EOD teams upend training for threats from IEDs on the ground to drones in the air


The job of ordnance disposal technicians is rapidly changing. After decades of handling prevasive ground-level threats of improvised explosive devices in Afghanistan and Iraq, disposal techs are reinventing their jobs for a new threat: drones with explosives. As they adjust, they are adding drones to their own arsenals for dealing with explosives.

Over the last two decades, Army ordnance disposal technicians were tasked with rendering more than 100,000 improvised explosive devices “safe” in Iraq and Afghanistan. But as the face of warfare changes, the threat of one-way attack unmanned aerial systems and drones strapped with munitions and explosives are becoming a topic that ordnance disposal technicians are being increasingly trained on.

Read more…
Source: Task & Purpose


Sign up for our Newsletter


Related:

  • Pakistan: Terror attempt foiled as IED defused in Bajaur’s Inayat Kalay Bazaar

    September 15, 2025

    A major terrorist attack was narrowly avoided when security forces successfully defused an improvised explosive device (IED) planted in the crowded Inayat Kalay Bazaar of Bajaur district. Acting swiftly on a tip-off, bomb disposal squads from the Pakistan Army and Bajaur Police responded immediately to the scene. The teams carried out a controlled detonation, rendering the ...

  • UK: Residents evacuated while explosive item ‘made safe’ in Yorkshire neighbourhood

    September 14, 2025

    Residents of a Yorkshire neighbourhood who had been evacuated from their homes, while police investigated an explosive substance, have been able to return to their homes. Police have now reduced cordons on Lingmore Street in Leeds, after the bomb squad had “made safe” the suspiscious item. A 62-year-old man was rearrested on suspicion of possessing an ...

  • Texas: An inside look at Mesquite’s bomb squad and the high stakes work they do

    September 13, 2025

    CBS News Texas reporter Bo Evans joined the Mesquite Fire Department’s bomb squad to give viewers an inside look at how firefighters handle explosive threats. Wearing a full bomb suit designed to protect vital organs, Evans walked through the delicate process of defusing a simulated device. Read more… Source: CBS Texas/YouTube Sign up for the Counter-IED Report Newsletters The latest ...

  • Washington: Pipe bomb found in Bremerton area under bed at dead man’s home

    September 11, 2025

    The relative of a man who had recently died discovered a pipe bomb at the man’s former home. The family member was cleaning out the home in the 3000 block of Nipsic Avenue Northeast in unincorporated Bremerton on Tuesday. The 4-inch device was wrapped in tape and had a fuse on one end. The KCSO called ...

  • Slovakia: 500-pound World War II bomb found in Bratislava triggering evacuations

    September 9, 2025

    The discovery of a World War II bomb in Slovakia’s capital during construction work prompted evacuations on Tuesday, officials said. The emergency measure covered several blocks in downtown Bratislava, including a major bridge across the Danube River. Public transportation and all traffic were halted during the morning rush hour. Experts were planning to defuse the 500-pound ...

  • Netherlands: Police secure explosive device in Baarn, suspect arrested

    September 7, 2025

    Police arrested a suspect on Sunday morning after an explosive device was discovered near a home on Professor Fockema Andreaelaan in Baarn. According to RTV Utrecht, no detonation occurred. The explosive device was found around 8:30 a.m. near a car on Professor van der Potlaan, adjacent to a residential block. Authorities also focused attention on a ...

  • New Zealand: Huntly man built pipe bomb to scare off ‘undesirable’ neighbours

    September 6, 2025

    After having his belongings stolen, and the windows of his car and Kāinga Ora home smashed, Warren John Frederick Lee had had enough. The 76-year-old former quarry worker decided to make a pipe bomb, with enough ammonia to damage everything in a 1km radius of his Huntly home. The bomb then lay idle in his livingroom. ...

  • Deadly threat of unexploded bombs in the Pacific persists 80 years on

    September 6, 2025

    This year is the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, but in some countries, the trail of death and destruction continues. Bombs, nearly a century old, are still exploding, killing and maiming people and contaminating land. Four years ago, a group of young people gathered for a barbecue in a residential backyard. ...

  • U.S. Northern Command Wraps Up Arctic Edge 25

    September 5, 2025

    U.S. Northern Command successfully concluded Arctic Edge 25, a joint and combined, multidomain field training exercise conducted across Alaska from Aug. 1-31. The exercise demonstrated readiness, enhanced interoperability and advanced capabilities in the Arctic region. Key events during AE25 showcased the complexity and innovation required for Arctic operations. A joint explosive ordnance disposal team conducted mine ...

  • Kansas: Interagency Explosive Ordnance Disposal techs dispose of aerial bombs on Fort Riley

    September 4, 2025

    FORT RILEY, Kan. – Interagency Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians came together to clear more than 2,000 pounds of air-dropped bombs during a training exercise on Fort Riley, Kansas, July 14 – 18. Army EOD techs from the Fort Riley-based 630th Ordnance Company (EOD) honed their lifesaving and mission-enabling skills with EOD techs from the Nebraska Air ...

  • Morocco Strengthens Bomb Disposal Capabilities Through Advanced EOD Training

    September 4, 2025

    The United States Africa Command (USAFRICOM) and Morocco’s Royal Armed Forces (FAR) celebrated their military partnership in a capstone event recently marking the graduation of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) 3+ Phase 3 course. Moroccan Craft Products A joint statement from AFRICOM and the US mission in Morocco said today that the program marks the end ...

  • University of South Florida invention helps U.S. military counter deadly improvised explosive devices

    September 3, 2025

    It looks like a piece of plastic. But once installed, it can be the key to ensuring military equipment designed to prevent improvised explosive devices from detonating does work as intended. Members of the military across the world wear powerful radio frequency jamming devices that look like backpacks – known as Joint Counter Radio-Controlled lED ...

  • NSWC Indian Head Division Influences Future EOD Technology at National Robot Rodeo

    September 3, 2025

    AURORA, Colo. – As leaders in the explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) community, Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Division (NSWC IHD) participated in the 2025 National Robot Rodeo (NRR) event in Aurora, Colorado, August 11-15 and were among military, public safety, Department of Defense (DoD) and industry stakeholders showcasing technologies in real-world operational scenarios to determine ...

  • Ukraine: In August, units of the Ministry of Defence cleared nearly 6,000 hectares of de-occupied territory

    September 1, 2025

    Throughout August 2025, mine clearance units of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine cleared 5,973 hectares of de-occupied land of explosive hazards. Specifically, during the month, the following was cleared: 5,653.77 hectares of agricultural land; 7.64 km of roadways; 15.09 km of electric power lines; 66.94 km of railways; 9.74 hectares of water bodies. Throughout the ...

  • Russia: Sappers defuse over 13,800 explosives in Kursk Region in one year

    August 31, 2025

    Sappers have defused more than 13,800 explosive devices in the Kursk Region since August 2024, the Russian Emergencies Ministry reported. “More than 13,800 explosive devices have been defused, and 418 hectares of territory have been surveyed,” the ministry said. The destroyed munitions include hand grenades, fuses, anti-tank mines, homemade drones, and submunitions, the latter of which ...

  • UK: Controlled explosion carried out on Kent beach

    August 31, 2025

    Bomb disposal experts have carried out a controlled explosion on a Kent beach. A piece of suspected ordnance was found by a metal detectorist at West Bay in Westgate-on-Sea on Saturday morning. Coastguards closed the beach until Sunday morning, when the object could be reached after the tide had gone out. Read more… Source: BBC News Sign up for ...

  • From Capstone to Combat Readiness: Depth-Perception System Enhances EOD Robotics

    August 29, 2025

    What started as a school project has developed into a promising innovation for Explosive Ordnance Disposal operations across the Department of Defense. While completing his degree in electronics engineering technology at the University of Arkansas Grantham, former Master Sgt. Daniel Trombone was challenged to solve a real-world problem within just two months. Despite limited time and ...

  • Sri Lanka Navy awards badges and certificates to EOD course graduates

    August 29, 2025

    The event was presided over by Commander of the Naval Infantry, Rear Admiral Nishantha Ranaweera. Commander Ranaweera presented official badges and certificates to 13 naval officers who successfully completed the Bomb Disposal Qualifying Course No. 6, which was conducted from the February 17 to August 27, 2025. Lieutenant Commander E.T.M.R. Bhanuka was recognised as the most ...

  • Russia to test portable standoff laser demining system

    August 28, 2025

    A Russian company has announced the upcoming testing of portable laser demining system, designed to enable secure remote clearance of explosives without detonation. The trials will take place at a designated testing ground within the current special operation zone, according to the company. The innovative system, named Posokh (Pikestaff), employs laser technology to selectively burn out ...

  • Alberta: Calgary police plan to move explosive substance found in industrial area

    August 27, 2025

    Emergency crews in Calgary have cordoned off a section of the Manchester Industrial area as they work to dispose of potentially explosive materials that were found there. Police were called to the 4700 block of First Street S.W., just east of Macleod Trail, for reports of a suspicious package delivered to a business at about noon ...

  • Malaysia: Sabah bomb squad detonates WWII-era explosive found by fisherman in Lahad Datu

    August 27, 2025

    A live World War II-era bomb discovered on the banks of Sungai Segama in Kampung Batu 8 has been safely detonated by police bomb disposal experts. Lahad Datu police chief ACP Dzulbaharin Ismail said the unexploded ordnance (UXO) was destroyed at 11.33 am today by the Sabah Contingent Bomb Disposal Unit in a controlled operation. “The ...

  • Nigeria: Lagos Police to conduct IED simulation exercise

    August 27, 2025

    The Lagos State Police Command has announced that its Explosives Ordnance Disposal, Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (EOD-CBRN) Unit will carry out a simulation exercise in the Eko Atlantic City area. According to a statement posted on the Command’s official X handle on Wednesday, the drill is part of ongoing efforts to strengthen security preparedness and ...