Tactical and technical characteristics of the YM-1B mine
- Mine type
- pressure-operated blast anti-personnel
- Casing
- plastic
- Weight
- 0.185 kg
- Weight of explosive RDX or TNT/RDX (Hexogen or TG)
- 0.043 kg
- Diameter
- 90 mm
- Height
- 45 mm
- Target sensor diameter
- 35 mm
- Sensitivity
- 10 kg
- Operating temperature range
- -20 to +40 °C
This is the Italian VS-50 blast anti-personnel mine, manufactured in Iran under the name YM-1B.
These mines, procured by the Syrian Ministry of Defense, began to be supplied to the so-called DPR and LPR through the Russian Federation in November 2017. Deliveries are made on a regular basis.
The mine is designed for mechanized scatter emplacement on the ground surface, including by helicopter, but mechanized emplacement assets are not supplied to Syria. It can be emplaced manually on the ground surface or in the ground (under a camouflage layer up to 3 cm thick). The mine’s sealed construction allows it to be used in water-saturated and marshy soils. The mine, manufactured from impact-resistant plastic, is fairly resistant to impacts and the effects of blast waves.
The mine is not fitted with a self-destruct mechanism. It has no anti-removal elements, but its design features preclude the mechanism from returning the mine from the armed to the safe position.
The YM-1B mine is very similar to the YM-1 mine. Externally, they can be distinguished by the presence on the YM-1B of a red safety stop on the side of the casing, whereas the YM-1 has a safety cap covering the pressure cover; however, in the armed state the cap and stop are absent, so it is extremely difficult to distinguish them.
The mine has a detonator that is part of its design.
The virtually complete absence of metal parts completely precludes detection of the mine by induction metal detectors, and the sealing of the mine reduces the odor of the explosive, which also complicates detection of the mine by dogs. The high sensitivity of the target sensor makes searching for these mines with probes impossible.
The mine is highly resistant to explosive mine-clearance means, including elongated mine-clearance charges of the Soviet UZ type and charges containing fuel-air explosive mixtures.
Coloring
Khaki, brown, sand, green.
Marking
Applied in white paint on the pressure cover and contains:
- YM-1B - mine code designation (the marking is often worn off).