Ukranian Army Confirms Russian-made PTKM-1R Top-attack Anti-vehicle Mine in Ukraine

Ukrainian Army sappers found an advanced Russian top-attack anti-tank and anti-vehicle mine, the PTKM-1R. This was discovered on the 26th of April in Ukraine. This munition is not known to have been previously employed on operations. The PTKM-1R, which is similar to the US M93 Hornet Wide-Area Munition (WAM), is thought to have been adopted by the Russian Armed Forces on a limited basis in July 2020. These mines were presented the year before by Rosononexport. It was shown for the first time in real at Army 2021 last August in Moscow, but the first international appearance of the PTKM-1R Russian antitank mine took place at EDEX.

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. 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.

The PTKM-1R is capable of selecting what armored vehicle to hit, it chooses only those equipment that meet the specified parameters in terms of noise and ground vibration. The new munition aims exactly at the least protected part of a armored vehicle – its roof. It is installed manually, at a distance of 5 to 50 m from the probable route of the target making it quite difficult to detect. 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. The mine slightly inclines towards a tank or armored vehicle. When the target enters the destruction range the sub-munition is launched.

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. After that the mine can self-destruct to prevent a threat to civilian population. 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