The Countermine System (CMS), also known as Venom Darts, Venom Penetrators and GBU-61, is an anti-land-mine system consisting of chemical or explosive projectiles released from modified

GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of the global navigation satellite sy ...

-guided bombs. The darts are used to detonate or deactivate

land mines A land mine is an 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 detonated automati ...

in beach and

surf zone As ocean surface waves approach shore, they get taller and break, forming the foamy, bubbly surface called ''surf''. The region of breaking waves defines the surf zone, or breaker zone. After breaking in the surf zone, the waves (now reduced in ...

s. The system was developed by the United States (U.S.) Navy and

Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and ...

at an initial cost of

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

153-million. The CMS is expected to be field ready by 2016.

Description

The CMS typically consists of 4,000 .50-caliber darts containing the chemical

Diethylenetriamine Diethylenetriamine (abbreviated and also known as 2,2’-Iminodi(ethylamine)) is an organic compound with the formula HN(CH2CH2NH2)2. This colourless hygroscopic liquid is soluble in water and polar organic solvents, but not simple hydrocarbons. ...

(DETA) or a small amount of explosive, carried by GPS-guided

Joint Direct Attack Munitions The Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) is a guidance kit that converts unguided bombs, or "dumb bombs", into all-weather precision-guided munitions. JDAM-equipped bombs are guided by an integrated inertial guidance system coupled to a Global P ...

(JDAM) systems. The tungsten tipped darts, each about long, are clustered in multiple layers within a tubular canister contained within the JDAM. The system uses data from the Coastal Battlefield Reconnaissance and Analysis (COBRA) system to locate surf zone mines. This positional data is used to program JDAM Assault Breaching System (JABS) bombs, which are dropped over

mine field A land mine is an 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 detonated automati ...

s from Air Force or Navy aircraft from an altitude of about . The JDAM bombs, identical in form to

BLU-109 bomb The BLU-109/B is a hardened penetration bomb used by the United States Air Force (BLU is an acronym for Bomb Live Unit). As with other "bunker busters", it is intended to penetrate concrete shelters and other hardened structures before exploding ...

s, are equipped with a corkscrew mechanism that releases the inner canister with a rotational motion, causing panels to separate and the payload of darts to deploy in a diameter circular pattern. The darts penetrate the soil, or water and sand, at a velocity of per second. The darts, capable of penetrating more than of water or of sand, either detonate or deactivate the land mines. Remaining unactivated darts eventually become inert. Each CMS unit has a projected cost of $300,000 to $360,000.

Development

The system was developed by the U.S.

Office of Naval Research The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is an organization within the United States Department of the Navy responsible for the science and technology programs of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. Established by Congress in 1946, its mission is to pla ...

to address the problem of 70 million hidden land mines, some which have killed or maimed more than 13,000 U.S. soldiers since 2001. In 2008, the

Naval Surface Warfare Center * A Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) is part of the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) operated by the United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the ...

awarded a $153-million contract to

to design and develop the system, along with a project team of defense contractors including Lockheed Martin,

General Dynamics General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American publicly traded, aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Reston, Virginia. As of 2020, it was the fifth-largest defense contractor in the world by arms sales, and 5th largest in the Un ...

, and Nammo-Talley Defense Systems. The CMS is expected to be field operational by 2016.

References

External links

US Navy - Countermine System Fact Sheet
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Countermine dart system and method - patent grant
Equipment of the United States Navy Mine warfare countermeasures Military technology

Description

Development

See also

References

External links