FFV 028

Exercise and drill variants of the Bundeswehr. The right mine indicates that it has deactivated itself.

The FFV 028 is an anti-tank mine from the Swedish manufacturer Försvarets Fabriksverk (today: Bofors ), which is also used in the Bundeswehr.

description

Mine Laying System 85

The external shape of the FFV 028 corresponds to a flat cylinder which tapers conically in the lower part. The mine is equipped with a magnetic detonator that responds when the surrounding magnetic field changes, for example when a metallic object comes into the detection area. In contrast to most anti-tank mines from the Second World War , the vehicle does not have to drive directly over the mine by chain or wheel. The explosive charge is designed as a shaped charge . Fractions of a second before the actual explosion, a small charge blasts away any soil above the mine.

The FFV 028 can be laid by hand or with a special single-axle vehicle trailer, which the Bundeswehr calls the mine laying system 85 . This is similar to a plow that initially pushes the sward or topsoil to the side, creating a furrow. The mines are fed to the laying system via a chute that is fed from the loading area of the pulling truck. Another pair of plowshares then closes the furrow again so that the laid mines are no longer visible. With the system, mines can be laid at a depth of up to 20 cm; laying directly on the floor is also possible.

variants

FFV 028: pre-production model
FFV 028 RU: Disarmable and reusable version
FFV 028 SD: Variant with anti-lift protection that causes the mine to explode when an evacuation attempt is made. After a certain time, the mine destroys itself.
FFV 028 SN: Another variant with anti-lift protection. After about 40 days, the FFV 028 SN disarms itself. A small red cylinder is driven up out of the ground with a spring. The mine can easily be found again and used again.

Technical specifications

Mass: 8.4 kg
Diameter: 25.4 cm
Height of the lead body: 13 cm
Explosive charge: min. 3.5 kg Composition B
Laying system mass: 2.9 t

criticism

According to organizations such as the German Initiative to Ban Landmines , the FFV 028 contradicts the Ottawa Convention of 1997, as you also, for example, civilian vehicles or even from conventional detonators mine detectors can be triggered and some variants also have a anti-handling.

In 1999, the German federal government took the position that anti-tank mines with anti-lift protection expressly do not violate the Ottawa Convention.

User states

Sweden Sweden

In the Swedish army the FFV 028 is introduced as Stridsvagnsmina 6 (Strvn 6) .

Germany Germany

To compensate for the Swedish order for German tanks, the Bundeswehr procured a total of 125,000 FFV 028 SNs between 1988 and 1992, which are referred to here as DM 31 and some of them were produced by Dynamit Nobel in Germany. There is also a pilot lot of 200 pieces that was delivered in 1985. The associated training mines were given the designation DM 60 , the inert (non-explosive) drill mines the designation DM 70 . In addition, the Bundeswehr received 282 mine plows laying system 85 .

The mine laying system 85 was originally withdrawn from the Bundeswehr in 2011. As a result of changes in the security policy framework and the resulting stronger focus of the Bundeswehr on national and alliance defense, eight units and the associated mine equipment were reactivated between 2017 and 2019, and a further increase to 23 units was investigated.