Finland to Spend €100m on 1 Million Anti-Personnel Mines After Ottawa Exit

Finland will allocate €100 million for domestic production of approximately one million anti-personnel landmines, Colonel Riku Mikkonen, inspector of the Finnish Engineering Corps, has confirmed — the country's first replenishment since it withdrew from the Ottawa Convention in January 2026.

Finland left the anti-personnel landmine ban alongside Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, citing Russia's perceived threat. The planned stockpile matches the quantity Finland held before signing the convention in 2012.

Production is scheduled to begin in 2028, with multiple Finnish suppliers required to manufacture mine bodies and supply fuses and explosive charges. Finnish companies already hold designs, raw materials and production lines suited to the requirement, according to Mikkonen. The plan covers two types: modern pipe mines and pressure-activated anti-personnel mines.

Mikkonen said "the product we are looking for at this stage is simple" and explained that it needs to be easy to manufacture and easy to use. He added that Finland is also conducting research into more advanced models, potentially including scatterable and directional fragmentation mines, for a subsequent phase.

Sourcing domestically carries a strategic advantage: most other European countries remain Ottawa signatories, barring their industries from manufacturing the weapons. A training programme for the mines' use has already been incorporated into the 2026 conscript intake.

Mikkonen said preparations and a market survey are still under way before production contracts are placed, and that multiple suppliers will be needed across the supply chain.