procured by the Federal Armed Forces in about 1978. The AT-1 is first
generation scatterable mine. This plastic stake mine has a mechanical
vibration fuse which responds to sustained pressure by driving over it.
The mine is equipped with an anti-handling-device and a self-destruct
mechanism.
With its purchase of LARS the Federal Armed Forces were
the first European NATO military force to possess an artillery supported
landmine delivery system. The importance which was attached to this new
technology is shown in the volume of purchases: According to government
sources, between 1978 and 1980, 108.6 Million DEM were spent to buy 15,000
LARS-AT-1 rockets each fitted out with eight AT-1 mines. Altogether a
total of 120,000 AT-1 mines were produced by Diehl. According to
Government sources these rockets were transformed to rockets for exercise
purposes between 1990 and 1993.
In the mid-1980s, the FAF began to
renew their stocks of mines with landmines delivery systems and new AT
mines. The most significant characteristic of these new mines is their
ability to be scattered mechanically and by rocket launchers.
The
most important new acquisition in mine stocks of mines was the AT-2 mine,
which was introduced in the eighties. Government sources indicated that
between 1981 and 1986 564.7 million DEM were spent on AT-2 mines, designed
to be scattered by the LARS mine layer. These acquisitions included 60,000
LARS-rockets each fitted with five new AT-2 mines from Dynamit Nobel for a
total of 300,000 mines. Between 1984 and 1992 763 million DEM were spent
on AT-2 mines usable with the "Skorpion" mine layer system from Dynamit
Nobel, as well. At least 32,000 magazines of mines were procured each
consisting of twenty AT-2 mines for a total of 640,000 mines. And finally
between 1993 and 1995, 783.6 million DEM were spent on AT-2 mines usable
with the MARS/MRLS rocket launcher. For this the Federal Armed Forces got
9,360 rockets each consisting of twenty-eight AT-2 mines, for a total of
262,080 mines. This means from 1981 until 1995 a total of more than 2.11
billion DEM were spent for more than 1.2 million AT-2 mines.
The
AT-2 is an armor-penetrating belly-attack mine that uses a shaped-charge
of pressed RDX/TNT weighing 0.85 kg. The mine is cylindrical with soft
vinyl cover. In addition to the explosive train, the system includes an
impact sensor, fuse, timer, and lithium battery. Simultaneously a 500-mm
sensor is deployed; its function is to sense vibrations caused by vehicle
belly or track. The AT-2 is reported to be able to penetrate 15.0 to 20.0
cm of armor. Six selectable self-destruct times are available.
From 1985 on the FAF procured the mechanical mine delivery system
85. It is a trailer with an integrated plough developed in Sweden, which
allows the laying of the DM-31 AT mine on the surface or under the ground.
The DM-31 was produced in Sweden by the company FFV. The DM-31 is a shaped
charge ATM with a magnetic fuse. The fuse contains 2 magnetized balls that
sit in a path under the edge of the mine lid functioning as an antilift
device. The DM-31 can be laid mechanically or by hand.
Government
sources indicate 125,000 mines were procured between 1988 and 1992.
Information on the cost of these procurements is inconsistent. In
information given to the parliament the Ministry of Defense specified the
costs at 160 million DEM in 1995, while in the press the costs were quoted
as 182.2 million DEM. Finally, at the time of order in 1985, the costs
were calculated to be merely at 141.2 million DEM.
In the early
nineties, the DM-51 AP mines was acquired from the disintegrated Armed
Forces of Former East Germany. With this mine the Federal Republic of
Germany gained a so-called Claymore mine for the first time. According to
government sources, some 33,000 mines were inherited from the former East
Germany.
The DM-51 is based on the Russian MON-50 AP mine. The
MON-50 has a plastic body with rows of imbedded fragments on the side
facing the target. Two variants exist, one with 540 steel ball bearing
fragments, and the other with 485 cylindrical chopped steel wire
fragments. The mine rests on two pairs of folding scissors-like legs.
Because the mine can be articulated at the leg joints, the height of the
fragment pattern can be adjusted. On the top center of the mine is a peep
sight with a fuse well on either side. These fuse wells will accommodate a
variety of fuses, including tripwire, breakwire, and command detonation.
Although there is no independent verification on destroying these mines,
it has been assumed that they were eliminated in December
1997.
Modern, multi-functional submunitions -- mines like the MUSPA
from Rheinmetall/Daimler Benz Aerospace/ Thomson-Dasa-Wirksysteme (TDW) --
testify to the ongoing development of mine technology. They are
definitively designed to cause human casualties. Remotely deliverable with
fighter jets or dispenser weapons, these mines can be deployed by the
thousands and extremely quickly over long ranges, greatly enhancing the
offensive aspect of mine warfare. The number of MUSPAs in stock is
classified. According to reliable estimates the number of procured mines
MUSPA is 90,000 at a cost of around 210 million DEM.
Even though
the Ministry of Defense and its producers consider MUSPA to be a
"submunition," the U.S. Department of Defense classifies the weapon as an
AP mine: "The MUSPA is an antimeteriel / antipersonnel fragmentation
minelet dispensed as a submunition from the former West German MW-1 weapon
system. The mine is a heavy fragmentation munition with 2100 steel pellets
as the primary lethal mechanism. Once it has been parachute delivered, the
MUSPA self-rights and arms. An acoustic sensor then actively senses for an
aircraft engine signature. A nearly identical submunition, the MUSA,
differs only in that no fuse is present; instead it self-destructs at a
preset time."
From the mid-nineties on, German landmines producers
have intensified their efforts to complete developments of more powerful
high-tech mines and recently as European joint ventures. These new
generation of mines continue to enhance the offensive aspect of mine
warfare, which meets the requirements of military to make future warfare
technology supported.
From 1996 to 1998 PARM 1 was offered by
Daimler Benz Aerospace together with THOMSON (France) by joint venture
with Thomson-DASA Armaments (TDA) or Thomson-Dasa-Wirksysteme (TDW)
Government sources indicated that 12,000 PARM-1s had been procured at a
cost of 99.6 million DEM by 1998. This figures differs from the
information provided by DASA, which indicated a cost of 100.5 million DEM.
The PARM-1 stand on an adjustable tripod, with 360 degrees of
movement and an elevation of -45 to +90 degrees. A reel of fiber-optic
cable is laid along the aimed line of sight, the timer is activated, and
the mine is armed following a 5-minute arming delay. When the PARM 1
warhead is fired, a counterweight is ejected out the back and stabilizing
fins extend to guide the warhead to the target. The warhead contains a
shaped-charge lethal mechanism that penetrates the target with an impact
of up to 40 km/h.
After public pressure generated by shareholders
of Daimler-Benz, the Director of Daimler Benz (now Daimler-Benz/Chrysler)
Jurgen Schrempp announced in late 1998 that production of PARM-1 would be
stopped by the end of the year as well as the development of PARM-2.
But similar new high-tech mines are still under development in
other European joint-ventures - such as the ARGES, developed by Dynamit
Nobel (Germany)/Honeywell (Germany)/GIAT (France)/Hunting (Great Britain).
It is a rival product of the PARM-2 and one of the most modern off-route
mines offered to the European market. The one mine costs approximately
12,000 DEM. ARGES will be used as a standard NATO weapon, but is not
expected to be introduced before 2000.
ARGES, like the PARM 2, is
an autonomous, sensor-controlled anti-armor weapon, which destroys the
target from the side with a hollow charge warhead. The acoustic alarm
sensor of the ARGES mine, which can make out close- and long-range
targets, can 'hear around corners' and therefore also be deployed in
confined areas. A microprocessor calculates the distance, direction, speed
and the length of the target vehicle. The length of the vehicle is crucial
in deciding whether it is a combat target or not. "The question of how
reliably a differentiation on this basis between civilian and military
vehicles will work hardly needs to be answered. Then the question of
whether for example the ARGES mine can differentiate between various tank
models was in fact answered in the negative by a spokesperson for the
sensor manufacturers Honeywell (Germany), which also manufactures the PARM
sensors. On the contrary, 'no German soldier would be advised to even get
close to an activated ARGES mine with his tank'".
Area defense
mines, such as the COBRA area-defense mine from Rheinmetall Industrie,
constitute another example in the "dynamic" high-tech mines category.
Government sources indicate that 310 million DEM are projected to be spent
on the system over the next few years and an amount on 45.0 million DEM
has already been spent. This mine symbolizes the future technology of
European high-tech mines -- an autonomous, "intelligent", conflict robot
ready for offensive deployment. It fulfills the highest military
requirements and characterizes the transition from a static to a dynamic
weaponry system.
Equipped with the SMart 155 munitions from the
German companies Rheinmetall Industrie and Diehl, the COBRA is a "top
attack" weapon. The target is recognized through seismic and acoustic
sensors and the mine when activated is fired to a height of approximately
150 meters. There, suspended from a parachute, it searches, finds and
finally fires the sensor fuzzed munitions on the target over a radius of
more than 300 meters. "False targets, e.g. light commercial vehicles, can
therefore be reliably identified and not targeted" assure official sources
of the Ministry of Finance. No comment is forthcoming on how the mine
reacts to large commercial vehicles such as heavy goods vehicles, civilian
buses or similar vehicles. Military publications report however that
warnings should be issued against the current risks associated with this
ambitious development, especially with remote delivery by missile.
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