Life-Saving Innovations: How Technology Is Transforming Humanitarian Demining in Ukraine

Maksym Tkachenko, Co-founder of the Public Union Ukrainian Demining Cluster

 

Over 137,000 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory are potentially contaminated with explosive ordnance.

In such a heavily mine-contaminated environment, Ukraine can no longer treat demining as a narrowly technical or purely security-related task. Today, it is a fundamental pillar of national recovery. And it is technology that has become the key to large-scale, rapid, and safe clearance of Ukrainian land. When the number of explosive remnants of war (ERW) on liberated territories reaches into the millions, manual clearance by sappers remains extremely dangerous and costly. At the same time, innovative solutions are making this process safer and more affordable.

From “Pencils” to Lasers: A New Generation of Tools

In the field, sappers most often use a device commonly known as a “pencil” — a special pyrotechnic tool for thermally neutralizing explosive objects. It works by applying directed heat to burn through the munition. While effective, this is an outdated method that requires close physical proximity to the ERW, posing a direct threat to the deminer’s life. The “pencil” is single-use, and in some areas, hundreds or even thousands of such procedures may be required. In peacetime and with low clearance volumes, the “pencil” may still be a practical tool. But under Ukraine’s current conditions — with millions of explosive objects — this approach slows down operations, carries high risks, and incurs significant costs.

This is why Ukrainian engineers and researchers at the country’s only R&D hub dedicated to mine action are developing solutions that enable ERW neutralization to be done remotely, without direct contact, and with minimal costs. These technologies don’t eliminate the human factor — they elevate the field of demining to a new, safer, and more advanced level. Here, solutions are emerging that can reduce the cost per neutralization, minimize risks to personnel, and accelerate land clearance.

Hydro-Jet: Water Pressure Instead of Explosives

One such innovation is the “hydro-jet” system for destroying explosive ordnance. This is a robotic ground-based demining drone equipped with a specialized device that neutralizes ERW using high-pressure water. The principle is simple but effective: a powerful water jet destroys the explosive object.This method is significantly safer for human operators and can be integrated into remotely operated robotic platforms — especially valuable for demining in complex environments such as forests, fields, or roads.

Field tests of the hydro-jet system were conducted together with partners from the R&D hub — the Ukrainian National Association of Humanitarian Demining, deminers from Ukrainian Demining Services and International Demining Group, and engineers from the Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute. At one stage, after a series of refinements, the device successfully destroyed an 82 mm mortar shell with a cast-iron casing nearly 10 mm thick.

Laser Technology: The Contactless Future Is Here

Another technology currently undergoing testing at the R&D hub involves laser-based systems capable of destroying ERW weighing up to 500 grams from distances ranging between 10 and 1000 meters, using pulsed laser heating. All without any physical contact with the object.

Here’s how it works: laser sensors identify ERW based on the reflected spectral signature. The laser units are mounted on unmanned ground vehicles equipped with GPS, AI, and 3D navigation. Target neutralization time: 5 to 10 seconds.

Advantages include high targeting precision, complete absence of physical contact with the munition, low cost per neutralization, and suitability for use in swamps, forested areas, and roadways.

This technology has no analogs in widespread application, but its potential is enormous.

A team of engineers has already conducted field trials of laser units with power outputs of 350 W and 1.5 kW at the Ukrainian Training and Testing Complex (UTTC), established by the initiative of the Ministry of Defense’s Mine Action Directorate.

Scaling and Support Are Crucial

Innovations must not gather dust in workshops or stall at the field testing stage. For these technologies to make a real impact on the pace of humanitarian demining, systematic support from the government is essential — as is the involvement of international partners. Equally important is the inclusion of these solutions into Ukraine’s national humanitarian demining standards.

Ukraine has a unique opportunity to become a global leader in the development of innovative approaches to humanitarian demining. Our conditions, our experience, and our engineering teams are already creating technologies that may soon be used around the world. But this requires investment, scaling, and political will.

Lower costs, remote safety, and effectiveness are no longer futuristic dreams in the world of humanitarian demining — they are real outcomes enabled by engineering, science, collaboration, and the courage to innovate.