Military Tuesday : Mechanical Demining Equipment Catalogue 2008
Demining machines have really come a long way since the ingenious idea of attaching flails to M4 Shermans in the form of the British Sherman “Crab” variant during WWII to thrash and detonate any mines buried in the ground before it. A plethora of modern machines are now being designed and manufactured specifically to combat the ever-present hazards of mines and unexploded ordnance which continue to maim and kill in various parts of the world long after conflicts have subsided or ended.
To protect the personnel operating these machines, most of these vehicles are heavily armoured, some to the extent of being fully operated via remotely control. Below’s a selection of these fascinating and little-known vehicles from the Mechanical Demining Equipment Catalogue 2008.
The remotely-controlled Croatian DOK-ING MV-4.
Kawasaki MINEBULL.
Rheinmetall Landsysteme RHINO.
This catalogue is compiled by the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) and as quoted from the official website :
The Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) strives for a world free of anti-personnel mines and from the threat of other landmines and explosive remnants of war, and where the suffering and concerns of populations living in affected areas are addressed.
The Centre is active in research,provides operational assistance and supports the implementation of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention.
It’s a rather sad fact that information and news on wars and other conflicts are readily available in the mass media, yet these unsung efforts to demine and eradicate the horrors of past wars go unnoticed. Before I found this catalogue and the GICHD site, I always thought that active minefields were just marked and cordoned away without any substantial efforts to demine them.
View or download the Mechanical Demining Equipment Catalogue in PDF format or learn more about the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining at the official GICHD site.
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Tompei’s Museum of Machines
OPFOR Worldwide Equipment Guide
That MineBull looks tough as hell!
Probably be the next Batmobile.
A bulletproof and mineproof Batmobile - gotta be an awesome combination - although Batman probably would need to add a couple of jet engines to catch up with anybody
cool car … I hope not have to use them in the future …