Leveraging new technology for a mine-free future

The devastating legacy of armed conflict – often marked by the indiscriminate use of landmines, improvised explosive devices and other explosive ordnance – poses a significant humanitarian challenge. Innovation in mine action With over 25 years of experience, UNOPS has Read More …

An autonomous microbial sensor enables long-term detection of TNT explosive in natural soil

Engineered microbes can sense target chemicals and respond with programmed actions, using cell sensors to detect specific chemicals and genetic circuits to convert regulatory signals into observable outcomes1,2,3. Microbial sensors have the potential to carry out autonomous, long-term environmental monitoring Read More …

India: Digital University Kerala researchers develop mine-detection technology

A team of researchers from the Digital University Kerala (DUK) have come up with a technology to detect buried explosives with minimum human involvement. The technology can be put to use even in the most rugged and forested areas, thereby, Read More …

Laser vibration sensing technology can detect landmines faster than previous techniques

Enough landmines are buried underground worldwide to circle Earth twice at the equator, but the identification and removal of these explosives is costly and time-consuming. Vyacheslav Aranchuk, principal scientist in the National Center for Physical Acoustics, presented his research on Read More …

Landmine Detection Using Electromagnetic Time Reversal-Based Methods

In this paper, the researchers present a review and classification of the published works on the use of Electromagnetic Time Reversal (EMTR)-based methods to locate landmines. Different approaches for landmine localization using EMTR are investigated. Specifically, the classical time-domain EMTR, Read More …

Why is Switzerland offering cash prizes to retrieve munitions from lakes?

The Swiss Federal Department of Defence Procurement (Armasuisse) is offering 50,000 Swiss francs ($57,800) for the three best ideas on how to retrieve some 12,000 tonnes of old munitions from the country’s lakes, including Lake Thun, Lake Brienz and Lake Read More …

Deep Learning-Based Real-Time Detection of Surface Landmines Using Optical Imaging

This paper presents a pioneering study in the application of real-time surface landmine detection using a combination of robotics and deep learning. We introduce a novel system integrated within a demining robot, capable of detecting landmines in real time with Read More …

U.S. Army EOD techs leverage expertise at Johns Hopkins University cluster munitions forum

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 Read More …

Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal Company supports new bomb suit helmet program

FORT BELVOIR, Va. – U.S. Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians are helping the Army improve state-of-the-art combat helmets to better protect them on high-stakes missions. EOD technicians from the 55th Ordnance Company (EOD) are working with Program Executive Office Soldier Read More …

Rapid and selective screening of organic peroxide explosives using acid-hydrolysis induced chemiluminescence

Organic peroxide explosives (OPEs) are unstable, non-military, contemporary security threats often found in improvised explosive devices. Chemiluminescence (CL) can be used to detect OPEs, via radical formation consisting of peroxide moieties (-O-O-) under acidic conditions. However, selectivity for specific OPEs Read More …

India: State university develops IED detectors

Chhattisgarh’s Ravishankar Shukla University has developed sensor system by isolating bacteria that react against DNT — used to produce explosives. This technique will be helpful to detect landmines buried under the ground. These sensors can be dropped in suspected areas Read More …

DEVCOM CBC Team Supports Data Collection Event in Alaska

Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD – The U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Chemical Biological Center (DEVCOM CBC) participated in an Army-sponsored data collection event at the Cold Regions Test Center (CRTC) in Fort Greely, Alaska as part of its work Read More …

Australia: CATJAT jammer designed to protect soldiers against IEDs

Imagine a squad of soldiers on foot patrol, somewhere hostile. As they pass by the wreck of an old car, or traverse a culvert under the road, or get spotted by a drone, there is a flash, a bang, and Read More …

The deadly legacy of landmines

More than two decades since the adoption of the landmark Mine Ban Treaty and the creation of the UN Mine Action Service, millions of landmines have been destroyed, but land in nearly 70 countries globally is still contaminated and innocent Read More …

Improving the speed and safety of airport security screening

For decades, airports around the nation have employed sensitive canine noses to detect concealed explosives. While this four-legged fleet has been effective and efficient, researchers have yet to build a mechanical method that can mimic their abilities. Sasha Wrobel and Read More …

Highly specialized U.S. Army units hone skills together at Defense Nuclear Weapons School

KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. – Units from the U.S. military’s premier all hazards command trained together during a radiological course at the Defense Nuclear Weapons School on Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico. Soldiers from the 20th Chemical, Biological, Read More …

Bomb-sniffing dogs are in short supply across the U.S.

It’s no secret that dogs are good at smelling and finding things — food of course, but some are able to track a person’s scent or sniff out illegal drugs like heroin, and some are even good at smelling danger. Read More …

Massachusetts: Package explodes on Boston campus; 1 injured, FBI involved

A package exploded on the campus of Northeastern University in Boston late Tuesday, and the college said a staff member suffered minor injuries. Authorities said another suspicious package was found near a prominent art museum and the FBI was assisting Read More …

Ukraine: Russian-Appointed Rector Of University In Kherson Reportedly Survives Assassination Attempt

The Russia-installed rector at Kherson State University in southeastern Ukraine, Tatyana Tomilina, has reportedly survived an assassination attempt and is currently in the hospital. Russian news agencies reported late on September 12 that a handmade explosive device detonated, killing a Read More …