It has 20 barrels, and within it there are 100 anti-tank mins MN-123, which can be scattered at a fast rate from 30 to 90 m – this is how Belma's min pitcher works. The same will be installed on the Baobab-K vehicle, which will shortly be equipped with the Polish army.
How do we halt the enemy's armored vehicles? 1 proven way is to set up a minefield, which is confirmed by the war in Ukraine that has been going on for 3 years. Best if you can do it rapidly and with the slightest engagement of your own soldiers. The Bydgoszcz company Belma presents equipment at the Kielce arms fair to aid meet this challenge. We're talking about SMMMN, which is simply a strategy of pitching overhead mines.
Its base is simply a pitcher capable of holding 100 MN-123 anti-tank mines. Each is armed with a trigger that activates under a passing vehicle. Detonation of little than 4 kilos of mine can penetrate a 60 mm thick armor, harm a tank caterpillar, teardrop a transporter wheel. Before that, however, they must be placed in the designated area. The pitcher lets you do it in a flash. The device, utilizing 20 barrels, throws mines at a distance of 30 to 90 m, and thanks to a peculiar controller the strategy operator can adjust the pace and scope of its operation. The pitcher can be placed on the transporter. But that is not the end.
SMMMN is an integral part of the overhead miner vehicle Baobab-K – works of the consortium headed by Huta Stalowa Wola. The car has a Jelcz P882D.53 chassis. It has a 540 hp diesel engine, an armored cabin, a hand grenade launcher, and a device weapon can besides be utilized to defend a two-man crew. The Baobab-K was equipped with six launchers manufactured in Bydgoszcz. They are all placed on mobile platforms, so they can throw mines in different directions – both behind the car and at its sides, and at different distances. In utmost cases they scope up to 180 m.
The mining can be carried out automatically or manually from the vehicle cab. In carrying out the task, Baobab-K it moves at speeds of 5 to 25 km/h. In about 20 minutes, the crew is able to arrange a 1800 m minefield, and the 600 min reserve alone does not take more than half an hour. – In addition, minefield parameters and minefield corner coordinates are recorded on digital maps and displayed on the computer screen. All data can then be transmitted by radio to a higher level of command – explains Anna Wesołowska-Janiak from Belma.
The Baobabs-K will shortly be utilized by the Polish army. In June 2023, the Armed Forces Agency concluded a contract with the consortium to supply 24 vehicles. The value of the contract amounts to nearly PLN 510 million. The first Baobaby-K troops will choice up next year. Deliveries are expected to last 2 years.
Meanwhile, Belma specialists are already working on another project. In May of this year, during the technological conference Explobalis was presented an unmanned-manned vehicle of overhead mines PNM Ivy. It was created by a consortium consisting, in addition to the Bydgoszcz company, of Military Institute of Armoured and Motor Engineering, STEKOP SA and Military Institute of Engineering Technology. The structure is based on the TAero car, which is the improvement of the Aero off-road vehicle. It can work autonomously and place minefields utilizing the already mentioned SMMMN pitcher. So it takes 100 minutes on board.
Will this vehicle shortly enter the equipment of the Polish army? Time will tell. The fact is that it fits perfectly into the global trend, which the Polish military is besides trying to meet. It is moving towards the expanding introduction of unmanned systems.
