Japanese Technology to Clear Mines in Ukraine! Training for Japanese Mine Detectors in Cambodia
January 2023, Cambodia. The high pitched electronic beeps of landmine detectors echo across the plains where the sun shines in the strong sunshine with temperatures exceeding 30 degrees Celsius. This is the training facility of the Cambodian Mine Action Center (CMAC). The Japanese government, through JICA, invited eight demining specialists from the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (SESU) to Cambodia for training using the latest Japanese-made mine detectors.
Due to Russian aggression, approximately 30% of Ukraine’s land area may now be contaminated by landmines, unexploded ordnance, and other explosive devices, and it is estimated that it will take at least 10 years to remove them. This program looks at JICA’s cooperative project to remove mines and unexploded ordnance from Ukraine as quickly and safely as possible, with a view to postwar reconstruction.
Bombs in stuffed animals, 5 million people at risk “We need to remove the hazardous materials and remove the risk that people are at risk. We need a lot of humanitarian assistance.” We need a lot of humanitarian aid,” Arseny Dyadichenko, Chief Specialist of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (SESU), urges.
One year has passed since the start of the Russian invasion. In places where Russian troops have retreated, landmines, rockets, and other explosive devices have been placed and left behind, both indoors and outdoors, and sometimes bombs have been planted in stuffed animals in homes. These dangerous areas cover 30% of the country’s land area, and approximately 5 million people live in and around these areas. In order for people to live safely and securely, not a single explosive device must be left behind and 100% of them must be removed.
Specialized mine clearance personnel from SESU are responsible for clearing landmines and unexploded ordnance in Ukraine. After the Russian invasion, the number of personnel has been increased and metal detectors are being used to remove explosive devices, but the work has been difficult. Metal detectors are sensitive to all kinds of metals, so it is necessary to dig out every piece of metal detected to determine whether it is a landmine or not, which requires an enormous amount of time to remove mines.
Metal Detectors + Radar to Image Landmines for Prompt and Efficient Removal This is where the Japanese-made ALIS landmine detector is expected to be utilized to expedite the removal of landmines in Ukraine. ALIS, which stands for “Advanced Landmine Imaging System,” is a landmine detector that combines a metal detector and ground-penetrating radar. The ground-penetrating radar images the object detected by the metal detector. The shape of the object can be visually observed on the monitor of the attached terminal, allowing the user to quickly and efficiently determine whether or not it is a landmine.
The ALIS will be able to detect land mines much faster and more efficiently than conventional metal detectors, which should help with the pressing issue of protecting the safety of the Ukrainian people,” said Professor Motoyuki Sato of Tohoku University, the developer of the ALIS. This should help with the pressing issue of protecting the safety of the Ukrainian people,” said Professor Motoyuki Sato of Tohoku University, the developer of ALIS. During the training, Professor Sato himself traveled to Cambodia to instruct SESU staff on how to operate ALIS.
The SESU employees who participated in the training from war-torn Ukraine started the training with a uniformly nervous look on their faces. During the training, those who were more familiar with the operation of metal detectors they had used in the past seemed to be at a loss to operate the ALIS. As Professor Sato said, “There is a knack to operating ALIS,” and the SESU members repeated the operation many times to get the hang of it. When they were able to successfully operate ALIS and see the round shape of a landmine on the screen, they reacted with joy,” said Professor Sato. And on the final day of the actual equipment training, the SESU members could be seen to be relaxed and smiling. It seemed that a bond had been formed among all project participants as one team.
The training was excellent, and I want to pass on the skills I learned to all my colleagues in Ukraine who are working on mine clearance. It is very difficult to explain the operation of ALIS, but training in the field will help people understand it better,” said SESU’s Diadichenko.
In Ukraine, there are many landmines and other explosive devices left behind, especially in urban areas, and there is a possibility that improvised explosive devices are planted in the rubble of buildings. Conventional metal detectors react to rebar contained in concrete and other materials and do not function adequately, but we hope that ALIS will contribute to the rapid removal of mines in such situations,” said Professor Sato.
Japanese Mine Action Techniques Passed on to Cambodia The ALIS Unit of the Cambodia Mine Action Center (CMAC) also played a major role in this training program. JICA has cooperated with Cambodia in mine countermeasures for more than 20 years since the end of the civil war by providing equipment, technical assistance, and strengthening the organizational capacity of CMAC. The ALIS unit is made up of personnel who are proficient in ALIS technology, and Professor Sato and I served as lecturers in this training program.
I have directly supervised about 10 people so far, but since then, we have trained up to the second or third generation, and a training system has been established, so I feel that technology is growing properly within CMAC,” says Sato.
© Source JICA
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