Ukraine develops mine-resistant boots for sappers

The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine is developing special footwear for sappers.

Militarnyi reported on this with reference to the official website of the Ministry of Defense.

These are protective boots designed to reduce the risk of injuries to the soldiers’ feet during demining. The special footwear is designed to prevent the damaging effect of an anti-personnel explosive device.

Currently, the Central Logistics Development and Support Directorate and the Command of the Support Forces are conducting tests.

“In fact, these are multilayer boots with Kevlar (ballistic) insoles. The footwear will help to trap the debris in the sole and prevent serious injuries,” said Vitalii Polovenko, Deputy Minister of Defense.

According to him, the main task of such shoes is to preserve limbs.

According to the preliminary requirements, mine-resistant boots must prevent the damaging effect of certain types of anti-personnel explosive devices.

Polovenko explained that specialists from the Central Logistics Development and Support Directorate were currently studying various samples of such footwear. They are also working on improving the specifications.

“Based on the results of positive tests and the approved prototype, such mine-resistant footwear will be supplied to the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” said the Deputy Minister.

Demining is a serious challenge for Ukraine due to the large number of explosive devices in various regions that pose a high risk to the military and civilians.

A private enterprise in Kharkiv produces special mine-resistant shoes for sappers. The shoes have special “legs” that are attached to the sole, which is why they are called “spider” shoes. Thanks to this design, the epicenter of the explosion is moved away from the sapper’s foot, and the energy of the explosion is absorbed by these “paws”. This makes it possible to avoid traumatic amputation of the limb.

3D printers are used to make the “spiders”. It takes about 22 hours to print one part.