By Roy Gardiner
Ukrainian innovation has combined the use of legacy anti-tank landmines and new heavy drones for deep precision mining of Russian logistical routes.
Exact nighttime drops and new electronic fuzes combine to put tremendous pressure on Russian supply vehicles.
[Russian UAZ “Loaf” Van]
The Soviets developed a family of remote deployed landmines for scattering by rockets and helicopters.
Devices such as the PTM-3 anti-tank, and POM-2 anti-personnel landmines were needed in considerable numbers to reliably give enough density on roads and attack routes.
Ukraine removes these landmines from their carrier munitions and places them one by one, exactly where each presents maximum risk to Russian vehicles.
Heavy lift multicopters such as the “Vampire” hexacopter or “Nemesis” quadcopter operate each night using a combination of GPS control and operator guidance.
[Russian map of Ukrainian drone-placed landmines in Krynki]
Modern Ukrainian electronic fuzes such as the “Jonik” magnetic-influence fuze have replaced out-dated and unreliable Soviet fuzes.
Anti-handling devices such as a motion-detecting gyroscope make clearance by Russian EODs each day exceptionally dangerous and lengthy.
Unmanned Forces commander “Madyar” has led this crucial mining campaign to disrupt Russian logistics.
He established the mass production of a new landmine called PTM-Y for this purpose, based on the Russian PTM-3 but with a new “Jonik” fuze.
A new shaped-charge anti-tank landmine called PTM-L1 has also been developed for drone placement, inspired by the American M70 remotely scattered submunition.
The “Jonik” fuzed PTM-L1 has even been placed on Russian railway lines targeting locomotives.
Legacy pressure-activated anti-tank landmines such as Soviet designed TM-62s can be precision-placed on roads as well.
This even includes old NATO donated landmines such as the Danish M/47 developed in 1947!
Ukrainian heavy drones also install both pressure and magnetic anti-tank landmines on approach roads and along attack axes during pauses at night in Russian assaults.
Along with Ukrainian FPVs this has relegated armored vehicles to an increasingly distant support role.
Ukraine has also developed a range of mechanical and electrically-fuzed improvised anti-personnel landmines for dropping by drones.
These are spread on Russian trails and roads, as FPVs have forced Russian supplies to be carried to the front lines by bearers or motorcycles.
[Printed Ukrainian “K2” anti-personnel tripwire landmine]
For reasons that are unclear, Russia has failed to develop a significant heavy drone fleet of their own.
Thus they are restricted to what large FPVs can carry such as modified POM-2 tripwire anti-personnel landmines, which they scatter on trails and small roads.
[POM-2 canisters with UZRG-M fuzes]
Recently some fiber-optic FPVs are configured as precision-placed magnetic-influence landmines.
They are landed in tight spots difficult to otherwise reach because of line-of-sight limitations on operator radio control of a heavy drone.
The distinction between a landmine and precision-guided munition is being blurred by fiber-optic ambush FPVs, which can lie in wait for hours alongside roads for vehicles to pass.
They can attack within seconds, and can choose the most vulnerable part of the vehicle to strike.
[Russian “Prince Vandal Novgorodsky” fiber optic FPV]
At Defense Tech for Ukraine we work to develop and spread to Ukraine cost-effective technology tools.
If you’d like to join our team of over 300 engineers, operators, defenders, donors, developers and other volunteers or donate, we’d love to hear from you at https://defensetechforukraine.org/
Roy Gardiner is an OSINT analyst focusing on the drone war in Ukraine, and a former officer in the Canadian Armed Forces.
He is the OSINT Technical Lead and a member of the Executive Committee with Defense Tech for Ukraine.
He can be found on X at @GrandpaRoy2