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
Related:
- Thailand: Hidden explosives uncovered in sand at Patong Beach
June 28, 2025
Holidaymakers were left rattled as police scoured Phuket’s beaches to unearth a series of hidden explosive devices planted by suspects intent on chaos. Police confirmed yesterday evening, June 27, that the last two devices connected to the suspects’ shocking confession have been safely recovered and neutralised. The first discovery was made at Patong Beach around 3.45pm, ...
- Maryland: Master Explosive Ordnance Disposal tech completes career at 20th CBRNE Command
June 27, 2025
ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. – A U.S. Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal master sergeant completed his more than two decades of Army service at the nation’s premier multifunctional Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives (CBRNE) formation. Master Sgt. Thomas C. Holk retired from the U.S. Army at the 20th CBRNE Command on Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, June 23. ...
- Cambodia discovers another war-left U.S. aerial bomb M117 in Takeo province
June 26, 2025
Cambodia has found and safely removed another war-left U.S.-made M117 aerial bomb in southern Takeo province, a mine clearance chief said late on Tuesday. Cambodian Mine Action Center (CMAC)’s Director General Heng Ratana said the massive bomb was spotted buried four meters deep in an area in Tram Kak district. “This M117 bomb, with the weight ...
- Thailand: Bomb squads destroy more devices in Phuket and Krabi
June 26, 2025
Police bomb squads destroyed suspected explosive devices in two southern tourist provinces on Thursday following the arrest of two suspects linked to a suspicious object found at the Phuket airport on Wednesday. Explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) teams and officers from Provincial Police Region 8 arrived at Patong beach in Phuket at 11am on Thursday after a ...
- Thailand: Suspected explosive device destroyed at Phuket airport
June 25, 2025
Authorities have destroyed a suspicious object found in an abandoned motorcycle at Phuket International Airport on Wednesday evening. Officials from the police Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) unit and the K-9 police dog team conducted a detailed inspection of the motorcycle, which was left unattended on airport premises at about 7pm. An initial investigation revealed that an ...
- UK: Man dies and Bomb Squad called to incident in St Helens
June 25, 2025
Emergency services remain at the scene of a home in St Helens after multiple unexploded devices were discovered inside the property, prompting an evacuation and an overnight cordon. Officers were initially called to the address on Chadwick Road on Monday 23rd June following the death of a man in his 60s, which police confirmed was not ...
- Israel: Improvised explosive devices located and destroyed in Hebron area, suspect arrested
June 24, 2025
Security forces thwarted a potential terrorist attack after locating and destroying improvised explosive devices yesterday in Yatta in the Hebron area. Police reported that during searches inside a building, numerous ammunition and two explosive devices containing explosives and metal balls were found. A local resident suspect was arrested, and Border Police bomb disposal experts neutralized the ...
- Victoria: Man arrested after police locate guns and explosives in Churchill
June 24, 2025
Armed Crime Squad detectives have charged a man overnight after locating firearms and explosives in Churchill. A search warrant was executed at a residential property in Churchill yesterday afternoon (Monday, 23 June). As part of the search, police located what appeared to be an improvised explosive device in a nearby area. The area was cordoned off ...
- NZDF targets unexploded ordnance in Papua New Guinea
June 24, 2025
The Kiwis joined personnel from Australia, Canada, France, Japan, Papua New Guinea, the United States and United Kingdom for Operation Render Safe, an operation that has been targeting explosive remnants of war (ERW) left throughout the Pacific after the Second World War for over 20 years. More than 25,000 people have been injured or killed in ...
- UK: Controlled explosion carried out on ‘unidentified liquid’ found in Sussex
June 24, 2025
A controlled explosion has been carried out on an “unidentified liquid” found in a house in Eastbourne. Residents from around 160 properties were safely evacuated from the area and an 85m cordon was put in place as a precaution. Sussex Police and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) teams say they were called to a property on Hyde ...
- ADF: Partnership safeguards Pacific communities
June 24, 2025
Australian Army engineers are providing explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) training to the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF) to help them safely manage unexploded ordnance. The Solomon Islands, a key battleground during the Pacific campaign of World War 2, remains littered with unexploded ordnance (UXO), including bombs, artillery shells, ammunition and old torpedoes. The International Mine ...
- Fort Carson: Evans Army Community Hospital tests emergency response capabilities
June 23, 2025
Evans Army Community Hospital hosted an emergency response exercise with the 62nd Ordnance Company (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) and the Fort Carson Police Department June 17, 2025. The training exercise tested the hospital staff’s ability to respond to an exercise bomb threat and gave military police and EOD personnel an opportunity to practice their ability to detect, ...
- Arizona: Three improvised explosive devices found near Sahuarita town
June 22, 2025
Law enforcement disabled three improvised explosive devices in southern Arizona within a single week, though no arrests have been made, according to Sahuarita police. About 7 p.m. on June 20, the Sahuarita Police Department received 911 calls reporting a suspicious, possibly explosive device in a residential area northeast of Interstate 19 and Sahuarita Road, the department ...
- UK: Bomb squad hunt for man with ‘five hand grenades’ in Midland suburb
June 21, 2025
A police bomb squad is urgently searching for a man who wandered off with five suspected hand grenades after seven in total were found in Hopwood. Two of the hand grenades were safely detonated by the bomb squad after they were discovered in a canal on Lea End Lane last night, June 20. They were found ...
- Russia: North Korea to send 1,000 sappers, 5,000 builders to restore Kursk Region
June 17, 2025
North Korean leader Kim Jong un will send 1,000 combat engineers and 5,000 military builders to help restore the Kursk Region, Russia’s Security Council quoted its Secretary Sergey Shoigu as saying after a visit to North Korea. “Chairman of the State Affairs of the DPRK Kim Jong un has decided to send 1,000 sappers to Russia ...
- Ukraine: Cost of demining 1 ha of farmland stands at UAH 62,000
June 16, 2025
Almost UAH 1 trillion will be required to clear lands contaminated with explosive devices in Ukraine, MP Nina Yuzhanina reported on Telegram. ” According to the Ministry of Economy, 30 auctions have been held since the beginning of 2025 to demined agricultural lands with a total area of 5,370 hectares. The final cost of the work ...
- Ukraine: Pace of humanitarian mine clearance increases by 50%
June 14, 2025
The Ministry of Defence of Ukraine has reported that the scale of humanitarian mine clearance in Ukraine has increased by almost 50% over the past year. A total of 108 mine action operators have been certified, working to clear areas of explosive ordnance as of the beginning of June. Oleh Shuvarskyi, Head of the Mine Action ...
- UK: Divers honoured after Plymouth WW2 bomb bravery
June 13, 2025
Two divers who dealt with a huge World War Two bomb unearthed in a Plymouth garden have been honoured with bravery awards by King Charles III. Petty Officer (PO) Craig Maddock and PO Paul Cartwright from Plymouth-based Bravo Diving Unit One neutralised a 500kg (1,100 lbs) bomb found at a property on St Michael Avenue in ...
- EOD Mobile Unit 6 Holds Change of Command Ceremony
June 12, 2025
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Cmdr. Bruce Batteson, from East Granby, CT, assumed command of Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit SIX (EODMU 6) during a change of command ceremony at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, June 12, 2025. Batteson relieved Cmdr. Ryan Schippert as commanding officer of EODMU 6 in the presence of family, friends, and ...
- India: Major Rajprasad Honored with NSG Award, Lt Gen Ghai Steps Up as Deputy Chief
June 12, 2025
In a significant recognition of innovation within defense, Major Rajprasad RS of the Indian Army’s Corps of Engineers has been bestowed with the ‘NSG Counter IED Innovator Award’. Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan presented the award during the National Security Guard Seminar held on Wednesday in Delhi, commending Major Rajprasad for his groundbreaking innovations — the ...
- UK: Explosives arrest after homes evacuated
June 11, 2025
Residents have been allowed to return to their homes after explosives experts had to deal with a device at a property in a Carmarthenshire town. Explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) experts were called to an address on New Dock Road, Llanelli, on Wednesday evening where a device was “made safe”, Dyfed-Powys Police said. A 57-year-old man was ...
- U.S. Navy EOD, Canadian Clearance Divers Strengthen Maritime Readiness in Halifax
June 9, 2025
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia – U.S. Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) technicians from EOD Mobile Unit SIX and Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) Fleet Diving Unit (Atlantic) clearance divers conducted a weeklong bilateral training exercise in Halifax, June 2–6, focused on advancing Allied interoperability through unmanned systems, mine countermeasures diving, and underwater emergency response. The training brought together ...