Increasing Safety in Afghanistan Clearing Large Areas in a Fast and Reliable Way: A New Engineer Task
Abstract
In August 2002, German engineers expanded their equipment inventory with another special vehicle. A representative of the German army chief of engineers took over the Minebreaker, a mine-clearing vehicle manufactured by Flensburger Fahrzeugbau Gesellschaft (FFG). Now, German engineers can clear large areas of mines quickly and reliably. Area clearance became an issue for the first time during the International Force peacekeeping mission in Kosovo and Stabilization Force mission in Bosnia, and later during the Kosovo Force peacekeeping mission. The requirement was to quickly proof and clear large areas that were possibly contaminated by mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO). Only then would it be possible to increase the safety of friendly forces in the vicinity of airfields, warehouses, and logistic transshipment sites and along roads. Previously, the Keiler armored mine-clearing vehicle had been used for that purpose, but the Keiler is a tactical vehicle for making fast breaches through minefields under combat conditions. The vehicle provides a safety lane 4.7 meters wide, milling the ground in the lane down to a depth of 25 centimeters. The soil, including any ordnance, is thrust to the side. Ordnance that is not activated remains in an inert state. With the Afghanistan mission, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) requirement of large area military clearing was quickly brought back into focus. The first contingency forces used the Danish ISAF explosive ordnance-clearing platoon, which was equipped with a Hydrema mine-clearing vehicle. However, when the Danish platoon withdrew, this capability was no longer available. In cooperation with the German Office of Defense Technology and Procurement, a market screening was performed. Among the systems that were tested and rated operational, the FFG Minebreaker was the only system that was readily available.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 2003
- Accession Number
- ADA596631
Entities
People
- Thomas Sponfeldner
Organizations
- United States Army Engineer School