The Weapon That Has The Potential To Ruin Ukraine For Decades

And Ukraine is doing it to themselves

(Public domain)

The ongoing war in Ukraine has shown the world the power and potency of modern weapons. From drones, electronic jamming measures, new tanks, and fearsome glide bombs, Ukraine is being ravaged. However, there is a weapon that few people know about that has the potential to render large swaths of Ukraine nearly uninhabitable.

In the 1970s, the world was in the midst of the Cold War, and both sides were scrambling to develop a way to stop massive armored columns from moving across the plains of Europe. The result was the Remote Anti-Armor Mine System. This system allowed standard 155mm artillery shells to deploy nine anti-tank mines from distances of up to 12 miles away. Now, fifty years later, the Remote Anti-Armor Mine System is making a comeback as the Ukrainians desperately try to hold off a Russian summer advance.

While military experts agree that the Remote Anti-Armor Mine System has ample potential to slow down Russian vehicles (and personnel; more on that below), it also has the potential to leave large portions of Ukraine grappling with the scourge of landmines.

The Remote Anti-Armor Mine System (RAAMS)

The Remote Anti-Armor Mine System (RAAMS) is highly effective. It can fire two to four shells per minute, which means it can easily launch 100 rounds per hour. That is 900 anti-tank mines being deployed every hour (as long as ammunition reserves hold.) This allows defenders to blanket an area with landmines on demand. With precision firing, a dedicated team operating RAAMS can fill roads with landmines in a matter of minutes, which can quickly stymie any enemy's advance.

Once armored columns slow down, especially on the road, they can be targeted by other weapons systems. By dropping a minefield in front of an advancing Russian armored column, the Ukrainians can slow down, or even stop, entire divisions, buying them time to reorganize or concentrate fire in a specific area.

These mines are also highly effective when deployed behind retreating columns. When infantry loads up into armored personnel carriers to retreat, having mines show up behind them can cause utter confusion…