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| A mine clearance vehicle on the chassis of a T-156 tractor designed by a Ukrainian manufacturer during testing. (Source: Ministry of Economy of Ukraine) |
A new mine clearance vehicle on the chassis of the T-156 tractor has been presented in Ukraine. According to the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine, this is the third mine clearance vehicle produced in Ukraine based on the chassis of the T-156 civilian tractor. The development of these new vehicles is part of a project for Ukrainian entrepreneurs with innovative solutions in the field of humanitarian mine clearance.
A new model of a mine-clearing vehicle was presented by Kiev on February 21, with the participation of Deputy Minister of Economy Ihor Bezkaravainyi, at one of the testing sites.
According to a related statement issued by the Ukrainian Ministry of Economy, cooperation between Sumy-based agricultural machinery manufacturers and Kiev-based Efarm.pro Company has created a mine clearance vehicle that is on par with Western-made analogues in terms of performance and quality.
“The technical specifications of the new mine clearance vehicle are not inferior to the best Western-made analogues,” Ukrainian Deputy Economy Minister Ihor Bezkaravainyi said.
According to the announcement of the Ministry, the mine clearance vehicle produced by Ukraine has a T-156 tractor chassis and can clear 5,000 square meters of land per hour. In fact, this workload is equivalent to the clearance efficiency of the DOK-ING MV-10 mine clearance system produced by Croatia.
Deputy Minister Bezkaravainyi said that the mine clearance equipment modified from a Ukrainian civilian tractor has also demonstrated a very high soil processing density. During the test, a high soil processing density was demonstrated, with the distance between the strips of soil cleared by the vehicle being only 2 cm.
“The certification procedure for mine clearance vehicles designed and manufactured by Ukrainian agricultural machinery manufacturers is being completed, and the process of launching into mass production is also being prepared,” Bezkaravainyi said.
The Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine added that since the equipment was developed by domestic manufacturers, it would not be difficult to find spare parts, production facilities or maintenance when necessary. Meanwhile, the demand for mine clearance vehicles in this country is very high.
It is known that in 2023, explosives units of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, relevant agencies and non-governmental organizations cleared 275,000 hectares of agricultural land, thereby resuming farm activities for more than 200,000 hectares of land.
According to the Ukrainian defense news site Militarnyi, the first mine clearance vehicle of Ukrainian production and design was delivered to the rescue forces of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine on October 27, 2023. This special equipment was purchased with the budget of the Kharkiv Region.
The prototype was tested for 4 months. During this time, the vehicle detonated more than 300 anti-personnel mines and received a certificate of conformity, allowing it to be produced and used in areas requiring demining. The vehicle was developed by local manufacturers on the chassis of a Kharkov-made tracked tractor.
The Russia-Ukraine conflict has turned Ukrainian territory into one of the most mine-infested areas in the world, with both sides firing tens of thousands of shells every day in the two-year-old military conflict.
The conflict has created one of the biggest mine clearance challenges since World War II. The mines in Ukraine range from anti-tank mines to anti-personnel mines and improvised explosive devices. Unexploded artillery shells and cluster bombs are also scattered.
It is suspected that around 174,000 square kilometres of Ukraine are contaminated with mines and other explosives, an area that accounts for about 30% of Ukraine. Of course, not every square metre of the country has mines, but the problem is that people do not know exactly where the mines are.
The World Bank (WB) estimates that it will cost about 37 billion USD to clear all the mines and explosives in Ukraine. Meanwhile, expert Paul Heslop - mine advisor at the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Ukraine said that the effort to clear all the mines is impossible when Kiev's resources are divided among many tasks and the conflict is still ongoing.
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