September 12 - Air Charter International has handled the shipment of an outsized mine clearing machine and spare parts from Europe to Bagram airbase in Afghanistan, to assist with the country's efforts to be free of Unexploded Ordnance (UXOs) by 2013.
The machine was split up into three pieces and accompanied by a 20 ft container containing tools, spare parts, oil and lubricants. The total weight of the cargo was approx 40 tonnes and was transported by a Russian Ilyushin 76 ramp loader to Afghanistan.
"This was an extremely complex task which required proper organisation and preparation," said Claire Brugirard, commercial manager at Air Charter International.
Each year since mine clearance work started in Afghanistan, over 80,000 anti-personnel mines, 100 anti-tank mines and 2.5 million explosive remnants are being destroyed. As a result mine related casualties have significantly dropped.
The machine was transported to Bagram for a commercial leader in the environmental remediation of landmine,UXO and Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) pollution, clearing battlefields and the management of conventional weapons worldwide.
