Main image: The sapper installs the Spalah demining systems. Suspilne Kharkiv/Viktoria Yakymenko
A sapper known as 'Lysnyk,' who worked in engineering in the timber industry before mobilization, has created a mine clearance system called 'Spalah' that neutralizes unexploded ordnance.
According to Suspilne, the system destroys hazardous items using a cumulative method. It was developed through overseas trips and training with foreign military forces, as well as old Soviet-era books, and helps to destroy or neutralize explosives using a small amount of explosives.
"For example, we have around 500 grams of plastic explosives. On average, we use 30 grams per system to destroy ordnance. With a 200-gram Soviet TNT charge, I can destroy, for example, an antipersonnel mine PMN-1, PMN-2, or PMN-4. Using the cumulative method, I can destroy a mine with just 15 grams," said 'Lysnyk'.
The military refers to this method as the universal modular cumulative system Spalah and Spalah +. The explosives are placed inside a 3D-printed casing, to which legs are attached. The sapper mentioned that he saw similar devices during training abroad, but recreating the system took about a year.
Currently, Spalah is manufactured by a private company. The cumulative system has passed state testing and is used by the Defense Forces. A set of 10 casings costs 5,500 UAH, and the company can produce up to 10,000 units per month.
