How do claymore mines work

New U. As noted above, a mine that is designed to be exploded by the presence, proximity, or contact of a person i. Matrix is a new landmine system designed to allow an operator equipped with a laptop computer to remotely detonate lethal and non-lethal Claymore mines by radio signal from a distance.

The Pentagon has not made public what this distance is. In late February , Human Rights Watch raised questions about the potential harm these mines could pose to civilians. A second question was whether civilians themselves could inadvertently detonate the mines, rather than a soldier operating the system.

The U. Army Program Manager responsible for Matrix subsequently told Human Rights Watch that the system relies on [unspecified] types of electro-optical and infrared sensors to detect intrusion, and on visual target identification; no tripwires are used.

Moreover, it remains unknown if the Matrix system contains a battlefield override feature, and the Pentagon has not given concrete assurances that civilians cannot accidentally detonate Matrix controlled Claymore mines.

The Spider system consists of a control unit capable of monitoring up to eighty-four hand-emplaced unattended munitions that deploy a web of tripwires across an area. Once a tripwire is touched by the enemy, a man-in-the-loop control system allows the operator to activate either lethal or non-lethal effects.

Categories Video Army. Related Topics Army. Related Videos. The moment was caught on camera at a police department in Maine, United States. My Profile News Home Page. Most Popular Videos. C Carrier Landing without Hook. The M18A1 Claymore is a directional anti-personnel mine used by the U. Its inventor, Norman MacLeod disambiguation needed , named the mine after a large Scottish medieval sword. Unlike a conventional land mine, the Claymore is command-detonated and directional, meaning it is fired by remote-control and shoots a pattern of metal balls into the kill zone like a shotgun.

It is used primarily in ambushes and as an anti-infiltration device against enemy infantry. It is also used against unarmored vehicles. Many countries have developed and use mines like the Claymore.

The M18A1 Claymore mine has a horizontally convex green plastic case inert training versions are blue. The shape was developed through experimentation to deliver the optimum distribution of fragments at 50 m 55 yd range.

The case has the words "Front Toward Enemy" embossed on the front of the mine. Two pairs of scissor legs attached to the bottom support the mine and allow it to be aimed vertically. On both sides of the sight are fuse wells set at 45 degrees. The force of the explosion deforms the relatively soft steel balls into a shape similar to a. The fragments can travel up to m yd.

The weapon and all its accessories are carried in an M7 bandolier. The mine is detonated as the enemy approaches the killing zone. Controlled detonation may be accomplished by use of either an electrical or non-electrical firing system. When mines are employed in the controlled role, they are treated as individual weapons and are reported in the unit fire plan.

They are not reported as mines; however, the emplacing unit must ensure that the mines are removed, detonated, or turned over to a relieving unit. The M57 Firing Device colloquially referred to as the "clacker" is included with each mine. When the mines are daisy chained together, one firing device can detonate several mines. The mine can be detonated by any mechanism that activates the blasting cap.

There are field-expedient methods of detonating the mine by tripwire, or by a timer, but these are rarely used. Hubert Schardin , a German. When a sheet of explosive detonates in contact with a heavy backing surface for example, a metal plate , the resulting blast is primarily directed away from the surface in a single direction. Schardin spent some time developing the discovery as a side-attack anti-tank weapon, but development was incomplete at the end of the war.

Schardin also spent time researching a "trench mine" that used a directional fragmentation effect. Following the massed Chinese attacks during the Korean War , Canada and the United States began to develop projects to counter them. Canada fielded a weapon called the "Phoenix" landmine, which used the Misznay-Schardin effect to project a spray of 0. The cubes were embedded in five pounds of Composition B explosive. It was too large to be a practical infantry weapon and was relatively ineffective, with a maximum effective range of only 20 to 30 yards about 20 to 30 meters.

Around Norman MacLeod, at his company the Explosive Research Corporation, began working on a small directional mine for use by infantry. It is not clear if the United States Picatinny Arsenal took the concept from the Canadian weapon and asked Norman MacLeod to develop it; or if he developed the design independently and presented it to them.

MacLeod designed a weapon called the T; broadly similar to the final M18A1, it lacked a number of the design details that made the M18A1 effective. Through Picatinny, the United States Army accepted the weapon into service as the M18 Claymore and approximately 10, were produced.

It was used in small numbers in Vietnam from around It was not until the improved M18A1 was developed that the Claymore became a significant weapon. The M18 was 9. An electrical blasting cap for triggering the mine was inserted through a small hole in the side.