[senortumnus]

Antipersonnel mines absolutely should have an expiry date after which they are no longer triggered by the depression of their sensor. Issue is, these things are mass manufactured and probably have some defect rate which increases with time after deployment. So they couldn’t be trusted to be ‘safe’ after expiring anyway. But still would save lives & limbs to have a mechanism like that built in.

[SV_BubbleTime]

That’s just not how explosives work.

Any detonator explosive to set of a main charge must be reliable for dozens of good reasons. Over time an as a required condition. Asking for something decays or approaches an unreliable state after time is a non-starter.

Another user pointed to a basically failed electronic program, but even then, you have to detonate the mines, you can’t just disarm them and make the highly efficient explosives ready for other uses. You wouldn’t ever give your enemy deliveries of repackagable charges.

[Semaphor]

Another user pointed out [0] that such a system does exist.

[0]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33797151

[Hithredin]

From a strategic perspective, obsolescent mines make total sense. I wonder why it is not the norm.

Country usually don't wage war just to destroy (Seeing Ukraine, not so sure anymore). But to own and use the land. This allow to keep the territory futureproof. While for the defender it's even more logic.

Long live mines are only useful around long term places: military base, korean border, ...

[ClumsyPilot]

So in your post to incorrect others on 'thats not how explosives work' you got absolutely everything wrong about how explosives work. Typical HN.

> You wouldn’t ever give your enemy deliveries of repackagable charges.

Where did you get this preposterous idea? Do you imagine a major military will send out it's soldiers to collect labdmines on purpose to dissasemble them and take out tiny amount of explosive? And after loosing dozens of soldiers and huge amount of time to get explosives of dubious age and quality, do what with it?

[SV_BubbleTime]

>Do you imagine a major military will send out it's soldiers to collect labdmines on purpose to dissasemble them and take out tiny amount of explosive?

I literally said the complete opposite of that by saying the mines have to self-destruct. They still need to explode. Try another read of the original post.

I worked with an EOD group in OIF. Where do you think IEDs come from? You think farmers and merchants are mixing ANFO in their huts? No, it's all seconardy explosives they we "donate".

Tell me more.

[ClumsyPilot]

'Where do you think IEDs come from? You think farmers and merchants are mixing ANFO in their huts?'

Tell me whwne I am wrong:

You don't lay down square miles of landmines in a conflict against insurents, i.e. Taliban. You only do area denial against real militaties.

In a conflict between any real militaties, like the recent Russia vs Ukraine, no-one is wasting their time making IEDs.