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:
- Alberta: Stolen vehicle and military equipment recovered by Olds RCMP
July 30, 2024
Innisfail RCMP received a report of a truck being stolen in their detachment area. Police were able to track the stolen truck to a rural property on Range Road 25 in Mountain View County.” A search warrant was executed at the property by Olds RCMP and the stolen 2018 Chevrolet Silverado was located. Also located were ...
- Alabama: Suspects Ditch ‘Homemade Explosive Device’ with Deputy in Pursuit
July 30, 2024
A man and woman are being held in the Limestone County Jail in connection with the discovery of what authorities say was a “homemade explosive device.” The Limestone County Sheriff’s Office said on Friday investigators were searching for a stolen motorcycle. Lt. Jay Stinnett encountered a man and woman pushing a motorcycle on Zehner Road. When ...
- UK: ‘Doomsday wreck’ in the Thames is deteriorating faster than feared
July 30, 2024
A ‘Doomsday wreck’ stuffed with 1,400 tons of WW2 explosives is collapsing, threatening the Thames with a tsunami, a new survey of the ship has revealed. The SS Richard Montgomery sank in the Thames Estuary in August 1944, coming to rest at a depth of roughly 49ft, about a mile-and-a-half from Sheerness, Kent. Her masts still ...
- Pakistan: National Workshop on Evolving responses to Countering IEDs in terrorism-related offences through downstream network disruption
July 28, 2024
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, UNODC, in collaboration with the National Action to Counter Terrorism (NACTA) and with financial support from the U.S. Embassy’s Office of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL), organized a three-day National Workshop on Evolving responses to Countering Improvised Explosive Devices in terrorism-related offenses through downstream network disruption ...
- New York: Governor Hochul Announces Completion of “Ravens Challenge” at State Preparedness Training Center
July 26, 2024
Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that New York State recently hosted the 2024 “Raven’s Challenge,” the world’s largest annual training exercise for public safety bomb squads and military explosive ordnance disposal teams at the State Preparedness Training Center (SPTC) in Oriskany, NY. Bomb technicians and military personnel representing various places around New York State, the country, ...
- Nigeria: Troops defuse IED planted in Yobe cattle market
July 26, 2024
Troops of Sector II Joint Task Force in the North-East Operation “Hadin Kai” on Friday, defused an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) planted at the Buni Yadi Cattle Market in Yobe. Capt. Mohammed Shehu, Spokesperson of the sector, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Damaturu that the IED was planted by suspected Boko Haram insurgents, ...
- China to offer mine clearance training for Cambodian, Lao military personnel
July 25, 2024
China will offer mine clearance training courses for military personnel from Cambodia and Laos from July to September, a Chinese military spokesperson announced Thursday. Zhang Xiaogang, a spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, said the courses will be conducted by the Army Engineering University of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army and will feature introductions to ...
- UK: The moment an unexploded bomb was detonated on Anglesey beach
July 25, 2024
This is the moment an unexploded bomb was detonated on an Anglesey beach. The bomb squad was called to Ynys y Fydlyn, in the north of the island and the beach was cordoned off while it was exploded. Coastguard teams were also at the scene. A video of the moment the shell blew up, showed a ...
- Cambodia: CMAC divers recover 24K UXOs from riverbeds
July 25, 2024
More than 24,000 unexploded ordnance (UXOs) items of all kinds have been recovered from the Kingdom’s rivers and waterways in the past year and four months. The operations are part of a campaign to clear explosive remnants of war (ERWs) and salvage the wreckage of vessels which were sunk during past conflicts, according to a report ...
- Ukraine: Bomb disposal experts dispose of FAB-500 aerial bomb in Donetsk Oblast
July 23, 2024
Bomb disposal experts of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine have seized and destroyed a FAB-500 aerial bomb in the village of Malynivka in Pokrovsk district, Donetsk Oblast. It is noted that the bomb was found during an examination of the territory of the village of Malynivka. Specialists from the State Emergency Service seized it and ...
- UK: Experts detonate unexploded wartime bomb at Dumfries and Galloway beach
July 23, 2024
An unexploded wartime bomb was detonated by experts at Powfoot beach. The World War II mortar had been discovered by a man with a metal detector who alerted the emergency services. And on Friday morning the Explosives Ordnance Disposal team blew up the device amid dramatic scenes near Seaward Caravan Park. Read more… Source: Daily Record News Sign up ...
- UK MOD says ‘key point’ reached in £6m project to expand Nuneaton army barracks
July 22, 2024
A ‘key point’ has been reached in the construction of a £6m extension at Nuneaton’s army barracks. The works will pave the way for Gamecock Barracks to play home to an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Troop. It is relocating from Chetwynd Barracks in Nottingham, to Gamecock Barracks, which is known locally as Bramcote Barracks. The MOD ...
- Nigeria: Police Detonate Explosive Device Planted In Borno Metropolis
July 20, 2024
The IED was discovered by residents around Mala Kachalla General Hospital at the federal low-cost along Baga Road around midnight. According to an eyewitness, the IED did not explode as it was discovered on time. The police anti-bomb squad was alerted and they deactivated the device without any casualty. “We discovered this bomb planted near Mala ...
- British Columbia: Diving team practises eliminating underwater explosives off of Vancouver Island
July 18, 2024
Roughly a dozen Canadian Armed Forces members are diving into the waters off Metchosin, learning how to safely dispose of underwater explosives. The trainees at CFB Esquimalt are with Fleet Diving Unit Pacific, which eliminates underwater hazards, such as sea mines from the Second World War. “We don’t want any sea mines drifting into shipping lanes ...
- Multinational EOD partners train combined insertion at RIMPAC 2024
July 18, 2024
U.S. Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) technicians integrate with partners from Korea, Mexico, Peru and the Netherlands during fast rope insertion and rappel interoperability training from a U.S. Army UH-60M Blackhawk helicopter assigned to Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, during Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2024, Bellows Air Force Station, Hawaii, ...
- U.S. and Vietnam Conduct EOD Subject Matter Expert Exchange
July 17, 2024
U.S. Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Operators, Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Technicians (Tech), and members of the Vietnamese Armed Forces conducted a Subject Matter Expert Exchange (SMEE) on EOD capabilities and standard operating procedures (SOP), advancing military-to-military cooperation between the two nations across a broad range of security capabilities, July 10. During the SMEE, EOD ...
- Arizona: Robot dogs being used to help first responders during suspicious calls
July 17, 2024
The Arizona Department of Public Safety is out patrolling the roads every day. Still, DPS has a lot of different departments, like its bomb squad which responds to threats with the FBI and local police departments. They are constantly using new technology to help on calls. DPS currently has 10 bomb squad technicians, and they use ...
- Belgium: Police intercept vehicle after reports of explosion in Antwerp
July 14, 2024
Police in Antwerp intercepted a vehicle on Saturday evening following several reports of an explosion; no injuries were reported. “Numerous reports of an explosion were received just before 20:00,” said a spokesperson. It’s suspected that someone detonated something near a building in Wilrijk. The damage seems to be relatively minimal. The laboratory of the federal judicial ...
- Pennsylvania: Explosive devices reportedly found in Trump shooter car after failed assassination attempt at rally
July 14, 2024
Explosive devices were found inside the car of the gunman who attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump during his Saturday rally in Pennsylvania, according to a report. The car, driven by 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was found not far from the Trump rally in Butler, Pa., sources close to the investigation into the shooting told ...
- India: Army trains Maharashtra police batch to counter bomb and Improvised Explosives Devices (IEDs) threat
July 13, 2024
The combat engineering department of the College of Military Engineering (CME) of the Army has conducted a special training session for a batch of Maharashtra Intelligence Academy (MIA) on vital aspects of bomb disposal, improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and jamming technology. “The collaborative effort marks a significant step in fostering mutual cooperation and sharing expertise, ultimately enhancing ...
- California: Man arrested for allegedly planting bomb near San Jose businesses
July 10, 2024
San Jose police arrested a 56-year-old man they believe plated a viable improvised explosive device near businesses last week, forcing evacuations and the bomb squad to dispose of the device. It happened near Ridder Park Drive and Fox Lane last Wednesday. The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office says a suspicious device was found behind a ...
- Guernsey: Bomb training ‘controlled explosions’ warning
July 9, 2024
Guernsey Police is warning residents that bomb disposal training is due to take place later. A spokesperson said the training was due to be carried out at Fort Le Marchant between 11:00 and 14:00 BST. They warned there would be “a number of controlled explosions” but said the public should not be alarmed. Read more… Source: BBC News Sign ...