Since its attack on Ukraine, the Russian occupation forces have covered large sections of the front with anti-tank and anti-vehicle mines. According to the Ukrainian Security Council, in some places there are three to five of the explosive barriers per square metre in the ground. The military tactic behind this is to delay the attack. In summer 2023, the Ukrainian counteroffensive made slow progress, partly due to the extensive minefields. Without complex mine clearing, there was no way through for the armed forces with their heavy vehicles. Especially perfidious: in order to make mine clearance more difficult, anti-personnel mines were constantly scattered in between – despite being banned by the Ottowa Convention.

Obstacle warfare rising

Operational experience from the war in Ukraine has proven that obstacle warfare has regained importance on today’s battlefields. Innovative concepts are needed to open anti-tank barriers and obstacles quickly and safely. With this in mind, Rheinmetall has developed a new armoured breaching vehicle (ABV): the Keiler Next Generation (NG). The first prototype of the ABV was already seen with great interest at this year’s Eurosatory armaments trade fair in Paris.

250 metres per minute

The Keiler NG brings 63 tonnes of high tech to the terrain: with its four-metre-wide Pearson mine plough, the highly protected and mobile vehicle can clear 250 metres of unstable ground of exposed and concealed explosives per minute. To protect against magnetic field-induced mines, the ABV also has a magnetic signature duplicator that generates a magnetic field directly in front of the armoured vehicle as a dummy target. If anti-tank obstacles need to be cleared, trenches filled in or emplacements created, the plough can be quickly replaced by a dozer blade. Thanks to the integrated crane, the crew can carry out such conversions, resupply, or retool independently.

Pyrotechnical mine sweeping

If the armed forces move across solid ground, the rocket-based “Plofadder” mine-clearing line charge from Rheinmetall Denel Munition is used. This pyrotechnical sweeping system uses a rocket to eject a rope with dozens of threaded explosives to its target, which detonates buried mines via remote detonation. Such mine-clearing lines were already in use during World War II.

Rheinmetall’s system can breach mine fields and obstacles 160 metres long and nine metres wide in a matter of minutes. Fired in overlapping bursts, the two Plofadder systems of the Keiler NG can overcome mine fields 250 metres deep.

Safe progress

The Keiler’s integrated lane-marking system marks the routes that can be safely passed so that the following troops can recognise the cleared lanes, even in limited visibility or at night. For self-protection, the ABV carries the ROSY rapid obscurant system and the remotely controlled weapon station Natter with a heavy 12.7mm x 99 calibre machine gun.

The crew of the Keiler NG consists of two soldiers. The possibility of remote-controlled deployment is already taken into account in the system’s concept – as is the fitting of an active protection system and interfacing on the digitalized battlefield. The Keiler NG thus fulfils all current tactical requirements and is characterised by high future viability.