Pipe and pronged mine. LEHTIKUVA / HEIKKI SAUKKOMAA / sl
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A Finnish defence company has become one of the first to publicly express interest in manufacturing anti-personnel landmines following the government’s decision to withdraw from the Ottawa Treaty.
Insta, a private technology and defence firm, said it would consider entering landmine production if the government authorises their use.
The company already collaborates with the Finnish Defence Forces and is developing a remotely detonated “bounding mine”.
“If the decision is taken that we as a nation permit landmines again, of course we want to look from that point forward how we can be involved in the context of our strategic partnership,” CEO Tapio Kolunsarka told Reuters.
Kolunsarka added that no final decision on starting production had been made.
Finland announced on Tuesday that it intends to leave the 1997 Ottawa Convention, which bans the use, stockpiling, production, and transfer of anti-personnel landmines. The decision is based on concerns over long-term threats posed by Russia. Finland, a NATO member since 2023, shares a 1,300-kilometre border with Russia.
Insta’s bounding mine is designed to launch into the air before detonating and releasing projectiles, similar in function to traditional mines but operated remotely. The device has been under development as a substitute for the over one million landmines Finland destroyed after joining the treaty in 2012.
The move comes as other regional NATO allies take similar steps. Last month, Poland and the Baltic states—Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania—announced their intention to leave the treaty, citing security threats from Russia.
Finland was the last European Union country to join the treaty, which took effect in 1999. Its withdrawal would allow the government to legally stockpile and deploy anti-personnel mines, marking a significant shift in defence policy.
Critics of the move include international disarmament organisations and humanitarian groups, who have described the treaty withdrawals as a serious setback to global mine bans.
The Finnish government is expected to submit a formal withdrawal proposal to Parliament before the summer recess. Once approved, the exit would take effect six months after notification is received by the United Nations Secretary-General, the treaty’s depositary.
The announcement follows a broader rearmament programme by Finland, including a planned increase in defence spending to at least 3 percent of GDP by 2029 and renewed investment in land-based military capabilities.
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Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
