In the Ukraine conflict, landmine technology is setting a precedent for a new era of development. 3D printers are used to create basic models of landmines close to the battlefield, which can then be easily assembled, filled with explosives and dropped by drones.
In fact, most of the mines deployed in Ukraine today are being laid remotely, either by artillery, rockets, helicopters or drones.
“We are seeing even more high-tech mines being deployed,” said Paul Heslop, head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, making mine detection “a much more complex and dangerous task.” UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) in Ukraine.
These “high-tech” landmines are equipped with sensors that can detect any approaching mine on foot or in a vehicle and then detonate. Some also have magnetic impact capabilities, meaning they can explode when exposed to the detector’s magnetic field.
“The technology you’re using to find a mine may actually activate the mine,” Mr Heslop said.
In form of International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action is observed on 4 AprilThe UN mine expert said the biggest challenge is how to win an arms race faster than the technology being developed to stop mines from being cleared.
Drone use a tool, not a solution
Deminers are focused on prevention and finding new solutions to help protect the lives of civilians and reduce the harm caused to their communities by landmine contamination.
One way mine action groups are innovating is to exploit vulnerabilities in the way landmines are deployed.
Due to the increasing number of mines deployed remotely, many mines are unable to penetrate the surface. This makes them easier to detect with drones and advanced sensor technology than if they were buried by hand beneath the surface.
From there, remotely controlled technologies, such as drones or robots, are able to emit a small charge or flare to neutralize the threat.
However, against the backdrop of increasing conflicts around the world, this progress has not kept pace with the number of mines being laid around the world.
“More contamination is being created every day since 2015 than is being cleaned,” Mr Heslop said.
UNMAS estimated last year that more than 20 percent of Ukraine’s land, 139,000 square kilometers, covering more than six million people, was contaminated by mines or unexploded ordnance, causing losses to the economy of more than $11 billion a year.
Although landmines pose a threat to life, many mines, such as anti-personnel mines, are designed primarily to cause harm. There are more than 60,000 war disabled people in Ukraine alone.
It is also the ‘perceived contamination’ of landmines that makes them such a dangerous military tool: the fear of hidden weapons renders the land unusable and inaccessible, which has a cascading effect on millions of civilians.
What is the priority?
Prioritization is important as humanitarian mine sweepers make every effort to restore some ease to people’s lives in areas that may require decades of attention to return to normal.
Traditionally, demining operations were measured by output: how many mines were cleared, or square meters cleared, or even how many metal fragments were removed.
“I think the other thing you have to remember in mine clearance, or humanitarian mine clearance, is that the goal is not necessarily to clear the mines; the goal is to show that the land can be used for more productive purposes,” Mr. Heslop said.
Humanitarian assessors approach this problem in two ways: proving that there are no mines and that the land can be used; And second, to prove that the mines have high potential, so that they can begin to be cleared.
Yet there is often uncertainty over the presence of landmines. Especially in war zones like ‘high metal zones’ where artillery fire has already dispersed thousands of pieces of metal fragments, and sensors find it challenging to differentiate between landmines and shrapnel.
This uncertainty in detection makes mining operations an “inherently inefficient process”, Mr Heslop said.
To meet this need, new technologies have been developed that do not just look for metal in the mine, but can also detect explosives or the plastic casing around the explosive.
Sometimes, the old ways are the best
Moving forward, Mr. Heslop warned opponents not to “be too dogmatic about our approach,” adding that one of the biggest obstacles to moving forward lies in “mindset.”
New technologies can be combined with older, previously deemed inefficient techniques and technologies to help improve efficiency in mining and detection.
One approach is to use mine rollers as well as AI, high-resolution cameras and drones to help convince skeptical citizens who use the land, such as farmers.
AI and sensors can be used to determine whether an area is free of mines, then rollers can move through the field to help convince farmers that it is safe to go on a tractor.
“It’s a combination of going back to old ideas and looking at new ideas and new technologies to see if we can use them,” he said.
Artificial Intelligence, a booster
If an area is more likely to contain mines, combining AI with advanced scanning technology can help reduce mine detection predictions, working from an area the size of a football pitch to an area as small as the goalkeeper’s six-yard box.
It is this efficiency that enables AI to cut costs, particularly in mining operations, but also accelerate the return to productive land purposes.
Similarly, AI can also be used to help in data-driven decision making, by processing volumes of data to decide which areas should be prioritized for maximum benefits in a matter of seconds.
This is a task that will typically require many hours of manual work from an experienced mine action leader.
Communication technology is helping prevent
Although technology is partly responsible for the increase in the threat of landmines, innovation also makes landmine awareness communication more effective.
“Today, if you see something dangerous, you can take a picture, you send it in, and someone will look at it and say, ‘Yes, this is a dangerous item, we’ll send a team,’ or ‘No, it’s a car spare part … it’s an oil filter or air filter,'” Mr. Heslop said.
In one example, Mr. Heslop said that a program in Afghanistan that aimed to reach more than 200,000 people was able to reach more than five million people because of some of the technology available to civilians.
“I think the ability to communicate better and respond with new technology is much better than it was 30 years ago.”
