Russia completes design of PTKM-1R top-attack anti tank mine

The Russian military will in the near future receive the PTKM-1R bouncing top-attack antitank mine. Sensitive electronic sensors allow the smart mine to independently track a hostile tank and hit it with a special sub-munition from the most vulnerable side - the top. Experts believe the new charges will make carpet mining unnecessary and will quickly create impenetrable minefields on armor approach routes, the Izvestia daily reported

Possible design of the the PTKM-1R. The  PTKM-1R mine is a green cylinder of the size of a fire extinguisher weighing close to 20 kg (Credit: topwar.ru)

The Defense Ministry told the newspaper that the design of the first domestic top-attack mine PTKM-1R is nearing completion. Test samples are undergoing trials. The designers want to produce a new high-tech munition which will enhance the capabilities of engineering units in the fight against tanks and other armor.

The PTKM-1R mine is a green cylinder of the size of a fire extinguisher weighing close to 20 kg. After deployment and arming it unfolds like a flower and the petals keep the device in a vertical position. The mine is planted manually just by putting it on the ground and remains armed for ten days at a temperature from minus 40 to plus 30 degrees. After that the mine can self-destruct to prevent a threat to civilian population.

Its combined seismic and heat sensor detects a target at a distance of 150-200 meters. The mine slightly inclines towards a tank or armored vehicle. When the target enters the destruction range the sub-munition is launched. It jumps several dozen meters up, the heat seeker finds the target by the engine heat and fires into the turret roof with a red-hot metal ball.

Expert Alexey Leonkov told the daily that top-attack mines are considered by Russian designers as a global arms trend. "The protection of modern tanks is constantly upgraded, new armor is invented which make the tanks practically invulnerable in the front. Therefore, antitank designers work to hit hostile combat vehicles in the most vulnerable parts. The bouncing mines which hit the turret or engine are the latest trend," he said.

The smart mines will make engineering fortifications more effective and will simplify the work of engineers. "Such a mine controls a major section in a radius of up to 100 meters. It means there is no need of carpet mining. A small group of soldiers with two dozen mines can quickly block a major section of the frontline. Frails and ploughs are ineffective against such a minefield as hardware is destroyed at a big distance," he said.

In future the Russian smart mines can be united in a network with a single control. Sensors will transmit to the operator data on detected objects, their type, number, speed and direction. The operator will select the mines to engage for destruction and keep others in standby mode," the Izvestia writes.