RE: Mine Probing

The problem with moving mines, is that they move.  If the opponent sets
up passive sensors, they might be able to detect the movement of the
mines and chart out their locations.  The downside to moving mines for
friendlies is that there wouldn't be a clear path through them and it
would be very difficult even for friendlies to clear the field
afterward.  If you have a system that either allows you to track the
mines or predict where they are (i.e. pre-programmed patterns) the enemy
might be able to use the same means to find them.

As for having mines that go off for smaller weights or at a distance -
one problem then is local wildlife.  Every pocket gopher, badger, deer,
large bird that lands on or near a mine would set it off.  The point of
the mine is to disable or kill an enemy soldier/vehicle and if they are
too sensitive they are relatively easy to clear - you just saturate the
area with lots of pressure - such as bomblets from
artillery/rockets/bombs or clearing charges like tube explosives,
fuel-air explosives and the like.

Pretty much the counter to anti-mine rats is AR (anti-rat) mines.  Small
mines that have a large chemical signature but a easily tripped
detonator.  If every third mine were AR, you'd need a lot of rats to
mark a field and I'm assuming that AR mines are cheaper than training an
Anti-mine rat.
(Note that the Russians already have a lot of experience in making
booby-trapped toys, mines and other displacement sensitive explosive
that can be delivered by air or dispersed by ground troops)

--Binhan

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Beth.Fulton@csiro.au [mailto:Beth.Fulton@csiro.au]
> Sent: Monday, September 30, 2002 5:43 PM
> To: gzg-l@csua.berkeley.edu
> Subject: RE: Mine Probing
> 
> 
> G'day,
> 
> Another question while we're on the topic of mines. Can any 
> current (or
> potential future) mine types explode when something is just 
> within x radius
> instead of right on top? I was talking with a South African 
> friend of mine
> how's worked with the species of rat they're using to do the 
> mine stuff and
> she'd heard (so heaven knows how reliable this is) that you 
> can get the rats
> to sit on top of the mines and thus "map the nearby field". 
> With that in
> mind it wouldn't be so useful if the mines were just set off 
> by heavy enough
> movement nearby. Mind you with the development of mines that 
> move about I
> think there's a whole new batch of mine probing nightmares to 
> worry about ;)
> 
> Cheers
> 
> Beth
>