FAS | Military | DOD 101 | Systems | Land Warfare |||| Index | Search | Join FAS

---

Mines

A land mine is an explosive device that is designed to destroy or damage equipment or personnel. Equipment targets include ground vehicles, boats, and aircraft. A mine is detonated by the action of its target, the passage of time, or controlled means. There are two types of land-based mines-- anti-tank (AT) and anti-personnel (AP).

AT mines are designed to immobilize or destroy vehicles and their occupants. An AT mine produces a mobility kill (M-Kill) or a catastrophic kill (K-Kill). An M-Kill destroys one or more of the vehicle's vital drive components (for example, breaks a track on a tank) and immobilizes the target. An M-Kill does not always destroy the weapon system and the crew; they may continue to function. In a K-Kill, the weapon system and/or the crew is destroyed.

AP mines can kill or incapacitate their victims. The mines commit medical resources, degrade unit morale, and damage nonarmored vehicles. Some types of AP mines may break or damage the track on armored vehicles.

Land mines cause about 26,000 casualties worldwide every year. Although most of these casualties are the result of the indiscriminate and irresponsible use of mines, they have caused antipersonnel (AP) mines to be severely stigmatized by the international community. As a leader of the "responsible" international community, the United States has chosen to pursue the regulation of AP mines. In setting a standard that we hope others will follow, the President announced a significant change in US policy for AP mines on 16 May 1996. The US unilaterally undertook not to use, and to place in inactive stockpile status with the intent to demilitarize by the end of 1999, all nonself-destructing AP mines not needed to train personnel engaged in demining and countermine operations, and to defend the United States and its allies from armed aggression that crosses the Korean Demilitarized Zone.

The US views the security situation on the Korean Peninsula as a unique case and in the negotiation of this agreement will protect the right to use AP mines there until alternatives become available or the risk of aggression has been removed. This policy eliminated the use of M14 blast AP mines and M16 bounding fragmentation mines outside the Republic of Korea. It did not affect our use of self-destructing mines or command-detonated weapons (M18 claymore).

Refence FM 20-32, page 6-4

Sources and Resources

• FM 20-32 MINE/COUNTERMINE OPERATIONS 29 MAY 1998
• The Origins of Military Mines: Part I By Major William C. Schneck Engineer Bulletin July 1998
• The Origins of Military Mines: Part II By Major William C. Schneck Engineer Bulletin November 1998

---

FAS | Military | DOD 101 | Systems | Land Warfare |||| Index | Search | Join FAS

---