Profile
- Type
- Minimum-metal blast anti-personnel mine
- Origin
- Italy
- Service note
- Cold War export-era anti-personnel mine encountered in legacy minefields
Infantry Weapons
TS-50 anti-personnel mine
The TS-50 is an Italian minimum-metal blast anti-personnel mine built around a small pressure-actuated plastic body. In the Nagorno-Karabakh archive it represents legacy mine-warfare contamination: Landmine Monitor identified Italian TS-50 mines among commonly used mines from the earlier fighting, while later mine-action reporting shows legacy minefields remained a clearance issue after the 2020 war.
- Built by
- Tecnovar Italiana SpA
- Built in
- Italy
Service History
- In service
- Exported anti-personnel mine type documented in Nagorno-Karabakh legacy contamination
- Used by
- Fighting parties in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
- Wars
- Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict
Production History
- Designer
- Tecnovar Italiana SpA
- Designed
- 1970s
- Built by
- Tecnovar Italiana SpA
- Built in
- Italy
- Unit cost
- Not publicly reported
- Produced
- Cold War era; production ceased after Italy joined the Mine Ban Treaty
- Number built
- Not publicly reported
- Variants
- TS/50, T/79 Egyptian licensed-production designation, YM-1 Iranian copy
Specifications
- Diameter
- 92 mm in Italy's Mine Ban Treaty reporting; often listed as 90 mm in ordnance references
- Height
- 45 mm
- Weight
- 206 g in Italy's Mine Ban Treaty reporting
- Explosive fill
- 15 g T4/RDX in Italy's Mine Ban Treaty reporting
- Fuzing
- Pressure-actuated blast mine with minimal metal content
- Deployment
- Hand-emplaced or scatterable; described in ordnance references as blast-resistant against explosive clearance methods
Conflict Usage
- Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict
- Side: ArmeniaArtsakhRole: Legacy anti-personnel minefield contamination
Landmine Monitor reported the Italian TS-50 among the commonly used anti-personnel mines in the Nagorno-Karabakh fighting, while later HALO reporting describes continuing legacy minefield contamination after the 2020 war; the source attributes use to fighting parties rather than a single force.
TS-50 anti-personnel mine Images
Related Weapon Systems
MON-series anti-personnel mineDirectional fragmentation anti-personnel mine familyThe MON series is a Soviet/Russian family of directional fragmentation anti-personnel mines, including MON-50, MON-90, MON-100, and MON-200 patterns that project preformed fragments across a defined sector. In the Nagorno-Karabakh context, direct postwar reporting identifies MON-50 finds rather than every family member, so this entry records the series cautiously as MON-family mine warfare evidence tied to Armenian/Artsakh defensive mining and later clearance.
PMN-1/2/4Antipersonnel blast mine familyThe PMN-1/2/4 family covers Soviet and Russian pressure-activated antipersonnel blast mines used to deny foot movement and injure personnel at close range. PMN-1 and PMN-2 are Soviet designs, while PMN-4 is a later Russian circular plastic-cased mine; all three are relevant to mine-contamination reporting in and around Ukraine, where PMN-2 and PMN-4 examples have been documented during the Russia-Ukraine War..jpg?width=480)
POMZ-2Stake-mounted antipersonnel fragmentation mineThe POMZ-2 is a Soviet stake-mounted antipersonnel fragmentation mine built around a serrated cast-iron body, TNT charge, and pull-fuze tripwire. In the Nagorno-Karabakh context it appears as part of the Soviet-leftover antipersonnel mine stocks reported by Nagorno-Karabakh authorities, with broader defensive mine use documented along the line of contact with Azerbaijan.
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Explosively formed penetrator improvised explosive deviceImprovised explosive deviceThis Hamas-linked explosively formed penetrator improvised explosive device is a locally made anti-armor charge built around a concave copper liner. During the Israel-Hamas War, IDF seizures in Gaza and press briefings tied Shawaz EFP variants to Hamas's armored-vehicle threat and October 7 attack kits.
Fragmentation hand grenadeHand grenadeFragmentation hand grenades are compact anti-personnel explosives that split their casing into lethal fragments after a short delay. In the Israel-Hamas War, Hamas militants were documented using grenades in the October 7 attacks on shelters and homes in southern Israel, where the weapon's close-quarters effect mattered most.Sources
Landmine Monitor Report 2000: Nagorny-KarabakhPublisher: Human Rights Watch / Landmine Monitor | Note: Supports Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict direct use: TS-50 anti-personnel mines were used by fighting parties during the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict, with the report naming Italian TS-50 mines among commonly used types and noting extensive anti-personnel mine use. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Mine Action in Nagorno KarabakhPublisher: The HALO Trust / Mine Action Support Group | Note: Supports background context that legacy minefield contamination remained a mine-action issue in Nagorno-Karabakh after the 2020 war; it does not identify TS-50 mines by type. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Italian Landmine, APERS, TS-50Publisher: Bulletpicker | Note: Supports ordnance background describing the TS-50 as an Italian pressure-actuated, blast, hand-emplaced or scatterable anti-personnel landmine. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Italy Article 7 Report for 2022Publisher: Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention | Note: Supports official Italian technical characteristics for the TS/50 mine, including dimensions, explosive content, low detectability, and weight. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Commons Tecnovar TS-50 ImagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for the primary TS-50 image, marked as CC0/public-domain dedication on Commons. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Commons Landmine Display ImagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for a display image whose structured data identifies a depicted TS-50/YM-1 mine; licensed CC BY 2.0 on Commons. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Commons TS-50 Anti-Personnel Mine ImagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for an additional TS-50 anti-personnel mine photograph licensed CC BY-SA 3.0 on Commons. | Accessed: 2026-06-20