A Blast resistant mine is a

landmine A land mine is an explosive weapon, explosive device concealed under or 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. Such a device is typically d ...

(intended for anti-tank or anti-personnel purposes) with a fuze which is designed to be insensitive to the

shock wave In physics, a shock wave (also spelled shockwave), or shock, is a type of propagating disturbance that moves faster than the local speed of sound in the medium. Like an ordinary wave, a shock wave carries energy and can propagate through a me ...

from a nearby explosion. This feature makes it difficult or impossible to clear such mines using explosive minefield breaching techniques. As a result, the process of clearing minefields is slower and more complex. Blast resistance can be achieved in a number of ways.

Pressure blast resistant fuzes

In pressure fuzed landmines this is achieved by having the fuze react differently based on the duration of the pressure impulse. For example, a number of Italian landmines like the VS-1.6 use an air system, where air is forced through a small hole into an air bladder, the inflation of which rotates a locking collar and releases the striker into the detonator. The sudden impulse from impact or explosion does not have sufficient duration to inflate the bladder and rotate the locking collar, whereas steady pressure from a vehicle's wheel or track does. A second technique involves the use of tilt or pull, rather than downward pressure to trigger the mine. An example of a mine using this technique is the Valmara 69. A third technique involves the use of a pressure plate with a small surface area yet broad ground coverage like the

M1 mine The M1, M1A1 and M4 are circular steel cased United States anti-tank blast mines with a distinctive cross shaped pressure spider. The mine was used during the Second World War and a copy produced in Argentina was used during the Falklands War. A ...

. This is less effective than the first two techniques, but much simpler to implement.

Non-pressure blast resistant fuzes

The use of electronic fuzes allows mines to intelligently ignore blast shock waves, by either being designed to ignore the characteristics of a blast shock wave or by using the characteristic magnetic field of the target to detonate the mine. Additionally seismic fuzes can be used to detonate mines, based on the characteristic sounds of footsteps or vehicles.

Pressure blast resistant fuzes

Non-pressure blast resistant fuzes

See also