SURIN Technical College students and their instructors have created a bomb disposal device to clear PMN-2 landmines along the Thai-Cambodian border where seven soldiers have already lost their legs upon stepping on them in the recent clashes and ongoing tensions, Amarin TV said today (Nov. 20).
The device was unveiled at an invention competition held by this college where it was tested and its mechanism explained.
This invention consists of a series of gears constructed from hardened steel. It weighs approximately 18 kilogrammes and operates on the principle of compression. When it is pulled, the bomb detonates and explodes. The handle is 20 metres long to protect personnel during the demolition.
In addition to constructing the bomb disposal device, the college students and their instructors also designed and built a reinforced steel turret for Humvee gun truck. Eight of 19 of these trucks have already been fitted with them for use in border missions.
Mr. Manit Temkaew, deputy director of Surin Technical College, said Humvee trucks with armoured claws have been used at Prasat Ta Kwai ancient temple at the Thai-Khmer border and they thought about how else they could help Thai soldiers driving and using the vehicles.
At the same time as Thai soldiers have lost their legs after stepping on landmines, the idea to build a bomb disposal unit to clear these mines came to mind, he said, adding it was designed and built in discussion with some military units.
The device, which is practical and usable in detonating PMN-2 landmines, is easily moveable within Prasat Ta Kwai and Prasat Ta Muen Thom ancient temples.
In the future, it could be further developed to operate remotely, replacing humans. Today’s test and demonstration was conducted using a simulated PMN-2 ordnance, with field testing conducted for actual use.
Mr. Karun, the instructor who designed the bomb disposal unit, explained that the project began with a request from the military to construct a device to explode PMN-2 landmines.
He then considered how to construct it so that it would be practical for soldiers to use and not be too costly and could be built according to the concept of one device per soldier’s life, and this led to the unit being invented and tested in the engineering faculty and it can actually be used.
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Students and their instructors who created a bomb disposal unit and a turret for Humvee trucks. Photos – Amarin TV
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