Western governments’ rapidly growing defense spending sounds like a straightforward equation: More spending equals more weapons.
But skilled weapons workers are in short supply, especially explosives experts, and without a sufficiently big bang behind them, even the most sophisticated weaponry is pointless. But blowing things up is not learned in a quick crash course. We need more explosives professors.
Read more…
Source: Foreign policy
Related:
- Ukraine: Bomb disposal experts discover wreckage from Russian cruise missile in Kyiv
November 28, 2024
Bomb disposal experts from Ukraine’s State Emergency Service (SES) have discovered wreckage from a Russian Kh-55 cruise missile in one of Kyiv’s districts. Emergency workers note that although wreckage did not pose a direct threat to the population, it could have become dangerous without prompt intervention. “We remind all citizens: If you see a suspicious object, ...
- Ontario: Explosives disposal taking place this week at CFB Borden
November 25, 2024
CFB BORDEN — The Canadian Forces Ammunition Depot (CFAD) Angus will be hosting Exercise Cunning Pine, an annual explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) training exercise at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Borden from Nov. 26 to Nov. 28, 2024. This important training will include two key components: Live Demolitions at Castle EOD Range Residents near CFB Borden may ...
- UK: Army officer charged after grenade found at airport
November 24, 2024
A senior officer in the British Army has been charged after allegedly taking a decommissioned hand grenade through Scotland’s busiest airport. Lt Col Hugo Clark, 54 is accused of taking a deactivated explosive through security at Edinburgh Airport on 16 October. A bomb squad was called to the scene and the item, a dummy grenade used ...
- Israel: IDF destroys some 300 booby-trapped structures in Jabalya
November 22, 2024
Some 300 booby-trapped structures have been detected and demolished by IDF engineering troops in Jabalya in the northern Gaza Strip, the military said on Friday. The military added that terrorists had positioned explosives in the structures to form an ambush for the troops. The identification and destruction of the structures were part of a larger operation ...
- Don’t condemn the US decision to give anti-personnel mines to Ukraine
November 21, 2024
In Ukraine, it’s not just the frontline that’s a minefield. The decision of the United States to offer landmines to Ukraine, a signatory of the landmine ban treaty, creates as much of a diplomatic minefield as a military one. Landmines are different from other weapons that have lethal effects at the moment of their use. In ...
- California: Explosives found in Putah Creek Canal
November 20, 2024
Just before 9 a.m. Tuesday, workers cleaning out the Putah Creek Canal between Martin Road and Hilborn Road located what appeared to be a smoke grenade and fragmentary grenade. Officers responded to the scene and called Travis Air Force Base’s Explosive Ordinance Disposal team to assist. EOD arrived and determined that although the smoke grenade was ...
- Ukraine to get US land mines for use against Russian forces
November 20, 2024
US President Joe Biden has approved providing antipersonnel land mines to Ukraine in what has been seen as another policy reversal on weapons provided to Kyiv by the outgoing United States administration, according to reports. The US expects Ukraine to use the land mines in its own territory, though it has committed not to use them ...
- Netherlands: World War II bombs safely neutralized near Moordrecht
November 17, 2024
Two unexploded World War II aircraft bombs were safely neutralized overnight from Saturday to Sunday near Moordrecht in South Holland, the municipality of Zuidplas reported. The first bomb was rendered safe at approximately 2:15 a.m. The Explosive Ordnance Disposal Service (EOD) first removed the detonator, followed by the percussion cap a few minutes later. The initial ...
- Iraq: Bomb squad dismantles 27 war remnants in Diyala
November 16, 2024
Ministry of Interior’s Bomb Squad announced on Saturday that it had successfully neutralized 27 war remnants in Diyala province. In a statement received by the Iraqi News Agency (INA), the ministry said that IED technicians in the Kusayrin area of Diyala managed to dismantle 27 war remnants, including C4 explosives, hand grenades, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), ...
- UK: Man arrested after guns and grenades found at Market Rasen property
November 14, 2024
A man has been arrested after police discovered guns, grenades and mortar shells at a Lincolnshire property. Officers attended the property in Chapman Street, Market Rasen, on Wednesday, November 13. The Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team were also called following the discovery. No cordon was put in place and police say there is no risk to ...
- Israel: Rocket with standard explosive located near Ben Gurion International Airport
November 13, 2024
A rocket-like object was located, for the first time, in the village of Budrus, several kilometers from Ben Gurion International Airport, containing a standard, not improvised, explosive, that terrorists planned to fire from Judea and Samaria towards the center of the country, as reported on Wednesday morning by the Israel Hayom daily. According to the report, ...
- Japanese troops to defuse unexploded WWII bombs found near commercial airport
November 13, 2024
Japanese ordnance disposal experts plan to defuse two suspected World War II-era bombs found last month on Miyakojima, a popular tourist spot 170 miles southwest of Okinawa. Soldiers with the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force’s 101st Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit expect to defuse the 551-pound bombs on Nov. 29, a spokesman for the Miyakojima city Disaster Prevention ...
- Afghanistan: Mine Clearance Organization warns of IED contamination
November 12, 2024
The Mine Clearance Organization recently announced that over 65 square kilometers of land in Afghanistan is contaminated with improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The organization has called on the global community to increase political and financial support for clearing these devices from Afghanistan’s lands. According to the Mine Clearance Organization, more than 65 square kilometers across 26 ...
- Laos’ Hidden Suffering: Landmines And UXO Killing More Innocent Children
November 12, 2024
In the rugged and scenic mountains of remote villages in Laos, children and farmers contend with a legacy of landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) threatening their lives for over 40 years. These leftover war remnants from the horrific Vietnam War have become an occupational hazard as well as a threat to the lives of innocent local ...
- Historic mine ban treaty at risk as clearance rates plummet amid escalating global conflict
November 11, 2024
The HALO Trust, the international landmine clearance organisation, has called for global recommitment to the Landmine Ban Treaty following a 10 per cent drop in the number of anti-personnel mines cleared in 2023. The steep fall in landmines cleared is reported in Mine Action Review’s “Clearing the Mines” report, which will be published today by a ...
- UK: WW2 bomb found on building site in East Tilbury safely detonated
November 8, 2024
Specialists have successful carried out a controlled explosion of a World War Two bomb discovered on a construction site. The buried device was uncovered near Station Road in East Tilbury, Essex at 11:30 GMT on Tuesday before the detonation took place on Friday. Ch Supt Scott Egerton said: “It was decided detonation of the device at ...
- The Estonian Navy, Together with Allies, Hunts for Historical Explosives in Estonian Waters
November 5, 2024
On October 4th, the Estonian Navy, together with NATO’s Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1 (SNMCMG1), began a ten-day mine clearance operation in Estonian waters. During this operation, the Estonian Navy will search for, identify, and neutralize historical explosives in Pärnu Bay and the southern part of Väinameri. “Mine clearance operations in Estonian waters provide a ...
- Lao children the most common victims of unexploded ordnance accidents, statistics reveal
November 5, 2024
More than 60 percent of the people who were injured or killed this year when unexploded forms of munition were accidentally detonated were children, officials reported at a meeting held in Vientiane last week. The meeting was attended by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr Phoxay Khaykhamphithoune, United Nations Development Programme Representative Mrs Martine Thérer, and ...
- UN: 444 million square meters in Libya still contaminated with mines, war remnants
November 4, 2024
The United Nations (UN) has emphasized that Libya faces major challenges related to mines and war remnants, which threaten the lives of civilians and hinder development, and that getting rid of them requires tremendous work, noting that there are more than 444 million square meters still contaminated with mines and war remnants. The Chief of the ...
- Somalia: Mortar attack at Mogadishu airport claims lives of 2 African Union soldiers, injures another
November 4, 2024
Two soldiers from the African Union peacekeeping mission were killed and another was injured following a mortar attack inside the perimeter of Mogadishu’s international airport. The airport compound houses the African Union mission, the EU, the United Nations, and several foreign diplomatic missions, including those of the US and UK, which have faced multiple attacks this ...
- Somalia: Pioneering Mine Action for Safer Communities in Puntland
November 2, 2024
Celebrating the contribution of women in the mine action sector! Meet Fatuma, SEMA Operations Officer, who is leading mine clearance in Puntland State to raise awareness about the risks of landmines and enhance humanitarian access to mine affected areas. The Somali Explosives Management Authority (SEMA) plays a crucial role in supporting mine action efforts in Somalia, ...
- Cambodia: Higher number of landmine, ERW victims in 10 months of this year
November 1, 2024
Landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERWs) afflicted 39 victims in the ten months of this year, higher than last year with 32 victims. However, the government is committed to removing this bane from society for the betterment of all. Lang Kosal, Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA) spokesman, said that of the 39 ...
