PMA-2 mine

After removing the arming pin, sufficient pressure on the plunger (by the victim's foot) forces it downwards into the main fuze body, which ignites a friction-sensitive pyrotechnic composition.

However, although this mine is not completely concealed (unlike so many others), it can be very difficult to spot it, particularly in heavy undergrowth or leaf litter.

Alternatively, they may be buried diagonal to the ground surface, in such a way that the star-shaped plunger (now completely hidden underground) is facing a deminer's clearance probe.

Although the blast wound from a PMA-2 mine is unlikely to be fatal, it usually destroys the victim's foot, thereby leading to some form of permanent disability regarding their gait.

Examples of the PMA-2 mine have been found in Albania, Angola, Bosnia, Cambodia, Croatia, Serbia, Zimbabwe and Namibia.