Mine detector to find North wooden box mines

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] On August 4, 2015, six years ago, two South Korean military non-commissioned officers were injured by wooden box mines planted by North Korean soldiers while conducting a reconnaissance operation in the southern part of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) near Paju, Gyeonggi Province, in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). The government strongly declared its intention for severe retaliation, sharply criticizing it as a "clear military provocation that illegally crossed the Military Demarcation Line and attempted to kill our soldiers." Subsequently, Hanwha Systems, a domestic defense company, developed a mine detector capable of detecting wooden box mines. To observe the detection technology, we visited Hanwha Systems' Yongin Research Center on the 25th of last month.

Upon entering the main gate of the research center located at the foot of a mountain, the access procedures were strict, befitting a defense company. Cameras attached to laptops and mobile phones were all covered with stickers, and even vehicle black boxes had to be turned off. Officials continued to explain the new mine detector (Mine Detector-II), which can detect non-metallic mines such as wooden box mines, in the main building's conference room.

The Mine Detector-II can detect non-metallic mines, including wooden box mines, which conventional mine detectors could not find, through a combined sensor of Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) and Metal Detector (MD). GPR is a device that detects targets and locates them by utilizing radio wave characteristics.

Senior Researcher Park Sang-woo explained, "With GPR technology, mines can be detected even underwater, in leaf-littered humus areas, or in snow-covered regions."

The mine detector (PRS-17K) currently operated by our military was introduced in the late 1990s and has become outdated. It is difficult to detect non-metallic mines such as wooden box mines. However, starting from the second half of next year, Mine Detector-II will be deployed to the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps, enabling detection of more than seven types of mines, including the anti-personnel non-metallic mine M14 and the anti-personnel metallic mine M16.

Researcher Park explained, "The military's current mine detectors operate with battery replacement and can detect for about four hours, but Mine Detector-II can operate for more than eight hours on a single charge, reducing soldiers' fatigue and enabling long-duration missions."

We moved to the field test site. Inside the 80-pyeong (approximately 264 square meters) test site built as a simple structure, it was just a dirt field. However, company officials explained that there were more than 32 model mines of eight types hidden in this dirt field. It was truly a minefield.

Wearing the fixing strap of the Mine Detector-II on my right forearm and holding the detector handle with my hand, it felt lighter than expected. When the battery is detached and worn on the body, the weight of the mine detector is only 3 kg.

As I took a step into the simulated minefield, the wavelength of the radio waves on the palm-sized monitor began to fluctuate. The monitor displayed underground objects on a gray screen, similar to an ultrasound image, and emitted a loud siren sound. The alert labeled MD on the left side of the monitor was quiet. However, the GPR value rose. This indicated that the detected object had a small metallic property but a large size. Typically, anti-personnel mines are buried at a depth of 15 cm, and anti-tank mines at 30 cm. Looking at the detector monitor, it was possible to determine the depth and size of the mine.

Company officials said, "In addition to routine mine detection, helmets, canteens, and other items can be easily found, allowing for tasks such as hazardous excavation," adding, "After supplying more than 1,600 units to our military, we plan to challenge the global mine detector market worth over 100 million dollars."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.