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Finland - Mine Warfare

In Finland, the only weapon system that can and should be used in a threatening situation, right before a war with another state or alliance, can justifiably be called the only strategic weapon weapon in the country. A mine is thus a powerful tool for crisis management. Mines are a mass weapon by their nature. It is relatively inexpensive as a single weapon and, if used with its surprise and destructive power, it is a highly effective weapon. Maximum power and best coverage are achieved by using both modern excitement mines and old high-value contact mines together.

By lowering the mines to the narrow slopes of Finlands broken coast, the Navy can effectively close the landing approaches. The timely use of mines can multiply the threshold of attack against the country. Declaring Finnish territorial waters, or parts thereof, to be mined forces the attack to consider whether it can neutralize the sea mines. Neutralizing the sea mines will take weeks, months, even years, even if work can be done without disruption. In order to be able to use mines in unexpected situations, Finland must have sufficient mine clearance capacity at all times in high readiness. The ability to operate in frozen ice is important in situations where the loading sites of mine stockpiles are frozen, but the areas to be mined are still open.

Mine use is largely planned in advance for different situations. Mines are a part of the entire naval firefighting and mine planning and drilling require close collaboration between navy and coastal forces Operational need for a class of vessels In addition to sea mines, the essential equipment for mine clearance is central to maritime activities. The mining unit is a mobile defense system, the importance of which is emphasized already in the early stages of the crisis. Mining aims to demonstrate a willingness to defend and prevent the free use of our territorial waters, as well as to protect maritime traffic in the areas of destination. In the event of a war threat, minelaying seeks to raise the threshold of the attack. When a potential attack occurs, the mines prevent the attacker from gaining access to the tracks leading to the harbor and landing beaches.

In order to provide sufficient depth in the seabeds, it must be possible to start mine action quickly. It is also necessary to be able to rapidly initiate a sea freeze on several stretches of coastline, even at the same time. Protective mines for defense readiness are generally calculated offshore to the territorial sea, the mouths of major shipping lanes. The main focus areas of mine clearance are, for example, the metropolitan area and the Åland Islands, where mine clearance must be possible in all visibility and weather conditions and in case of force majeure.

During World War II, some 60,000 sea mines were laid in the Gulf of Finland and the Northern Baltic Sea. The post-war clearance period lasted for several years, during which the Finns cleared nearly 10,000 mines or clearing barriers. The clearance task was demanding, dangerous, and of considerable scale, and no casualties were avoided. The fleet was also very different and more modest than today: some of them even operate on steam engines.

A major refurbishment of the Navy's mine clearance began in the early 1970s. Wake-up sharpeners and magnetic-acoustic clearance were introduced in England and Sweden, among others. A new era was entered when the Kuha and Kiiski class clearers designed for wake-up call were completed in the mid-1970s.

International cooperation has always been linked to the development of anti-personnel mines. Co-operation on mine development has been extensive, covering material procurement, training, maintenance training, research and development and training. The aim of the co-operation is primarily to develop the defense of Finland, the main task of the Defense Forces. The development of anti-personnel mines has always been at the forefront of international naval action.

Cooperation with Germany and Estonia was emphasized in the post-World War I mine clearance. After World War II, efforts were made to develop experience in the development of anti-personnel mines in the United Kingdom, Norway, Denmark and Sweden. Sweden's importance as a major partner dates back to the 1960s.

Mining in demanding situations and conditions can only be carried out with sufficiently seaworthy, well-protected and technically well-equipped mine ships. In order to meet the operational objectives of the de-icing, the Navy requires both mine-capable offshore vessels and lighter mining units at the outer and outer archipelago. In the 1990s, the Navy had only one modern offshore mine, Ostrobothnia mine, which was completed in 1957. Another offshore mine, Keihässalmi, was completed in 1957 and had to be replaced by a new unit.

As the 2010s approached, minefields entered a new era. The contract for the supply of new anti-personnel vessels was drawn up following a competitive bidding process with the Italian Intermarine shipyard in 2006 and delivered to Finland in 2012-2016. In addition, the acquisition included a Mine Warfare Data Center (MWDC), spare parts for the Katanpää class, and an extensive training package.

The Kuha and Kiiski classes, on the other hand, were designed specifically for wake-up operations. Alarm mines explode even without contact, only as a result of, for example, changes in the movement of water or magnetism, and from an audible alarm. This sets its own requirements for clearing.

Katanpää-class ships have an electric driveline against the sound of the noise, which makes driving almost silent underwater. Similarly, the ship's propulsion solution minimizes the excitation caused by cavitation. The magnetism of the vessel is minimized by the fact that the structures are composite based, ie practically glass and carbon fiber. The advantage of the structural solution is the so-called shock resistance, ie the ability to absorb the pressure shot from the mine, since the fiberglass body is somewhat flexible.

Finnish mine-laying capabilities have evolved considerably in recent years. The navy received two large and efficient mineships, Hämeenmaa and Uusimaa, and three Pansio-class minesweepers. The minesweeps are as large as the retired old minesweeper Keihässalmi. The Navy has a sufficient selection of both touch and trigger mines. In addition to the range of mines, a coastal mine used by coastal artillery has been added in recent years to cover the area between sea mines and land mines.