One Step Beyond – Mines – Afghanistan – TS-50

TS-50 is a resilient plastic-cased scatterable Anti-Personnel (AP) blast mine. The mine is constructed from three main assemblies: the top and bottom screw onto a central section housing the fuze mechanism. The rubberised pressure pad, reinforced with either a metal or plastic plate (specified by the customer) seals the cavity in the top of the mine. In the central section, the fuze has a spring-loaded striker retained by two balls in a collar within a pivoting plastic arm. At one end of the arm is a small spring to hold it in position, at the other there is a small inflatable bladder. The bladder is fitted onto an air metering disc which contains a tiny passageway to conduct air from the upper cavity into the bladder. The base section holds the main charge and has a central threaded detonator well. During transit a blue plug is fitted; this is replaced by the body-coloured stab-sensitive M41 detonator assembly during arming. The mine has a rigid plastic safety cap and is produced in olive green and sand colours, with other options available.

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