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:
- Germany sends ammunition, demining equipment to Ukraine
December 23, 2023
Germany has transferred additional military aid to Ukraine, including tank ammunition, demining equipment, and anti-aircraft guns, the German government announced on Dec. 22. Germany has consistently supported Ukraine with weapons and equipment deliveries since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion. The supplies come from the German army and government contracts with private companies. The latest shipment ...
- S. Korea Donates Demining Equipment to Ukraine
December 22, 2023
South Korea has reportedly donated demining machines to Ukraine as humanitarian assistance. According to the South Korean embassy in Ukraine on Thursday, two demining machines and ten pickup trucks were handed over to Ukraine at a ceremony in Kyiv in a partial fulfillment of an earlier aid promise of ten demining machines and 100 trucks in ...
- UK: Three Second World War bombs detonated on Walton beach
December 19, 2023
The Walton Coastguard Rescue team and the explosive Ordnance Disposal team were sent to inspect part of Walton beach on Saturday. Upon arrival the crews discovered three unexploded ordnances which following an inspection were confirmed to be from the Second World War. The mortar rounds are understood to have washed up on the beach during low ...
- Japan to provide more than $1 million to clear landmines and unexploded ordnance in Cambodia
December 19, 2023
The Royal Government of Japan, through the Embassy in Cambodia, has agreed to provide more than $1.3 million to Cambodia for the clearance of cluster munitions, landmines, and unexploded ordnance. The grant agreement under the Grant Scheme for this Japanese NGO project was signed on December 19, 2023, by Ueno Atsushi, Ambassador of Japan to Cambodia, ...
- Cambodia: CMAA on track for mine-free 2025
December 17, 2023
While there are approximately two years remaining to achieve this goal, officials from the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA) said that 2023 has seen several major steps toward achieving the demining target and reaffirms their commitment to achieving the goal. Ly Thuch, first vice-president of the CMAA, tells The Post that the goals ...
- UNDP and the Netherlands forge $10 million partnership for mine action in Ukraine
December 16, 2023
In a landmark development for Ukraine’s recovery and safety, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Kingdom of the Netherlands announce a new partnership, marked by acontribution of $10 million towards mine action in Ukraine. The initiative will focus on accelerating the clearance of landmines using state-of-the-art technology and bolstering Ukraine’s capacity to manage mine ...
- UK: Edinburgh bomb squad detonated historic device at Cramond beach
December 16, 2023
Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) officers were spotted on Cramond beach as they detonated a historic object that was found in a residential area. Edinburgh police were called to the Craigmillar Park area at around 3.25pm on Friday 15 December. They say that a historical ordnance was found and as a result the EOD team attended to ...
- Cambodia: Mine casualties decline year-to-date
December 13, 2023
The Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA) revealed that in 2023, over 30 individuals experienced the impact of explosive ordnance, marking a 24 per cent decrease from the same period in 2022. CMAA spokesman Lang Kosal shared on December 11 that from January to early December, 31 people encountered the effects of landmines and ...
- U.S. Army EOD techs leverage expertise at Johns Hopkins University cluster munitions forum
December 12, 2023
WASHINGTON – U.S. Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians participated in a forum conducted by one of the nation’s premier engineering schools to learn better ways to confront and defeat cluster munitions during large-scale combat operations. Army EOD technicians attended the Johns Hopkins University Whiting School of Engineering Cluster Munitions Forum in Washington, D.C. The forum addressed ...
- GICHD Explosive Ordnance Risk Education in Residual Contamination Management
December 12, 2023
EORE is one of the five pillars of mine action. Over the years, a wide range of approaches to EORE have been used in mine action programmes worldwide. Much less attention, however, has been given to how to approach EORE when dealing with residual contamination. Many questions arise, including whether there is a requirement to inform ...
- Cambodia: Siem Reap, Puok district declared landmine-free
December 6, 2023
Ly Thuch, Senior Minister and First Vice President of the Mine Authority, on behalf of Dr. Hun Manet, Prime Minister of Cambodia and Chairman of the Mine Authority, on December 5, 2023, presided over the declaration of Puok District, Siem Reap Province, as a landmine-free district. The Senior Minister said that the Royal Government of Cambodia, ...
- Israel: IDF locates ‘massive weapons depot’ in Gaza
December 6, 2023
IDF soldiers have located what it says is “one of the largest stockpiles of weapons” in the Gaza Strip, near a clinic and a school. The stockpile contained hundreds of rockets and RPG launchers, long-range rockets, UAVs, and ready-to-use explosive devices, unmanned aerial vehicles that claim to resemble the Israeli Sky Rider drone, dozens of anti-tank ...
- Ukraine to receive €1.5 million for humanitarian demining from Slovenia
December 5, 2023
Slovenia will provide €1.5 million to Ukraine for humanitarian demining. The agreement was signed by Andrii Taran, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Republic of Slovenia, and Tanja Fajon, Slovenian Minister of Foreign and European Affairs. Following the agreement’s terms, the funds will be provided by the end of 2023 without the need for ...
- Iraq: Rocket launcher disguised as fuel truck seen firing 122mm artillery rockets
December 5, 2023
Earlier this week, Iranian-backed militants in Iraq fired 122mm artillery rockets at U.S.-led coalition forces in neighboring Syria using an improvised array of launchers disguised inside a modified tanker truck. “At approximately 2:15 p.m. on Dec. 3, 15 122mm rockets originating in Iraq were fired at the U.S. base Rumalyn Landing Zone in Syria,” according to ...
- Russia ‘Fuses’ Thermobaric Warheads On Its Suicide UAVs
December 5, 2023
A photograph appeared on social media on December 3 with a message that suggested that Ukrainian insiders believe Russia had developed a 40-kilogram thermobaric warhead for the Geran-2 or Shahed-136 kamikaze drone, making it analogous to the TOS-1A flamethrower. EurAsian Times could not independently verify these claims when writing this report. However, if the use of ...
- UK: Bomb squad detonate ornamental garden missile
December 3, 2023
A couple who kept a live bomb as a garden ornament have said they were sorry that their “old friend” had been detonated by a disposal unit. The missile, which had been outside the home of Sian and Jeffrey Edwards, is thought to date back to the late 19th century. The couple, from Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire, ...
- Falkland Islands: Mines discovered on a beach in Murrell Peninsula, north of Stanley
November 29, 2023
The Falkland Islands Government has confirmed that a number of mines have been discovered on Hell’s Kitchen beach on the designated Government Reserve, located on the Murrell Peninsula East Falkland, north of Stanley. The area was a suspect area on minefield maps. During the demining program the location was surveyed and cleared for mines. Thorough work ...
- Killer Gulf War mines cast a deadly legacy in Kuwait
November 28, 2023
Decades after the invasion of Kuwait in 1990-1991, the specter of landmines continues to haunt the Gulf emirate, claiming lives and causing injuries, even among those born after the end of the Gulf War. The situation is particularly dire for migrant workers, including shepherds, who face the dangers of unexploded ordnance in the country’s deserts. Read more… Source: ...
- Jammu and Kashmir: Drone drops box containing 9 grenades, 1 pistol, IED in Akhnoor
November 23, 2023
The Jammu and Kashmir police in a joint operation with the Indian Army, on Thursday, recovered a box that was dropped by a drone in the area of Palanwallah village near the LoC (Line of Control), said the police. According to the information received from the officials, the police recovered 9 grenades, one pistol, 2 Magazines ...
- Afghanistan tops global list for highest landmine-affected areas
November 22, 2023
The Danish Refugee Council recently announced that Afghanistan is recognized as one of the countries in the world with the highest landmine-affected areas. The pervasive presence of landmines in Afghanistan poses a significant humanitarian challenge, affecting the safety and livelihoods of the population. International collaboration and support are crucial in mitigating the impact of landmines and fostering ...
- Cambodia: CMAA aim to warn 1.4M people of mine danger
November 21, 2023
Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA) officials expect to reach 1.4 million people in their efforts to educate members of the public in high-risk areas about the dangers posed by landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO). Ly Thuch, CMAA first vice-president, said on November 19 that there is no upper limit on the number of ...
- Ireland: Residents evacuated as historical device removed from Dublin suburb
November 19, 2023
A discovery led to a number of premises being evacuated yesterday afternoon. Gardaí put a cordon in place after they were alerted to a suspicious device found in Clontarf, a coastal suburb around 5 km from the city centre. Members of the Irish Defence Forces Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) have since removed the device from the scene ...
