MATS/2 mine

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The MATS/2 is a scatterable Italian circular, plastic-cased minimum metal blast resistant anti-tank blast mine. It uses a pneumatic fuse which is resistant to shock and blast similar to the fuse fitted to the TS-50. The mine's plastic case is waterproof, and the mine can be scattered from a helicopter traveling at up to 200 km/h using the Tecnovar DAT dispensing system. A secondary fuse well is provided in the base for the fitting of anti-handling devices.

Minimum metal mine

A minimum metal mine is a land mine that is designed to use the smallest amount of metal possible in its construction. Typically, the only metal components are located inside the fuze mechanism which triggers detonation. Both minimum metal anti-tank and anti-personnel mines exist. Some designs contain virtually no metal at all e.g. less than a gram. This is achieved by encasing the explosive charge in a plastic, wooden, or glass body, with metallic components limited to the few small parts in the fuze which can not easily be made from other materials, such as the spring, striker tip, and shear pin. Minimum metal mines are extremely difficult to detect using conventional metal mine detectors and usually require modern techniques, such as robotic Multi Period Sensing (MPS) equipment, to identify, but it is still too difficult to find non-metallic mines. These techniques are usually restricted to well-funded international mine clearing organizations and major militaries, making minimum metal mines especially pernicious where they are encountered.

Blast resistant mine

A Blast resistant mine is a landmine with a fuze which is designed to be insensitive to the shock wave from a nearby explosion. This feature makes it difficult or impossible to clear such mines using explosive minefield breaching techniques. As a result, the process of clearing minefields is slower and more complex. Blast resistance can be achieved in a number of ways.

Anti-tank mine form of land mine designed for use against armored vehicles (including tanks)

An anti-tank mine is a type of land mine designed to damage or destroy vehicles including tanks and armored fighting vehicles.

The mine's manufacturer claims the mine is capable of disabling any armoured vehicle.

The mine is no longer in production, but is in service with the Italian army.

Specifications

RDX chemical compound

RDX is an organic compound with the formula (O2NNCH2)3. It is a white solid without smell or taste, widely used as an explosive. Chemically, it is classified as a nitramide, chemically similar to HMX. A more energetic explosive than TNT, it was used widely in World War II and remains common in military applications.

Composition B

Composition B, colloquially "Comp B", is an explosive consisting of castable mixtures of RDX and TNT. It is used as the main explosive filling in artillery projectiles, rockets, land mines, hand grenades and various other munitions. It was also used for the explosive lenses in the first implosion-type nuclear weapons developed by the United States.

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Type 72 Non-Metallic is a Chinese circular, plastic bodied landmine which is designed to damage or destroy a vehicle by blast effect.

MON-50

The MON-50 is a claymore shaped, plastic bodied, directional type of anti-personnel mine designed and manufactured in the Soviet Union. It is designed to wound or kill by explosive fragmentation. The mine is similar to the American M18 Claymore with a few differences.

The PT Mi-Ba-II is a large Bakerlite cased Czechoslovakian anti-tank blast mine. The mine is unusual in that it has two plunger fuses instead of a pressure plate. The plunger fuses give the mine resistance to overpressure, also the plastic body makes it difficult to detect.

VS-50 mine

The VS-50 is a circular plastic cased anti-personnel blast mine, formerly manufactured by the now-defunct Valsella Meccanotecnica SpA, an Italian high-tech defence industry specialized in area denial systems which was also the manufacturer of the Valmara 69 and one of the first industries in the world to implement plastic construction for landmines. The design is similar to the TS-50 and VS-MK2 mine. It is blast resistant and can be used in a minimum metal configuration. Though unlikely to kill, the explosive charge contained within a VS-50 is quite sufficient to destroy the victim's foot: the blast is capable of penetrating 5 mm of mild steel leaving an 80 mm-diameter hole.

The SB-81 is an Italian plastic cased minimum metal anti-tank blast mine dating from the early 1980s. The mine uses an air pressure based fuze, which gives it protection against overpressure and blast. It can therefore be regarded as a blast resistant mine. The mine can be scattered by hand or by mine laying systems.

Type 72 metallic anti-tank mine

The Type 72 is a Chinese metal-cased circular anti-tank blast mine, it is similar to the Russian TM-46 mine, a plastic cased version of the mine is also produced, the Type 72 non-metallic anti-tank mine. The mine has a central plastic cased blast resistant fuze.


The M5 is a United States minimum metal plastic cased anti-tank blast mine. The mine uses either a glass or porcelain internal case with a protective outer case. The mine uses a chemical fuse rather than a mechanical one. It contains either 5.4 lb (2.4 kg) of TNT or 5.7 lb (2.6 kg) of tetrytol. It was used during the Second World War.

The P2 Mk2 and P3 Mk2 are Pakistani plastic cased minimum metal anti-tank blast mines. The P2 Mk2 has a square case with a central circular ribbed pressure plate, the P3 is circular with a central circular pressure plate. Both mines use anti-personnel mines as the fuse, typically the either the P4 Mk1 or P2 Mk2 anti-personnel mines. The anti-personnel mine sits in a cavity below the pressure plate, when enough pressure is place on the pressure plate of the mine, it collapses onto the anti-personnel mine triggering it and the main charge which sits below it. A yellow canvas carrying strap is normally fitted to the side of the mine. The mines have a secondary fuse well on the bottom which can be used with anti-handling devices. A GLM-2 electronic booby trap can be fitted to the cavity under the pressure plate. The mine is supplied with a steel disc which makes the mine more easily detectable, although this is seldom used. Since 1997 only a detectable version of the mine has been produced, and to comply with the Convention on Conventional Weapons amended protocol II, Pakistani stocks of the mine are being retrofitted with steel detection discs. The mines are found in Afghanistan, Angola, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Somalia, and Tajikistan.

TMA-4 mine

The TMA-4 is a circular plastic cased Yugoslavian minimum metal anti-tank blast mine. It is a modernized version of the TMA-3. The mine is basically a cast block of TNT with three fuze wells cut into it, encased in plastic. Three black plastic UTMA-4 fuzes are installed into the top surface of the mine. A thin rope carry handle is also provided. The small pressure plate area of the fuzes make the mine resistant to overpressure from explosive demining techniques. Additionally the low metal content of the mine make it very difficult to detect. Although no secondary fuze well is provided, it is possible that the mine could be fitted with improvised anti-handling devices.

The YM-III or YM-3 is a circular ABS plastic cased Iranian minimum metal anti-tank blast mine. It is a copy of the Chinese Type 72 non-metallic anti-tank mine. The mine uses a blast-resistant fuze, which relies on gradual application of pressure to trigger it. The mine is found in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Iran, and Iraq.

TC/2.4 mine

The TC/2.4 is a circular plastic cased Italian minimum metal anti-tank blast mine. The mine uses a blast and shock resistant pneumatic fuze. It could be laid by hand or mechanically, and could be fitted with anti-handling devices. An Egyptian copy of the mine is produced, designated as the M/80. The mine was used in Iraq, but is no longer produced.

The T-AB-1 is a rectangular plastic cased Brazilian anti-tank blast mine. The mine uses a T-AB-1 anti-personnel mine as a fuze. The AP mine is inserted into the body of the AT mine under a large stiff ABS plastic pressure plate. The pressure plate is fastened in place by a number of shear pins, which are designed to give way under a pressure of 200 kg. The AP mine under the pressure plate is then triggered, triggering the mine's main charge.

The MAT/5 is an Italian circular, plastic-cased minimum metal blast resistant anti-tank blast mine. It uses a pneumatic fuze which is resistant to shock and blast, and is also claimed to be resistant to mine flails and mine rollers. The mine's plastic case is waterproof, and it can be laid in shallow water. Additionally the mine will function upside down. The mine can be fitted with anti-handling devices. The mine is no longer in production.

The MAT/6 is an Italian circular synthetic resin-cased minimum metal blast resistant anti-tank blast mine. It uses a pneumatic fuze which is resistant to shock and blast, and is also claimed to be resistant to mine flails and mine rollers. The mine's plastic case is waterproof, and it can be laid in shallow water. Anti-handling devices may be fitted to the mine.

The MATS/1.4 is a scatterable Italian circular, plastic-cased minimum metal blast-resistant anti-tank blast mine. It uses a pneumatic fuze which is resistant to shock and blast. The mine's plastic case is waterproof, and the mine can be scattered from a helicopter travelling at up to 200 km/h. The mine is normally tan-colored. The mine's main charge is relatively small, so when hand-emplaced the mine can be stacked, to increase its effect.

The MATS/2.6 is a scatterable Italian circular, plastic-cased minimum metal blast resistant anti-tank blast mine. It is very similar to the MATS/2, except that it uses a smooth pressure plate rather than a griddle pressure plate. It uses a pneumatic fuse which is resistant to shock and blast similar to the fuze fitted to the TS-50. The mine's plastic case is waterproof, and the mine can be scattered from a helicopter.

The MAT.84-F5 is a Chilean, plastic cased, minimum metal anti-tank blast mine. The mine has a small central pressure plate on the top of the case which is made from 3 mm thick, olive green, high-impact plastic. The mine is armed before it is laid by unscrewing a safety plug from the side of the mine. The mine is believed to be in service with the Chilean armed services.

The AUPS is a circular Italian bakelite cased minimum metal anti-personnel blast mine. The mine can be adapted with a steel fragmentation jacket and stake into a fragmentation stake mine. The mine is constructed in two halves, with the upper half containing the pressure fuse mechanism, the lower half contains the main charge and the detonator. The mine case is normally unpainted bakelite brown.

The P-25 is a plastic cased Italian anti-personnel stake mine. It was developed along with the larger P-40 mine in the late 1970s by Misar SpA and entered production in 1978. The mine consists of a plastic cylinder with a fuse protruding from the top. The mine can either be stake mounted or buried, although it was designed to be stake mounted. Pull pressure on the tripwire results in the fuse head tilting sideways, releasing a striker into the detonator assembly.

The BM/85 is an Italian blast resistant bounding anti-personnel mine that was produced by Tecnovar italiana SpA. The mine is cylindrical with a three pronged tilt/pressure fuze on the top with a central post for attaching a tripwire. A plastic safety clip prevents the fuze from tilting when in transit. Once the pressure clip is removed the mine is armed. Once the fuze is pulled sideways by a trip wire or by downward pressure, the mine is triggered. A small charge launches the mine to a height of about 0.45 meters where it explodes scattering 1,000 fragments to a lethal radius of about 25 meters.

References

ORDATA is a United States government database of landmines and other unexploded ordnance, developed to assist humanitarian demining work. The original version of ORDATA released in 1997 was CD-ROM based, and incorporated material from the earlier Minefacts program. ORDATA 2.0 was distributed on a CD-ROM and on the Internet. The database is hosted on the Center for International Stabilization and Recovery website, a part of James Madison University. In 2014-15 the interface underwent a revision and the data partially updated. The new site is known as the Collaborative ORDnance Data Repository (CORD) and is available online at https://www.jmu.edu/cisr/research/cord.shtml. An offline version is in development.