5 ms·

> Fresh mines can be dropped from aircraft now if a sudden need arised. How would this work? Surely the impact would trigger detonation.

SV_BubbleTime 4y ago
Naval mines have dropped by parachute. You could drop them with mechanical timers before they arm. There are reminiscent of Swiss watch mechanisms for munitions already. I imagine a shape that will definitely land in one direction could have a pressure switch on the other.
- Xylakant 4y ago
  There are mines that set themselves up in the proper orientation after deployment, the AT2 for example https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/AT2_mine https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/AT2_mine
defrost 4y ago
Mines and bombs can be complex objects, especially bombs that are intended to not immediately explode and thus deny access | use up human resources due to the poised threat. Even as far back as WWII bombs from aircraft included booby trapped "anti personnel" bombs with secondary fuses hidden back to kill bomb disposal experts. In the case of your concern, bombs can be released with "chemical burn safeties" (for example - when released from an aircraft two agents are released that start a timed burn that arms the bomb after X minutes (and the ground is reached). Other technicques can use the impact force to arm a mine, it's not dangerous until after it's been slammed into the ground, etc.
- btilly 4y ago
  How the bomb disposal experts first learned their craft is insane. https://www.amazon.com/Danger-Uxb-Heroic-Story-Disposal/dp/0349122377 https://www.amazon.com/Danger-Uxb-Heroic-Story-Disposal/dp/0... has the story. Short version, the person working with the bomb would call out what they saw, then do what the partner said. The partner had a book and was out of the blast radius. They recorded it all, and if the bomb blew up would write down not to do THAT again! Eventually they learned to somewhat reliably disarm the bombs by this type of trial and error. And then the other side would add better booby traps to stop them from succeeding. Crazy.
  - midoridensha 4y ago
    The way to do that safely (for your own people) is to use enemy POWs to disable the bomb.
    - eCa 4y ago
      Which of course is a war crime.
      - hef19898 4y ago
        And of course, it absolutely happened during WW2.
        actionfromafar 4y ago
        Denmark did it with captured German soldiers, so also after WW2.
veqq 4y ago
Explosives are not generally very fragile. They require special detonators to go off and are otherwise mostly inert. Landmines have already been dropped from aircraft for decades - and also by rockets: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfRt_v51Io4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfRt_v51Io4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=456A_GTWEZI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=456A_GTWEZI
geomark 4y ago
They can even be dispersed using mortars and artillery, like what has been done in Ukraine recently with butterfly mines.

SV_BubbleTime 4y ago

Naval mines have dropped by parachute. You could drop them with mechanical timers before they arm. There are reminiscent of Swiss watch mechanisms for munitions already. I imagine a shape that will definitely land in one direction could have a pressure switch on the other.

Xylakant 4y ago
There are mines that set themselves up in the proper orientation after deployment, the AT2 for example https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/AT2_mine https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/AT2_mine

defrost 4y ago

Mines and bombs can be complex objects, especially bombs that are intended to not immediately explode and thus deny access | use up human resources due to the poised threat. Even as far back as WWII bombs from aircraft included booby trapped "anti personnel" bombs with secondary fuses hidden back to kill bomb disposal experts. In the case of your concern, bombs can be released with "chemical burn safeties" (for example - when released from an aircraft two agents are released that start a timed burn that arms the bomb after X minutes (and the ground is reached). Other technicques can use the impact force to arm a mine, it's not dangerous until after it's been slammed into the ground, etc.

btilly 4y ago
How the bomb disposal experts first learned their craft is insane. https://www.amazon.com/Danger-Uxb-Heroic-Story-Disposal/dp/0349122377 https://www.amazon.com/Danger-Uxb-Heroic-Story-Disposal/dp/0... has the story. Short version, the person working with the bomb would call out what they saw, then do what the partner said. The partner had a book and was out of the blast radius. They recorded it all, and if the bomb blew up would write down not to do THAT again! Eventually they learned to somewhat reliably disarm the bombs by this type of trial and error. And then the other side would add better booby traps to stop them from succeeding. Crazy.
- midoridensha 4y ago
  The way to do that safely (for your own people) is to use enemy POWs to disable the bomb.
  - eCa 4y ago
    Which of course is a war crime.
    - hef19898 4y ago
      And of course, it absolutely happened during WW2.
      - actionfromafar 4y ago
        Denmark did it with captured German soldiers, so also after WW2.

veqq 4y ago

Explosives are not generally very fragile. They require special detonators to go off and are otherwise mostly inert. Landmines have already been dropped from aircraft for decades - and also by rockets: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfRt_v51Io4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfRt_v51Io4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=456A_GTWEZI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=456A_GTWEZI

geomark 4y ago

They can even be dispersed using mortars and artillery, like what has been done in Ukraine recently with butterfly mines.