The Small U.S. Weapon That’s Making Life Miserable for Russia in Ukraine

Wes O'Donnell
3 min readFeb 14, 2023

While everyone is talking about Western tanks, Bradleys, and even F-16s, there is a diminutive U.S. weapon system that is having an outsized impact in Eastern Ukraine.

The Remote Anti-Armor Mine System (RAAM) is a devious bit of U.S. kit that allows an army to seed landmines over a large area from a distance.

The key capability here is that these mines are delivered by a 155mm artillery shell from miles away.

The RAAM artillery shell is stuffed with no less than nine anti-tank mines providing an excellent stand-off area denial capability to Ukraine forces.

Public domain.

These mines can be delivered at ranges from 4 to 17.6 kilometers from the artillery battery position using either the M109, M198, or M777 series howitzers.

The mines are expelled from the rear of the projectile over the target and after impact, the mine is armed and ready to detonate upon sensing an electromagnetic armored vehicle signature.

The results have been devastating to Russian forces:

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Wes O'Donnell

US Army & US Air Force Veteran | Global Security Writer | Intel Forecaster | Law Student | TEDx Speaker | Pro Democracy | Pro Human | Hates Authoritarians