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Mine and Vegetation Clearance Equipment Cost effective and efficient clearance techniques for clearing both landmines and vegetation have been identified as a significant need by the demining community. In response to this need, the Department of Defense Humanitarian Demining R&D Program adopted a "tool-box" of machines that could make an impact on speed, efficiency, and safety in mine and vegetation clearance. The Mine Clearing Cultivator, the Floating Mine Blade, and the RHINO Earth Tiller - three large area mine clearance machines for rapidly clearing AT and AP mines from soil in urban and rural areas - were developed and evaluated.
To safely clear light to medium vegetation and to assist in area reduction as a precursor to accelerated manual clearance, the program also evaluated small, vehicle based, multipurpose, mostly remote controlled systems, with the Mini-Deminer, Tempest, Survivable Demining Tractor and Tools, and Mini-Flail, being four of the most promising.
The R&D Program can also respond to unique demining situations which require equipment especially suited to those needs. The Berm Processing Assembly, a sifting device, has been in Namibia since 1998 assisting with that government's effort to remove mines from huge masses of earthen berms near power lines. The Berm Processor has become such an important tool that it is now being transferred to the Namibian Government. Another device, the MgM Rotar, uses a different method to accomplish a similar task. The U.S. Government financed a demonstration in 1999 and is now making additional investments in this device.
New prototype developments for the near future include the Mechanical Mine Sifting System and the Uni-Disk. Beyond this, efforts will concentrate on small vegetation clearance machines.
Humanitarian Demining Developmental Technologies 2000 - 2001 |