Metinvest specialists produced over 30 mine trawls for the Armed Forces of Ukraine

The company produces up to five trawls per month

Metinvest specialists have produced more than 30 mine trawls for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This is stated in the material of Liga.net.

The cost of one trawl is about UAH 2.5 million, but they are delivered to the frontline free of charge. The company produces up to five trawls per month. According to Metinvest’s Chief Operating Officer Alexander Mironenko, this figure meets the current demand of the Ukrainian army.

“If the army’s demand grows, we can increase production volumes, but we need to get a government order for this,” he explained.

The Group’s specialists launched the production of mine trawls, special structures that are mounted on tanks to defuse anti-tank and anti-personnel mines, in the summer of 2023. They consist of heavy metal wheels mounted on a steel base – canopies attached to the front of the vehicle.

While moving, the trawl presses down on the ground in front of the combat vehicle. If there are mines on the way, the structure activates them with its own weight, causing them to explode under it, not under the main vehicle. This protects the crew and equipment from damage.

The set of trawls manufactured by Metinvest looks like large metal rollers that rotate while moving, with a total weight of up to 6.5 tons.

Metinvest’s mine-clearing trawls were produced in response to a request from the Ukrainian military and are an important part of the counteroffensive. They are based on the Soviet KMT-7 roller mine countermeasures, from which the company’s specialists have made their own improved analog.

“The KMT-7 is a fairly successful prototype of a mine trawl, which is why it was chosen as a model for improvement. Metinvest, in cooperation with the military, made adjustments to simplify its use on the front line while simultaneously increasing its efficiency. Specifically, the system for detaching the trawl from a combat vehicle was upgraded: the trawls are equipped with a mechanical discharge system, a process that can optionally be automated,” said Olexander Mironenko.

Metinvest engineers also took into account the peculiarity of combat vehicles that do not have mounts for hanging the trawl – universal adapters are included in the kit for such vehicles.

Metinvest’s mine trawls have passed all the necessary tests required by the Ministry of Defense, and all products are immediately sent to the front. In 2023, the first to receive them were the National Guard and Land Forces brigades.

The company has also launched the production of spare parts for the rapid repair of trawls after use in the field. The repair kits contain a set of wheels – three units per trawl. These are the parts that are subject to the greatest stress and damage during demining.

As part of the Steel Front military initiative, Metinvest has produced armored protection for the MIM-104 Patriot control module, which protects the Ukrainian sky from enemy attacks.