The Mine Kafon Drone is a drone for demining, led by Afghanistan-born Massoud Hassani. The drone is designed to map an area for land mines, detect the mines, and then detonate them remotely. It has been field-tested with the Dutch Ministry of Defence. The use of a drone is safer and less expensive than typical methods for mine removal, which endanger trained mine disposal experts and dogs. The Mine Kafon Foundation, established by Hassani in 2013, is based in Eindhoven, Netherlands.
Massoud Hassani was born in Afghanistan, where there are an estimated 10 million mines buried in about 500 square kilometres (190 sq mi). [1] [2] He and his brother, Mahmud, in fear of the landmines, took a special path to school. Massoud says, that knowing that there are buried landmines "becomes like a mental disorder... The fear is on your mind all the time." [3] As children, the boys made wind-driven toys to play with around the Kabul deserts, [1] [3] but they would get stuck in the middle of minefields. [4]
His mother arranged for smugglers to get him out of the country when he was 14 years of age. [1] The Hassani family settled in the Netherlands. [3] Massoud studied Industrial Design at Design Academy Eindhoven, and inspired by homemade wind-powered toys he made during his childhood, he and his brother created the Mine Kafon wind-powered landmine machine [1] —Kafon means "explode" in Dari. [3] The machine, which looks like a giant dandelion puff ball that rolls across areas of land and detonates landmines, [3] [5] was created for his 2011 graduation project. [6] Made of bamboo, iron, and plastic, the design that was inspired by a starburst was a finalist in London's Design Museum's 2012 Design of the Year Award. [4] Called a visual poem by the New York Times, [7] it was exhibited in 2013 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City [1] and the following year at "The Fab Mind: Hints of the Future in a Shifting World" design exhibition as one of the "socially and politically engaged designs". [8]
The concept for demining using the dandelion-shaped machine works in theory, particularly in open desert areas where the wind blows freely, but it could cause more problems—in terms of retrieval and maintenance—once it was damaged in the middle of a minefield, says Henk van der Slik of the Dutch Explosive Ordnance Disposal organization. While it is not an effective tool for demining, it could be used to identify potential areas where mines were placed. [4]
There are about 100 million buried landmines [9] [10] in 60 countries. The United Nations states that there are 20,000 individuals—mostly the elderly, women, and children— that are maimed by landmines annually. [9] According to Ingenieur, civilians make up the largest portion of victims of landmines, at an estimate of 79% of the total victims. The military are estimated to be 18% of the victims, and professional mine sweepers are 3% of the victims. [10]
Typically, mines are removed using mine disposal experts, dogs, and wheeled vehicles, which is dangerous. Further, the mines become more unstable over time. [11] [12] It costs between $300–1,000 to remove each mine, according to the World Economic Forum. [12] It is also a lengthy process. There were 171,000 American and Russian mines laid in Mozambique during their revolution, which have been said to have killed up to 15,000 people, according to Human Rights Watch. It took 22 years to clear the mines from the country. The effort was completed in 2015. [6]
Subsequently, the project rapidly gained media-interest. In 2012, Massoud and his brother Mahmud organised a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for the development of the Mine Kafon tumbleweed mine detonator ball. [13] [14] The project raised funds on the crowdfunding site Kickstarter with their goal set at £100,000 and receiving £119,456. [15] After the successful fundraising campaign, Massoud established the Mine Kafon Foundation, a research and development organization, in 2013 [9] in Eindhoven, Netherlands. [5] [9]
Prototyping and field testing of the drone was conducted with the support of the Dutch Ministry of Defence. [1] [9] They also crowd-sourced globally for designers and engineers to collaborate on the project. [9] The team, led by Massoud, [2] currently optimises the Mine Kafon to safely and efficiently operate across all landmine contaminated terrains. [13] [ better source needed ]
At the moment we are preparing a pilot in a 150 square km field. That’s about the size of 37,000 football stadiums. First we do the 3D mapping part with only 10 drones working 24/7 for a period of two months. Then we apply the detection drones. We will need about 50 Mine Kafon Drones with metal detectors to detect the fields cm by cm for six months. These drones will fly 24/7 over this whole period of time. The landscape is like a mine-filled desert but in less than a year this landscape can be a green zone.
—Massoud Hassani, August 2016 [9]
The unmanned airborne de-mining system uses a three step process to autonomously map, detect and detonate land mines. It flies above potentially dangerous areas, generating a 3D map using its 3D camera, GPS, and a computer. It then uses a metal detector that hovers close above the ground using sensors and a retractable arm keep to pinpoint and geotag the location of mines. The drone can then place a detonator above the mines using its robotic gripping arm, before retreating to a safe distance and detonating the mine. The firm claims its drone is safer, 20 times faster and up to 200 times cheaper than current technologies and might clear mines globally in 10 years. [2] [3] [5] [12] Some of the challenges are that it is difficult to rely on GPS for precise locations and it is difficult to identify mines that have been buried for decades. [2]
In terms of the mechanics, the goal now is to optimize the drone and create base stations. [10] The team will explore using external antennas to triangulate locations, to improve the results of using GPS alone. [2] In addition, the plan is to train pilots to use the drone and carry out tests in different countries. [10] Another Kickstarter campaign was established in July 2016 to help fund these efforts with the goal set at €70,000 and receiving over €100,000 above it (€177,456). [2] [16]
A land mine, or landmine, is an explosive weapon concealed under or camouflaged on the ground, and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it.
An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached to a detonating mechanism. IEDs are commonly used as roadside bombs, or homemade bombs.
The HALO Trust is a humanitarian non-government organisation which primarily works to clear landmines and other explosive devices left behind by conflicts. With over 10,000 staff worldwide, HALO has operations in 28 countries. Its largest operation is in Afghanistan, where the organization continues to operate under the Taliban regime that took power in August 2021.
Unexploded ordnance, unexploded bombs (UXBs), and explosive remnants of war are explosive weapons that did not explode when they were employed and still pose a risk of detonation, sometimes many decades after they were used or discarded. When unwanted munitions are found, they are sometimes destroyed in controlled explosions, but accidental detonation of even very old explosives also occurs, sometimes with fatal results. A dud is an unexploded projectile fired in anger against an enemy, but which has failed to explode. A projectile not fired in anger but which has failed to explode is called a 'blind'.
Demining or mine clearance is the process of removing land mines from an area. In military operations, the object is to rapidly clear a path through a minefield, and this is often done with devices such as mine plows and blast waves. By contrast, the goal of humanitarian demining is to remove all of the landmines to a given depth and make the land safe for human use. Specially trained dogs are also used to narrow down the search and verify that an area is cleared. Mechanical devices such as flails and excavators are sometimes used to clear mines.
PFM-1 is a scatterable high explosive anti-personnel land mine of Soviet and Russian production. It is also known as a Green Parrot or Butterfly Mine. The mines can be deployed from mortars, helicopters and aeroplanes in large numbers; they glide to the ground without exploding and will explode later upon contact.
Cambodia is a country located in Southeast Asia that has a major problem with landmines, especially in rural areas. This is the legacy of three decades of war which has taken a severe toll on the Cambodians; it has some 40,000 + amputees, which is one of the highest rates in the world. The Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) estimates that there may be as many as four to six million mines and other pieces of unexploded ordnance in Cambodia. Some estimates, however, run as high as ten million mines.
FSD is a Swiss non-governmental organisation specialising in mine action. Since its creation in 1997, FSD has carried out operations in some 30 countries on four continents. Its programmes include the following four components: humanitarian demining, explosive ordnance risk education, victim assistance, and stockpile destruction and management. In 26 years, more than 1.4 million items of explosive ordnance have been neutralised by FSD.
A mine clearance organization, or demining organization, is an organization involved in the removal of landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) for military, humanitarian, or commercial reasons. Demining includes mine clearance, as well as surveying, mapping and marking of hazardous areas.
The M14 mine "Toepopper" is a small anti-personnel land mine first deployed by the United States circa 1955. The M14 mechanism uses a belleville spring to flip a firing pin downwards into a stab detonator when pressure is applied. Once deployed, the M14 is very difficult to detect because it is a minimum metal mine, i.e. most of its components are plastic. Because of this, the design was later modified to ease mine clearance with the addition of a steel washer, glued onto the base of the mine.
The SB-33 is a small Italian minimum metal blast type anti-personnel mine formerly manufactured by Misar, that entered service in 1977. The SB-33 can be emplaced by hand or scattered using the helicopter mounted SY-AT system.
An anti-personnel mine or anti-personnel landmine (APL) is a form of mine designed for use against humans, as opposed to an anti-tank mine, which target vehicles. APLs are classified into: blast mines and fragmentation mines; the latter may or may not be a bounding mine.
The VS-50 is a circular plastic-cased anti-personnel blast mine that entered production in 1985. It was formerly made by the now-defunct Valsella Meccanotecnica SpA, an Italian high-tech defence company specialized in area denial systems. The company also the made the Valmara 69, and was one of the first to implement plastic construction for landmines. The VS-50's design is similar to that of the TS-50 and VS-MK2 mines. It is blast resistant and can be used in a minimum metal configuration. Though unlikely to kill, its explosive charge is quite sufficient to destroy the victim's foot, being capable of penetrating 5 mm of mild steel leaving an 80 mm-diameter hole.
A mine countermeasures vessel or MCMV is a type of naval ship designed for the location of and destruction of naval mines which combines the role of a minesweeper and minehunter in one hull. The term MCMV is also applied collectively to minehunters and minesweepers.
An anti-handling device is an attachment to or an integral part of a landmine or other munition such as some fuze types found in general-purpose air-dropped bombs, cluster bombs and sea mines. It is designed to prevent tampering or disabling, or to target bomb disposal personnel. When the protected device is disturbed, it detonates, killing or injuring anyone within the blast area. There is a strong functional overlap of booby traps and anti-handling devices.
Land mines in Latin America and the Caribbean are a by-product of the Cold War-era conflicts starting off in the 19th century. Contrary to the requirements of generally accepted international law, the minefields of Latin America and the Caribbean, were usually unmarked and unrecorded on maps. Once placed, mines remain active for decades, waiting the pressure of an unwary foot to detonate. As of 2023, within all of the Americas the only nations not to ratify the AP Mine Ban Convention are Cuba and the United States.
The Mines Advisory Group (MAG) is a non-governmental organization that assists people affected by landmines, unexploded ordnance, and small arms and light weapons.
The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) is a service located within the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations that specializes in coordinating and implementing activities to limit the threat posed by mines, explosive remnants of war and improvised explosive devices.
There were approximately 30,000 land mines laid in British overseas territory of the Falkland Islands by Argentinian forces following their 1982 invasion. Some of the mines were cleared immediately following the successful British operation to retake the islands, but following a series of accidents, demining operations ceased. In the following years the mine fields were fenced off and, with human access limited, became havens for Falklands flora and the native penguin population. The British government ratified the Ottawa Treaty in 1998 that required the removal of all mines within its territory. Demining operations, which had to be carried out by hand due to the climate and local condition, restarted in 2009. The last mines were cleared in November 2020.
Ukraine globally ranks as one of the states with the highest civilian casualties from landmines and unexploded ordnances, and the highest for anti-vehicle mine incidents. As of April 2023, it is estimated that approximately 174,000 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory are contaminated by landmines. Many types of landmines have been found in use in Ukraine, including novel variants. Though landmines have been in use since 2014 in Ukraine during the War in Donbas (2014–2022), their use was relatively sporadic until the Russian invasion of Ukraine. According to Human Rights Watch, both Russian and Ukrainian government forces have utilized antipersonnel and anti-vehicle mines.