End Of Year, Russian Military Receives New Remote Controlled Mine Dispersion System

Illustration of the Russian mine disperser Zemledeliye. (Source: Russian Ministry of Defense)

JAKARTA - A new batch of the Zemledeliye remote-controlled mine dispersal engineering system, will arrive for Russian troops later this year, CEO of the Splav Research and Production Association (part of the Technodynamics Holding Company within state technology company Rostec) Alexander Smirnov said on Friday.

"The state trials will end this year. The first batch we produced for operational evaluation has already been sent to the troops. This year, we are also planning the delivery of this system," he explained to TASS as quoted Friday, November 19.

The new engineered vehicle makes it possible to deploy the latest mines equipped with self-destruct and self-deactivation technologies. Ammunition stored in containers can have different contents, including small aerial drones.

The project requires further technical work to ensure that the drone launched by this system flies along the designated route and completes its mission instead of crashing, he explained.

"Technology is needed to disassemble the drone and reduce its speed to safely remove it from a container," explains Smirnov.

Illustration of the Russian mine disperser Zemledeliye. (Source: Militaryleak)

To note, Zemledeliye has the principle of a dual rocket launch system but uses ammunition with a solid propellant engine loaded with various types of mines to lay minefields.

The remotely controlled mine deployment method has a number of advantages. In particular, it is characterized by the speed with which minefields are laid, especially in inaccessible areas.

At the same time, the ability of mines to self-deactivate or self-destruct at set times provides for safe and rapid mine clearance after the end of combat operations.

In addition, in the process of laying mines, the vehicle's electronic terrain map marks the coordinates of the mine area which is then transmitted to a higher level of command and control.

In addition to combat vehicles, the mine-laying system also consists of carrier-loaders and container launchers with technical ammunition loaded with various types of mines. The entire system complies with international agreements on the prohibition or restriction of the use of mines, trap mines, and other devices.