A string of US Apache attack helicopters.
Russia has tested a new weapon the anti – helicopter mine, which self launches itself towards a target and explodes in mid air when it detects a high speed flight.
As per interfax, the mine can pierce armor of up to “12 mms thick from a 100-meter distance.”
The Russian Ministry of Defense is considering the possibility of ordering 200 such mines.
The mine has been in development since 1998 by the State Governmental Scientific-Testing Area for Aircraft Systems, Russia as a countermeasure against U.S. and NATO helicopters in the event of war.
Prototypes and mock-ups underwent preliminary testing in 1999.
Since then the development and testing of prototypes using real helicopters has been carried out.
Russian defense experts were “very impressed” with those tests…
Russia describes it as an “autonomous air-defense” weapon that can counter helicopter gunships and even potential landing zones (LZs).
Russia said that it has “anti-UAV applications and is optimized to respond to hostile UAV signatures.”
Anti helicopter mines have been describes “as an asymmetric threat” to our Apache helicopters (see article: Anti-Helicopter Mines: An Asymmetric Threat to Our Apaches?http://sgforums.com/forums/1164/topics/80333 ).
One soldier stationed at Ft. Riley, who declined to be named in this report said that he is “aware of such weapons and the possible threat they pose to Army helicopter pilots”.
“Such a weapon would be hard to defend against”, he said.
To give you an idea of how an anti tank mine works we found a simulation of one on the game battlefield 3 (see video: BF3 Anti helicopter mines http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szimpvdl7H4 ).