{"id":9761,"date":"2026-06-22T10:09:39","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T08:09:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fsd.ch\/?p=9761"},"modified":"2026-06-22T10:09:42","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T08:09:42","slug":"what-is-a-landmine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fsd.ch\/en\/what-is-a-landmine\/","title":{"rendered":"What is a landmine?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How do landmines work?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Landmines are generally placed on the surface of the ground or buried. They are designed to explode when triggered by pressure, movement, a tripwire, on command, or via sophisticated proximity sensors. Once activated, the firing mechanism detonates the mine\u2019s explosive charge almost instantly. Anti-personnel landmines are designed to injure individual persons and can be triggered by a weight of as little as 2 kg in the case of a tripwire pull, or around 5kg in the case of a pressure activated mine. Anti-vehicle landmines target vehicles (usually tanks) and generally require more than 100kg of pressure to initiate , as they are designed to specifically target the heavier \u201cfootprint\u201d of a vehicle. Depending on their design, landmines may contain metal, plastic or a combination of both, and some older mines were even made mainly of glass and wood making some types particularly difficult to detect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are the different types of landmines?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are hundreds of different types of landmines used around the world, with a wide range of functions and initiation mechanisms. Some of the most common ones encountered by FSD\u2019s staff in the field include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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PFM-1<\/h3>\n

Commonly known as the\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span>butterfly\u00a0<\/span><\/span>landmine<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0the PFM-1 is\u00a0<\/span><\/span>an\u00a0<\/span>anti-personnel landmine\u00a0<\/span><\/span>that can be dispersed in large numbers from\u00a0<\/span>aircraft<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0helicopters,\u00a0<\/span>or rockets. The\u00a0<\/span><\/span>lan<\/span>d<\/span>m<\/span>ine\u00a0<\/span><\/span>does not explode when it\u00a0<\/span>deploys<\/span>, but<\/span>\u00a0detonates later when touched or stepped on.\u00a0<\/span>In countries such as Afghanistan, thousands of PFM-1 mines still contaminate land and continue to cause civilian casualties every year.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/article>\n

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PMN Series AP blast mine<\/h3>\n

This series of Anti-personnel mine (PMN 1-4) represents one of the common explosive hazards encountered by FSD in the field. This type of mine was developed to inflict blast injuries to the lower limbs and has been placed around trenches and strong points worldwide as well as around roads, tracks, and field boundaries, remaining a hazard to civilians transiting these areas and farmers. A pressure activated mine; some of the newer variants also contain tilt sensitive anti-handling devices which require sensitive disposal or demolition in place.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/article>\n

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OZM 72 AP bounding mine<\/h3>\n

This is a typical \u201cbounding\u201d mine which, when triggered, is designed to propel a fragmentation charge into the air which detonates at groin height (around 0.6-0.9 m) and targets personnel with metal fragments omnidirectionally, with a lethal radius of 25m. Mines of this type, and related, non-bounding stake mines such as the POM-Z, are often initiated by tripwires and may be linked together.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/article>\n

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TM-62-M AT mine<\/h3>\n

This is a typical blast effect anti vehicle mine which uses a relatively large amount of high explosive to generate a massive blast effect channeled onto the underside of vehicles. This blast is designed to blow off the tracks or wheels of a fighting vehicle and incapacitate or kill the occupants. If mines of this type are triggered by unarmoured civilian vehicles, the effect can be catastrophic.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/article>\n <\/section>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Landmines: a lasting problem<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Landmines don\u2019t have expiry dates. Some contain self-destruct mechanisms, but these do not always function as intended. Mines can remain active for decades, long after wars and conflicts have ended and in some cases they can degrade and become more sensitive as they age. Buried underground or hidden on the surface, they continue to threaten civilians, block access to farmland, prevent reconstruction and slow economic recovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, landmines dating from WWII are still regularly found in Europe<\/a>. These discoveries continue to cause injuries, deaths and large-scale evacuations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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More stories like these, once a month.<\/h2>\n

Receive field updates, operational insights and stories from the communities affected by landmines and explosive remnants of war.<\/p>\n \n \n