The challenge

Minefields consist of anti-tank (AT) and anti-personnel (AP) landmines as well as other mobility obstacles such as anti-tank trenches, concertina wire, reinforced concrete dragon’s teeth, etc., all deliberately placed to prevent or slow the progression of friendly forces towards enemy locations. The minefields may be littered with metallic fragments such as shells, shrapnel, and unexploded ordnance, which may confound the sensors used to detect mines. The area may also be heavily cratered from combat operations and muddy, creating difficulties for vehicle mobility, especially for smaller or wheeled vehicles.

During an attacking operation the friendly force will attempt to penetrate the minefield with vehicles and equipment designed for what is called “Minefield Breaching.” While doing so, the enemy will engage the friendly force with direct and indirect weapons to defend the minefield. The consequential destruction of vehicles and equipment will further impede the advancement or retreat through the minefield requiring replacement equipment to be brought forward and new routes attempted, all while under fire.

Current mine breaching capabilities for such operations include mechanical means such as an armoured vehicle-mounted plow or flails (crewed and uncrewed) to physically activate or move the mines, or explosive devices such as the US M58 Mine Clearing Line Charge (MICLIC) to detonate mines, to clear a breach lane. Once cleared, equipment such as an armoured vehicle-mounted mine roller is used to further reduce the risk from mines, unexploded ordnance, improvised explosive devices, and booby traps, by detonating any remaining items, thereby ensuring that the lane is ready for use. Anti-tank ditches are generally filled with soil or fascine and bridged, and physical mobility obstacles such as dragon’s teeth or wire are reduced using mechanical or explosive means.

This scenario has been a characteristic of combat operations for many decades, and the equipment used to penetrate minefields has stagnated in contrast to the development of weapons and warfare. The minefields created in the modern battlefront environment are unprecedented in terms of number and size (area) of minefields, as well as variety and density of mines and mobility obstacles within the minefields.

The modern minefield now includes advanced threats of “smart” landmines equipped with sensors such as magnetic, seismic, acoustic, electro-magnetic signature, or vibration triggered anti-tank mines and processing systems to detect, identify, and target specific systems from the bottom, top, or side. Mines are also made from different materials impacting the ability of currently employed detection sensors to locate them. Existing capabilities may not function as expected in the congested and contested electromagnetic environments, nor operate at the speed and operational tempo required at the modern battlefront.

The net result is that the complexity, size, and density of the modern minefield has outpaced the ability of the mine breaching equipment to clear an effective path quickly, leaving the friendly force exposed to the high intensity and accuracy of modern weapons with devastating results.

A previous challenge with a similar scope resulted in solutions largely focused on landmine detection. While mine detection is a critical component of obstacle reconnaissance, it alone is insufficient to fully characterize complex obstacle systems or to meet the information requirements of modern breaching and maneuver operations. Threat and obstacle awareness alone does not deliver combat effects; dedicated breaching forces and combat engineering capability are essential to defeat enemy obstacles and reduce minefields, enabling maneuver and operational momentum at the forward line. This challenge is set to address this gap.

 Desirable outcomes

This Challenge is deliberately structured to elicit solutions that engage the broader operational problem set, integrating detection, reduction, and maneuver-enabling capabilities.

DND/CAF is open to innovative solutions that address one or more of the following desirable outcomes:

• Demonstrate improved speed and overall effectiveness compared to current reconnaissance and minefield breaching approaches.
• Minimize reliance on costly armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs).
• Provide an operationally appropriate balance between solution cost, mission effectiveness, and expected rates of attrition and replacement during operations.
• Significantly enhance:
  • mine-clearing and obstacle-breaching capabilities;
  • the speed and scale of mine-clearing operations;
  • the effectiveness of mine-clearing operations.
• Substantially enhance:
  • minefield and obstacle boundary detection and delineation
  • physical object detection, identification, and classification
  • path planning, route selection, or breach lane design
• Reduce risk to personnel by increasing physical or operational distance between soldiers and explosive hazards.
• Integrate effectively with broader military command, control, and information systems.
• Enable rapid deployment and/or modular employment to respond to hastily employed or evolving enemy obstacle systems.
• Provide dual-use or transitional capability applicable to post‑conflict humanitarian demining.
• Provide means to verify or confirm the successful creation and viability of a breach lane.