New demining machine tested in Ukraine: what are its features

This is reported by the Ministry of Economy of Ukaine. 

The demining machine was assembled by the Ukrainian company A3tech, which has been cooperating with the Croatian manufacturer DOK-ING since 2020. The share of localization is 15%, as Ukrainian specialists manufactured the working shaft and elements of the machine's working body. The manufacturer plans to increase the level of localization to 25-30% by the end of the year.

"The localization and scaling up of production will not only allow us to manufacture, maintain and promptly repair DOK-ING machines in Ukraine, but also create additional jobs. This means both the development of our economy and increased opportunities for humanitarian demining. In addition, it is also a signal to foreign investors that it is possible to implement projects in Ukraine even despite the war that Russia has unleashed against us," emphasized Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko.

So far, this demining machine has been tested on sand, gravel, black soil and areas with dense vegetation. It has also been tested for survivability: it has undergone a series of explosions of about 600 grams of TNT equivalent.

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After the tests, in accordance with the pilot project developed by Ukraine's Ministry of Economy and approved by the government for the mandatory certification of mechanized demining equipment, the certification procedure will be carried out.

For reference. The MV-4 is a lightweight robotic demining and explosive ordnance disposal vehicle. Due to its low profile and robust design, it is resistant to anti-personnel mines and unexploded ordnance detonations. The MV-4 can withstand an anti-tank mine explosion. The vehicle can clear an area of up to 1,500 square meters in an hour. It is controlled by a remote control with a range of up to 1500 meters. There are 300 MV-4 systems in operation worldwide, and in Ukraine, it is used by the SES.

• On March 29, it became known that Ukraine, together with the American corporation Palantir, is working on the development of a demining system using artificial intelligence. It is to be presented in the summer.