MOSCOW, June 9. /TASS/. Servicemen of a Novosibirsk-based missile formation of Russia’s Strategic Missile Force have used the Listva remote-controlled robotic mine-clearing vehicle for the first time in tactical drills, the Defense Ministry of Russia reported on Saturday.

"The Novosibirsk missile formation used the newest Listva remote-controlled mine-clearing vehicle to escort Yars road-mobile missile complexes along the routes of combat patrolling," the Defense Ministry said, adding that the most advanced mine-clearing vehicle had been used only in military exercises before that.

According to the tactical drills’ scenario, notional subversion groups planted ten remote-controlled explosives along the route of the column’s movement. The roadside bombs were intended to be detonated but were detected by the vehicle’s emitters. The explosives were blown up before the column of Yars missile complexes started its movement and all the planted bombs were destroyed. The Yars complexes stayed at a large distance from the explosions.

The robotic mine-clearing vehicle destroyed the explosives both on the roadside and at a distance of 50 meters from the road.

As Russia’s Defense Ministry also reported, more than 300 pieces of engineering hardware are scheduled for delivery to the engineering units of Russia’s Strategic Missile Force by 2020. These include obstacle-clearing vehicles, heavy mechanized bridges, excavators, automobile cranes and other engineering equipment. Wheeled road vehicles designed specially for Russia’s Strategic Missile Force this year will account for over 50% of all engineering hardware.

The Listva remote-controlled mine-clearing vehicle developed specially for the Strategic Missile Force is designed to detect mines and explosives with metal elements and destroy engineer explosive items and improvised explosive devices with electronic components. Explosive devices are detected with the use of an induction wide-span search module.

The Listva clears mines and explosives using electromagnetic radiation. The vehicle disables and blocks electronic components of detonators or blows them up. Earlier, this technology was not used for eliminating explosives at a distance. The Listva’s electronics can detect mines and roadside bombs at a distance of up to 100 meters.