Garlic and fresh anti-personnel mines

To defend the east border

However, work on alternate systems against anti-personnel mines continued in WITI long before Poland pronounced the Ottawa Convention. Their effect is developed by the institute with partners (Belma and MindMade) strategy Jarzobin-S. The army just ordered this weaponry, financing the acquisition with Union SAFE Programme. Jarzębina-S will be used, among another things, for the “Tarchy East”, in a belt of fortifications built to defend the east border of the country.

The strategy consists of explosives and shrapnel grenades, cameras, thermal and seismic sensors and battlefield radars which transmit information via radio communication to the operator. It is he who decides whether to usage Jarzębina combatively, what kind of cargo he may choose, or usage a deterrent module that informs, for example, his own troops or civilians, that there is an detonation hazard on the site. – The operator on the map presented on the desktop sees the location of Jarzabina-S and the positions of the detected forces of the opponent. It can usage sensors to accurately specify who it is dealing with and what weapons it will be most effective to destruct its opponent. Whether it is better to usage a directional charge, or e.g. a grenade, if the opponent is in any depth of the terrain or behind a field obstacle – explains Captain Andrzej Wysoczinski of the Military Institute of Engineering Technology.

The production of Jarzebin-S will be handled by a consortium with the participation of Bydgoszcz Electromechanical Plants “Belma” SA, MindMade and the Military Institute of Engineering Technology. The value of 2 contracts for the acquisition of this weapon is PLN 700 million.

Structures of many applications

In addition to Jarzębina Military Institute from Wrocław besides developed many innovative solutions in the field of anti-personnel mines. As Captain Wysoczański emphasizes, it is mainly multi-functional, modular and easy to assemble products. – 1 specified solution is the p.m. 101T directional mine, which allows both the demolition of armored vehicles of the opponent (in the distance of up to 20 m pierces armor plates with a thickness of over 5 cm) and the surviving force. This plan has 2 functions, due to the fact that it besides acts like an anti-personnel mine, gross shrapnel within a radius of 20 m – explains Captain Wysoczański.

Another solution developed by WITI is simply a jumping mine that can replace withdrawn under the Ottawa PSM-1 Convention. ¤– They had crucial disadvantages, erupted at comparatively low distances. Depending on how the cargo was set in flight, a large condition of the debris could have gone to the ground. We have developed a warhead, which has shrapnels all over the surface, is fired up to 3–4 m, so it can harm much more effectively," explains the officer. It adds that the tallness of the ejection is very important, due to the fact that frequently in battlefields, the terrain is uneven at the locations of action. “So if the ejection is low, the blast force will besides be smaller, due to the fact that it will be inhibited by field obstacles”, he adds.

Another solution from WITI is, among others, the modified MS-Flosion mine, whose explosive is 75 g of TNT. Mina throws distant shrapnel in a 10-meter radius after the explosion. Moreover, the mine plan allows any replacement of the load, depending on the user's needs.

New mines developed by the Military Institute of Engineering Technology are already being introduced into production by Polish producers – the companies ZSP Niewiadów and Pronit.

The military needs mines.

In early March of this year Armed Forces Agency launched marketplace consultations concerning the acquisition of anti-personnel mines. The military talks with manufacturers about weapons parameters, terms and prices. These include directional shard mines, 360 degree shard mines, 360 degree shard mines, and 360 degree force mines.

The Ottawa Convention Poland has spoken 14 years after the ratification of the Agreement. Under its power, our country has committed to destroying all its reserves of anti-personnel mines, or about 17,000 pieces.