Issue 2 2010 Inside this issue: New Product the Medium MineWolf (MW330) 1 Mini MineWolf in the DRC 1 Additional capacity for Angola 2 Medium MineWolf shown at Military Engineering Summit 3 MineWolf Systems working in Cyprus 4 New MineWolf Product the Medium MineWolf (MW330) The Medium MineWolf is a further extension of the MineWolf product range relying on proven components from other MineWolf solutions. The machine has been specifically adapted to meet military requirements with regards to survivability and mobility. At the same time, it incorporates proven MineWolf advantages such as the remote control function and the ability to mount a variety of attachments for mine clearance, Counter-IED and engineering tasks. From 8 16 February, the Medium MineWolf was field-tested in Heudorf, Germany. The product sheet can be downloaded from the The Medium MineWolf operating with the flail attachment MineWolf website. Additional information can be provided upon request. MineWolf machine moves to Northern Sudan 4 MineWolf deploys to Uganda 5 MineWolf Systems to exhibit at Eurosatory 6 Mini MineWolf in the Democratic Republic of Congo The Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (known as MSB) in cooperation with Danish Church Aid (DCA) has been using a Mini Mine- Wolf machine in the Katanga Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to release land back into the community. Following a field workshop hosted by the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining in Kabalo, MSB and DCA will work in close cooperation with the Mine Action Coordination Centre in DRC to further develop the concept of land release through non-technical survey, technical survey and full clearance. MSB Mini MineWolf making cut lanes into the Kabumba minefield in the Democratic Republic of Congo p 1
The Mini MineWolf operation has encountered many challenges in DRC including the transportation routes, dense vegetation and the fine dust and heat. In order to access designated clearance tasks MSB has had to reconstruct roads and bridges. At times MSB technical staff has had to double the service intervals for air filter changes and lubrication in order to maintain full productivity in the high dust and heat conditions. Despite the difficult working conditions however the Mini MineWolf has proven to be an excellent tool for technical survey and full clearance in DRC. The land cleared during the first year by the Mini MineWolf has now been earmarked by DCA s regional office to be used in a Purchase for Progress project, an initiative aimed at helping small farmers. One component of this project, which will be implemented with the support of the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organisations (FAO), will be to train local farmers in better agricultural techniques to ensure better crop yields. The agricultural land cleared by the Mini MineWolf requires no further preparation and is therefore perfect for this use. In 2010, MSB and DCA plan to use the Mini MineWolf to clear a road between the villages of Kabumba and Kasinge, as well as the minefields surrounding the villages situated along the road. Clearance of this road will provide greater access to the region for other humanitarian actors including WFP. Additional capacity for Angola The Mini MineWolf operating in Luena, Angola Danish Church Aid (DCA) has bought a Mini MineWolf machine to work in Eastern Angola. The machine is the seventh MineWolf machine to be deployed in Angola, the others belonging to INAD, the national mine action authority. DCA s machine is a Mini MineWolf with both tiller and flail attachments. Arriving in country in December 2009, it left Port Lobito, Angola in January and arrived in Luena in Moxiko province in February when training commenced. MineWolf Systems provided a two week training course for the DCA mechanic at the factory in Germany and a four week training course in Luena for the two DCA machine operators. The machine will be used at Luena airport, where DCA have an ongoing clearance project. MineWolf instructor Veljko Celar with DCA staff at the end of the training Moving the machine from Port Lobito to DCA s base in Luena p 2
Medium MineWolf Machine shown for the first time at Military Engineering Summit The robotic arm attached to the Mini MineWolf The Medium MineWolf mine clearance machine was presented for the first time in January at the Military Engineering Summit in Munich. This is Europe s largest gathering of military engineers, procurement officers and equipment and technology providers with attendees from all over the world looking for latest developments in military engineering. This latest addition to the MineWolf product range was built in Germany in response to a specific requirement from the military. The machine is robust enough to survive blasts from heavy anti-tank mines, yet mobile enough to be transportable in a 40ft ISO container or on a C-130 plane. In addition to the standard tiller and flail attachments, the Medium MineWolf also offers a variety of other interchangeable attachments such as a dozer shield, bucket, sifter bucket or forklift. MineWolf Systems also demonstrated a sophisticated robotic arm attachment which can be mounted on any of their mine clearance vehicles to remotely deal with the IED threat. Summit participants saw the robotic arm mounted on the smaller, remote controlled Mini MineWolf. This is a very interesting development offering excellent efficiency and mobility for both humanitarian and military demining missions. The multi-purpose attachments which can be mounted on the base vehicles make it even more useful to field operations said Colonel Radlmeier, Director, NATO Military Engineering Centre of Excellence. MineWolf Systems existing reputation for producing reliable machines, combined with their flexibility to develop bespoke engineering solutions made them of particular interest to the military engineers in Munich who were looking for just such new technology to deal with the challenge of explosives faced by their soldiers in conflict theatres on a daily basis. The Medium MineWolf on a low bed trailer shown in Munich p 3
MineWolf Systems working in Cyprus A Mini MineWolf machine has been purchased for mine clearance in Cyprus. The Mini MineWolf with its tiller attachment has been contracted along with MineWolf System s full service package for a twelve month period. The machine is to work on clearance of the green line, the UN Buffer Zone between the Greek and Turkish parts of the island. The machine arrived in Cyprus late March and following team integration training and accreditation, started operations on the 1 st of April. It will be fully operated by MineWolf Systems staff for the twelve month contract period as the mechanical component of a clearance project that is run by Group 4 Security (Ordnance Management), formerly known as Armor Group. Cyprus still has a large number of mines dating from the 1974 conflict and the Mini Mine- Wolf will speed up the process of releasing land within the buffer zone back to Cypriot authorities. The Mini MineWolf on its first day in Cyprus with the Operator and Technical Advisor from MineWolf Systems MineWolf machine moves to the Blue Nile state in Sudan The MineWolf team in Lanya during the last days of operations At the end of February, after a very successful 19 months of operations throughout Southern Sudan the contract that MineWolf Systems had been running for the mine action authority came to an end. During the contract the MineWolf team worked from Kajo Keji in the south-east to Deim Zubier in the north-west and just about everywhere in between. The team proved to be resourceful, productive and manoeuvrable throughout the contract. It provided mechanical support on a myriad of tasks for mine action organisations including Norwegian People s Aid (NPA), Armor Group (now G4S) and the Mines Advisory Group (MAG). On completion of the contract MineWolf Systems was awarded a contract to move the authority s MineWolf machine and support equipment from its current position in Lanya, between Juba and Yei to Kurmuk in the Blue Nile State. The total distance of the trip was 3278 kilometres. Following a reconnaissance of the route in February by MineWolf staff, the actual deployment commenced at the beginning of March and by the 16 th of March the machine and equipment had arrived safely at the UNMIS compound in Kurmuk. The machine is now in place ready for a follow on 15 month contract to operate in the North of Sudan, estimated to start in mid-april. p 4
MineWolf deploys to Uganda After a stint in Rwanda in 2008, Norwegian People s Aid s MineWolf machine once again deployed from Sudan to a neighbouring country to assist in mine action activities. This time the machine was deployed to Northern Uganda. The machine departed NPA s camp in Yei, South Sudan on the 18 th of January and after a four day road trip southwards arrived in the village of Ngarogomo in the Kitgum district of Northern Uganda. The MineWolf being transported along the rough road into the Ngarogomo task site, Uganda The clearance task was located near the village of Ngarogomo and consisted of approximately 160,000 square metres of mine contaminated land. The minefield contained PMN2 and M10 anti-personnel mines, thought to be laid during insurgency by the Lord s Resistance Army. The MineWolf commenced operations on the 24 th of January and completed work on the 3 rd of March 2010. The task was an integrated operation combining the assets and skills from NPA, Danish Demining Group, MineWolf Systems and the Ugandan Defence Force. This turned out to be a successful partnership with all organisations working together seamlessly to achieve the objective. The MineWolf operating in dusty and dry conditions in Northern Uganda Over 150,000 square metres of land was mechanically processed by the MineWolf. Prior to the MineWolf deployment 151 PMD6 antipersonnel blast mines were found and destroyed. During the mechanical clearance the machine destroyed a number of mines with very few initiations (5) and destroyed two pieces of unexploded ordnance. The mines destroyed by the MineWolf however were different from those found before and included PMD6 (Russian), PP M15 (Korean), No4, No10 (Israeli), Type 72 (Chinese) antipersonnel blast mines. No anti tank mines were laid or destroyed. Although the actual numbers of mines and unexploded ordnance destroyed may seem small, the perceived threat of the land to the villagers could not be underestimated. The result of this task is that approximately 160,000sqm of fertile land has been released for agricultural use, benefitting the 3000 inhabitants who live around the Ngarogomo minefield. The task came to a successful conclusion in early March and the MineWolf was then deployed back to Sudan. The tasks in both Rwanda and Uganda have further enhanced the MineWolf s reputation throughout the region. p 5
MineWolf Systems to exhibit at Eurosatory in Paris Once again MineWolf Systems will be exhibiting at the Eurosatory exhibition in Paris, France from 14 18 June 2010. Eurosatory is the international exhibition that has asserted itself as number one in the field of land, airland and homeland defence and security. It provides insight into the major forthcoming trends in defence. MineWolf Systems will be exhibiting their products and services in the German pavilion. Come and visit us at Stand 621 in Hall 6. Global Headquarters, International Sales & Operations Office MineWolf Systems AG Seedammstrasse 3 8808 Pfäffikon SZ Switzerland Phone +41 (0) 555 111 500 Fax +41 (0) 555 111 599 Manufacturing, Training & Logistics Office MineWolf Systems AG Winterspürer Strasse 17 19 78333 Stockach Germany Phone +49 (0) 7771 914 36 10 Fax +49 (0) 7771 914 36 22 info@minewolf.com www.minewolf.com Excellence in Mechanical Mine Clearance Email info@minewolf.com to request a copy of our new MineWolf brochure available in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese or Arabic. p 6