Alternative Technologies to Replace Antipersonnel Landmines

Download or read book Alternative Technologies to Replace Antipersonnel Landmines written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2001-03-21 with total page 140 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines potential technologies for replacing antipersonnel landmines by 2006, the U.S. target date for signing an international treaty banning these weapons. Alternative Technologies to Replace Antipersonnel Landmines emphasizes the role that technology can play to allow certain weapons to be used more selectively, reducing the danger to uninvolved civilians while improving the effectiveness of the U.S. military. Landmines are an important weapon in the U.S. military’s arsenal but the persistent variety can cause unintended casualties, to both civilians and friendly forces. New technologies could replace some, but not all, of the U.S. military’s antipersonnel landmines by 2006. In the period following 2006, emerging technologies might eliminate the landmine totally, while retaining the necessary functionalities that today’s mines provide to the military.