Reusable landmines

Polyurethane fill is known as an effective way to eliminate flats on off-road vehicles, but a former Army combat engineer is now using the stuff to manufacture simulated landmines for training. The material, from Arnco, South Gate, Calif.(www.arnconet.com), is helping to build simulated landmines that can be used more than once. "I had about 20 years experience with landmines and demolition as a combat engineer in the U.S. Army," says Larry Cartier, founder of landmine simulator Mine Sim Inc., Woodbridge, Va. "I learned that military organizations use whatever is available, from concrete and plaster to cut-up telephone poles to simulate landmines. There is no inventory of simulated landmines. Whatever they used did not look like or feel like a landmine, and couldnÕt be used more than one or two times before breaking up," he adds.

Thermoformed high-density polyethylene serves as a hollow casing that is filled with RePneu flatproofing material. "RePneu rebounds with resilience and is durable enough to withstand the weight of a 70-ton M-1 tank," Cartier explains. The simulated mines are designed and built to look and weigh the same as the Russian TM62 antitank land mine used extensively around the world. Each casing is filled with RePneu and the final simulated landmine looks like the real thing. "The mine can be reused a couple of times even after being run over by a tank, and can last five or six times after being run over by a Hummer," explains Cartier.