China’s PLA considers to use minelaying underwater drones to enforce Taiwan blockade

According to reports, China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) could use large underwater drones to lay mines to blockade the “First Island Chain” should tensions over Taiwan escalate. Suggested in a Chinese military magazine, Shipborne Weapons, the strategy would likely Read More …

Iran: US-made Gator anti-tank mines reportedly discovered near missile facility outside Shiraz

Images circulating online appear to show U.S.-made scatterable anti-tank land mines near a suspected Iranian missile facility outside Shiraz, raising questions about whether the United States has begun using area-denial weapons to hinder Iran’s missile operations. Iranian state media first Read More …

Hormuz Strait tensions: How navies detect and clear marine mines

With the US racing to unblock the Strait of Hormuz and stabilise soaring oil prices, a report emerged that Iran has sown an “estimated 10 mines” in the vital chokepoint, where 20% of global oil exports pass through. Deployed stealthily, Read More …

US strikes multiple Iranian naval vessels, mine-laying ships used to harass shipping in Strait of Hormuz

The US military forces have eliminated multiple Iranian naval vessels, including 16 minelayers near the Strait of Hormuz, according to the Central Command. The command in charge of the US military’s Middle East operations announced late on Tuesday that it Read More …

Poland prepares to lay mines to defend eastern borders from Russian threat

Poland on Friday formally withdrew from the Ottawa Treaty, an international convention that bans anti-personnel landmines, paving the way for their deployment along its eastern borders. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the country aimed to be able to mine Read More …

Ukraine: $70M in Taxpayer Money Stolen by Land Mine Company

A Ukrainian company contracted to manufacture critically needed land- and anti-personnel mines for the front pocketed nearly Hr.3 billion ($69.8 million) in taxpayer money and instead sent small volumes of munitions that frequently failed to function and sometimes blew up Read More …

Ukraine on track to withdraw from Ottawa anti-personnel mines treaty

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday he had signed a decree to pull Ukraine out of the Ottawa Convention banning the production and use of anti-personnel mines as a necessary step in view of Russian tactics in their 40-month-old war. Read More …

Finland exits landmine ban treaty amid defence shift

The Finnish Parliament has approved the government’s proposal to withdraw from the Ottawa Treaty, reversing the country’s long-standing commitment to banning anti-personnel landmines. The decision passed with 157 votes in favour and 18 against, with no abstentions and 24 members Read More …

The Indispensable Ingredient for Victory: Defeating Sea Mines

At no time since the end of World War II have so many nations fielded blue water navies that have roamed the globe. Navies from Australia, China, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States have regional and worldwide Read More …