Why can’t you see the holes where they placed the mines from a helicopter?
Anti tank mines are buried so after some time they are basically invisible. If they are lucky it might be recently placed (dirt is still visibility disturbed) or places poorly and they can find them.
Anti personal mines are straight up too small to see from the air. Google butterfly mines. Almost impossible to see in some of the dense foliage.
Also flying shit in an active combat zone often gets shot down.
Is there no machine that can “see” underground and help locate them?
There is metal detectors which are widely used. But very hard to use in a combat zone. Anything bigger would trip the mine.
Speaking of big things triggering it, it also happens to also be a way they clear it. They attach these big disposable wheels to the front of tanks which activates the mines. They are just extremely slow and once again hard to use in an active combat zone.
Is there no way to just spray a bunch of objects in the field and detonate them?
They do something similar actually, instead it’s a huge rope of explosives that blows open a corridor. It gets shot out of a vehicle using rockets. But the amount of explosive used is not cheap so limited supplies and it’s also a very dangerous target due to the amount of explosives needed. Some of the biggest explosions I have seen online have been from these mine clearing vehicles.
Almost seems like it would be more economic to lay down a piercing line of accurate/heavy shelling from close range artillery that could saturate an area. You see images of normal shelling it it’s already close to full saturation so it seems doable for closer-range / focused fire
Anti tank mines are buried so after some time they are basically invisible. If they are lucky it might be recently placed (dirt is still visibility disturbed) or places poorly and they can find them.
Anti personal mines are straight up too small to see from the air. Google butterfly mines. Almost impossible to see in some of the dense foliage.
Also flying shit in an active combat zone often gets shot down.
There is metal detectors which are widely used. But very hard to use in a combat zone. Anything bigger would trip the mine.
Speaking of big things triggering it, it also happens to also be a way they clear it. They attach these big disposable wheels to the front of tanks which activates the mines. They are just extremely slow and once again hard to use in an active combat zone.
They do something similar actually, instead it’s a huge rope of explosives that blows open a corridor. It gets shot out of a vehicle using rockets. But the amount of explosive used is not cheap so limited supplies and it’s also a very dangerous target due to the amount of explosives needed. Some of the biggest explosions I have seen online have been from these mine clearing vehicles.
Almost seems like it would be more economic to lay down a piercing line of accurate/heavy shelling from close range artillery that could saturate an area. You see images of normal shelling it it’s already close to full saturation so it seems doable for closer-range / focused fire