Komatsu develop demining bulldozer for Afghanistan

The main threat posed by the Taliban in Afghanistan is mostly over with only pockets of resistance remaining. But, as with many past wars, the country it took place in is now littered with active land mines.

Redevelopment of the country requires those mines be removed so as not to severely injure or kill people in future. Finding them all is a very difficult task, and doing it by expert hand alone would take years. So, Japanese machine manufacturer Komatsu has come up with a better idea.

Komatsu has developed a demining vehicle based on the design of a bulldozer it seems. The huge machine can be remote controller and replaces the bucket on the front with a rotating drum. It is powered by a 244HP, 11-litre, 6-cylinder, turbo-charged engine, with reinforced metal plating fixed to its body. Anyone sitting in this thing is very well protected from a blast.

That 200rpm rotating drum is meant to churn up the ground, deep enough that if a mine is present it will be triggered and explode. Deploy a few of these machines, and large areas of land could be deemed mine free in just a few weeks of operation. A bonus of their churning up the ground is it also prepares the land for planting, allowing local farmers to start growing food more quickly and helping to feed families.

Source: Gizmodo