In the early eighties, a new "family of scattered mines" Family of Scatterable Mines / FASCAM entered service with the US Army. To use ammunition of this line, several remote mining systems have been developed. One of them was the M131 MOPMS device, made in the form of a portable container of small dimensions. A set of several such containers could, at a given moment in time, mine the terrain by creating a new barrier or supplementing the existing one.
New installation tools
Since the mid-seventies, two remote mining systems have been developed for the use of FASCAM mines. The first was the towed M128 GEMMS centrifugal type. Together with it, it was proposed to use a compact portable device Modular Pack Mine System ("Modular container mining system") or MOPMS.
Development work on MOPMS continued until 1982-83, after which a new model of engineering equipment entered service. The finished container for the installation of mines received the official designation M131. This product was supposed to use mines like M77 and M78 for different purposes.
Of particular interest is the classification of the MOPMS complex. Its container M131, according to American documents, is a remote mining system. At the same time, the products M77 and M78 are not considered mines. They are classified as submunitions, although the M131 is not a cassette. The reason for all this is the specific architecture of the MOPMS system and the special ways of setting the mines.
Mine container
The M131 MOPMS has a metal case measuring less than 700 x 500 mm and weighs 120 pounds (less than 55 kg) in the firing position. The body is made in the form of a metal box with a rectangular lid. The latter is installed on the product during assembly and cannot be removed. There are seven round holes with metal lids on top of the container. Six caps form a semicircle, while the seventh is on the longitudinal line of the product near its center. On one of the walls there is a control panel with connectors for connecting external devices.
For the convenience of personnel, two pairs of carrying handles are hinged on the long sides of the container. They are pulled apart, and the product forms a kind of stretcher. M131 can be easily transferred to a future minefield and installed by a two-man crew. The container is transported over long distances by any available transport.
The main part of the internal volumes of MOPMS is occupied by inclined launchers-silos for containers with mines. Tubular mines are located in a semicircle with an outward slope, which ensures the spread of mines on the ground. An electrical control system with its own power source is connected to the launchers.
When assembling the M131 container at the factory, a cassette with three mines of the FASCAM family was placed in each launcher. For the MOPMS mining system, ammunition of the M77 and M78 types was offered. The mines had the same dimensions (diameter 120 mm, height 66 mm), but differed in weight, internal equipment and purpose. The M77 was an anti-personnel weapon, the M78 was an anti-tank.
The FASCAM anti-personnel mine for the M131 weighed 1.41 kg and carried 410 g of explosive. The mine was triggered when displaced from the installation site; target sensors were eight nylon threads scattered around. The M78 anti-tank mine weighed 1.7 kg, carried a two-sided shaped charge weighing 585 g and received a magnetic target sensor. M78 could hit an armored vehicle in the bottom; effective destruction of caterpillars was excluded. The M77 and M78 mines were self-destructive.
The MOPMS mining system housed seven cassettes with 21 mines of two types. Standard equipment included 17 M78 and 4 M77 products. Cassettes with anti-personnel "submunitions" were installed in the hull, taking into account their uniform dispersion over the terrain. Each cassette had its own expelling charge. The cassette threw out all the mines at once.
The M131 complex included several different consoles. The container's own console performed only basic functions. A remote control of the M71 type controlled the shooting of mines, and was also responsible for programming the self-liquidators by radio. He could control 15 containers within a 1 km radius. Also, the M131 container was compatible with the M32 and M34 radio remote controls. All radio systems made it possible to control self-liquidators or to manually detonate mines.
The alternative was the standard blasting machine. It provided only the release of mines at the command of the operator. When using the machine, the self-liquidators retained the initial setting - 4 hours.
Application features
According to the statutes, the M131 MOPMS remote mining system could be used as an independent engineering tool or as an addition to other equipment. In all cases, its application was not difficult. When organizing a minefield, sappers had to place the required number of containers on the ground according to the required scheme, and also connect them to control systems.
The MOPMS combat-ready complex could at any time carry out the setting of mines. Until the operator's command, the mines remained in cassettes and did not pose a danger to their troops. Thus, with independent use of the M131, units could move through a future minefield without fear of their own ammunition.
On command from the control panel, the M131 system emitted mines. Due to the inclination and dilution of launchers, mines scattered within a semicircle with a radius of 35 m. Thus, one MOPMS installation mined an area 70 m wide in front and 35 m in depth. 1 mine on average fell on 3.3 m of the front. In this case, a dangerous zone was formed around the container. On a plot measuring 55 m forward and to the sides, as well as 20 m back, it could be from 1 to 4 minutes. The rest lay down in a calculated semicircle with a radius of 35 m. 2 minutes after leaving the cassette, the M77 and M78 products were on a combat platoon.
A separate area with mines from one container 131 was called a minefield module. Such "modules" could be used in different ways, both independently and in groups. In the first case, the 21-mine section was supposed to close the gaps in the previously placed barriers. In particular, the joint operation of the GEMMS and MOPMS systems was envisaged. A large number of M131 containers were proposed to be used to organize a large minefield. Such devices should have been staggered at intervals of 70 m along the front and 35 m in depth, which ensured continuous mining of a section of arbitrary length to a depth of 70 m.
The M131 MOPMS remote mining system with FASCAM mines was offered for solving several tactical tasks. With its help, it was possible to quickly organize mine-explosive obstacles for protective purposes, both with instant and delayed installation of mines. It provided for the use of harassing minefields, the organization of ambushes and the provision of combat operations in urban conditions.
Product service
The M131 remote mining system entered service with the American army in the early eighties and quickly became widespread. These results were facilitated by the simplicity of serial products, versatility and ease of use. The MOPMS complex with FASCAM mines turned out to be a good addition to the GEMMS towed system and other mining equipment. At the same time, in a number of cases, he showed advantages over other samples.
In 1991, the M131 MOPMS systems were first used in a real military conflict - during Operation Desert Storm. Also, similar weapons were used in subsequent wars, including again in Iraq. In real conditions, serial mining systems performed well, but difficulties arose. The specific climate of Iraq led to the rapid overheating of the electronics of the M77 and M78 mines and disabled some of the circuits. So, about 20% of ammunition was denied by self-liquidators, which added work to the engineering troops.
Nevertheless, the operation of the M131 systems continued. These containers remain in service to this day - unlike some other mining systems for ammunition of the FASCAM family. Currently, the development of promising models of mine weapons and means of its installation is underway, but new products cannot yet replace existing ones. The M131 MOPMS system remains in service and will be in service for the foreseeable future.
