MineWolf Systems provides machines and services for the mechanical clearance of

landmines A land mine, or landmine, is an explosive weapon often concealed under or camouflaged on the ground, and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets as they pass over or near it. Land mines are divided into two types: anti-tank mines, whic ...

and other

explosive devices An explosive device is a device that relies on the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide a violent release of energy. Applications of explosive devices include: *Building implosion (demolition) * Excavation *Explosive forming ...

. Its

customers In sales, commerce, and economics, a customer (sometimes known as a client, buyer, or purchaser) is the recipient of a good, service, product, or an idea, obtained from a seller, vendor, or supplier via a financial transaction or an e ...

are mine clearance agencies in the commercial,

humanitarian Humanitarianism is an ideology centered on the value of human life, whereby humans practice benevolent treatment and provide assistance to other humans to reduce suffering and improve the conditions of humanity for moral, altruistic, and emotiona ...

and

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

demining Demining or mine clearance is the process of removing land mines from an area. In military operations, the object is to rapidly clear a path through a minefield, and this is often done with devices such as mine plows and blast waves. By cont ...

field. British company Pearson Engineering Ltd, a leading provider of Combat Engineer equipment, announced acquisition of the IP and Assets of MineWolf Systems in 2016.

History

The first design steps for the MineWolf mine clearance machine were made in 1998 based on a concept by Heinz Rath of integrating a commercial platform with tiller and

mine flail A mine flail is a vehicle-mounted device that makes a safe path through a minefield by deliberately detonating land mines in front of the vehicle that carries it. They were first used by the British during World War II. The mine flail consists of ...

tool. The first prototype was constructed by consortium under the leadership of RUAG in the production facilities of AHWI. In 2001 the first platform was developed and tested and the final MineWolf prototype was built and accredited by the

German Army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

in 2004, the same year that MineWolf Systems

GmbH (; ) is a type of Juridical person, legal entity in German-speaking countries. It is equivalent to a (Sàrl) in the Romandy, French-speaking region of Switzerland and to a (Sagl) in the Ticino, Italian-speaking region of Switzerland. It is a ...

was founded. In 2006 a new corporate structure was introduced and MineWolf Systems AG was created. A regional office in

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

opened in 2006 and one year later, the Mini MineWolf (MW240) remote-controlled platform was launched. In 2008 the regional offices in

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

and

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

were opened and MineWolf System's first fully independent production facility in Stockach, Germany established. The Medium MineWolf (MW330) was developed in 2009 to meet specific military requirements for a medium-sized platform. In July 2012, Philipp von Michaelis succeeded Tobias Schmidt as

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

. In early 2013, the smallest platform in its class, the Micro MineWolf (MW50) was launched by

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

André Blattmann André Blattmann (born 6 March 1956) was the Swiss Lieutenant General and Chief of the Armed Forces from 1 March 2009 (ad interim since 20 August 2008) until 31 December 2016. He led the Swiss army after the leave of Roland Nef ad interim on 25 ...

, during the IDEX exhibition in Abu Dhabi. MineWolf went into liquidation in July 2015 due to insolvency. https://app.insolvenz-portal.de/Insolvenzverfahren/minewolf-systems-ag-in-liquidation/2303671 British company Pearson Engineering Ltd announced the acquisition of all IP and Assets of MineWolf AG in February 2016. The MineWolf platforms are all designed to be fitted with various interchangeable attachments (such as the flail or robotic arm) to clear a range of explosive devices, such as landmines,

improvised explosive devices An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional warfare, conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached t ...

and

cluster munitions A cluster munition is a form of air-dropped or ground-launched explosive weapon that releases or ejects smaller submunitions. Commonly, this is a cluster bomb that ejects explosive bomblets that are designed to kill personnel and destroy vehi ...

. The platforms are used by humanitarian and commercial mine clearance agencies and governments in inter alia

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

, Chile,

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

South Sudan South Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the north by Sudan; on the east by Ethiopia; on the south by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Kenya; and on the ...

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

, Turkey and

Western Sahara Western Sahara is a territorial dispute, disputed territory in Maghreb, North-western Africa. It has a surface area of . Approximately 30% of the territory () is controlled by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR); the remaining 70% is ...

. They are used by the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

and the German

Bundeswehr The (, ''Federal Defence'') are the armed forces of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. The is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part consists of the four armed forces: Germ ...

for

route clearance Route clearance is a routine part of counter-IED efforts performed by military forces around the world. The purpose of route clearance is to secure an important route and render it for safe transport. This mission relies on the use of Sapper and ...

, i.e. clearing IEDs and mines from routes in Afghanistan and by the

United Nations Mine Action Service The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) is a service located within the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations that specializes in coordinating and implementing activities to limit the threat posed by mines, explosive ...

and

MINUSMA The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (, MINUSMA) was a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali. MINUSMA was established on 25 April 2013 by United Nations Security Council Resolution 2100 to stabilise ...

peacekeepers for IED clearance in Mali.

Notes

* {{cite book , last=King, first=Colin , authorlink=Joe Bloggs , year=2011 , title=Jane's Mines and Mine Clearance , isbn=978-0710629784, pages= 746–749

References

*Army-technology.com about MineWolf Systems
Collaboration development of Germany-based AHWI and Swiss-based RUAG Land Systems
*Safety Technology Systems (STS) about MineWolf Systems
Invention and foundation of MineWolf Systems
*Jane's about MineWolf Systems
Comprehensive MineWolf support for the British Army
*The Journal of Mine Action about MineWolf Systems

*Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD)
Report of the German Federal Armed Forces Technical Center for Weapons and Ammunition (WTD 91)
*Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD)
U.S. Army: Project Manager for Close Combat Systems - Study Report Area Mine Clearing System (AMCS)
*Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD)
Mini MineWolf Test and Evaluation, Bundeswehr Technical Center for Weapons and Ammunition (WTD 91), Germany 2007
*www.gichd.org/mine-action-resources/organisations/detail/organisation/minewolf-systems-ag Defence companies of Switzerland Freienbach Mine warfare and mine clearance organizations

History

See also

Notes

References