Bomb disposal is an explosives engineering profession using the process by which hazardous explosive devices are disabled or otherwise rendered safe. Bomb disposal is an all-encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated functions in the military fields of explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) and improvised explosive device disposal (IEDD), and the public safety roles of public safety bomb disposal (PSBD) and the bomb squad.
An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached to a detonating mechanism. IEDs are commonly used as roadside bombs, or homemade bombs.
An unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) is a vehicle that operates while in contact with the ground and without an onboard human presence. UGVs can be used for many applications where it may be inconvenient, dangerous, or impossible to have a human operator present. Generally, the vehicle will have a set of sensors to observe the environment, and will either autonomously make decisions about its behavior or pass the information to a human operator at a different location who will control the vehicle through teleoperation.
United States Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians render safe all types of ordnance, including improvised, chemical, biological, and nuclear. They perform land and underwater location, identification, render-safe, and recovery of foreign and domestic ordnance. They conduct demolition of hazardous munitions, pyrotechnics, and retrograde explosives using detonation and burning techniques. They forward deploy and fully integrate with the various Combatant Commanders, Special Operations Forces (SOF), and various warfare units within the Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Army. They are also called upon to support military and civilian law enforcement agencies, as well as the Secret Service.
The Fido explosives detector is a battery-powered, handheld sensory device that uses amplifying fluorescent polymer (AFP) materials to detect trace levels of high explosives like trinitrotoluene (TNT). It was developed by Nomadics, a subsidiary of ICX Technologies, in the early 2000s as part of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) Dog's Nose program. The Fido explosives detector is considered the first artificial nose capable of detecting landmines in the real world. The device was named after its ability to detect explosive vapors at concentrations of parts per quadrillion, which is comparable to the sensitivity of a bomb-sniffing dog’s nose, i.e. the historical “gold standard” for finding concealed explosives.
List of abbreviations, acronyms and initials related to military subjects such as modern armour, artillery, infantry, and weapons, along with their definitions.
The Husky VMMD is a configurable counter-IED MRAP vehicle, developed by South African-based DCD Protected Mobility and American C-IED company Critical Solutions International. Designed for use in route clearance and de-mining operations, the Husky is equipped with technologies to help detect explosives and minimise blast damage.
The Joint Improvised-Threat Defeat Organization (JIDO) is a combat support organization of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) organization under the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) that deals with improvised threats such as the improvised explosive device (IEDs) and small unmanned aerial systems (sUASs). JIDO was born from the Joint IED Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) established in 2006, which focused on IEDs. JIDO's mission is to "enable Department of Defense actions to counter improvised threats with tactical responsiveness and anticipatory acquisition in support of combatant commanders' efforts to prepare for, and adapt to, battlefield surprise." This mission supports counter-terrorism, counter-insurgency and other related mission areas including Counter-IED.
Target acquisition minefield detection system is a bomb-detection system engineered to detect improvised explosive devices (IED). It provides a unit of action (UA) asset that can be used in tactical operations in day or night, to detect and locate surface obstacles and recently buried minefields. ASTAMIDS is currently being tested in the Northrop Grumman MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned aerial vehicle.
Marine expeditionary unit (special operations capable) (MEU(SOC)) is a program created by the United States Marine Corps (USMC) and the United States Navy (USN) in 1985 for Marine expeditionary units (MEU). The program enhances MEUs providing them with additional training and equipment to become certified as special operations capable with a Maritime Special Purpose Force (MSPF). The designation special operations capable is unique to the Marine Corps and means in relation to special operations. The role of a MEU(SOC) however is not equivalent to the special operations role of special operations forces. Although considered special operations capable a MEU(SOC) does not form part of the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) established in 1987 or the United States Marine Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC) later established in 2006.
The Special Operations Training Group, or SOTG, is a training section of the United States Marine Corps providing Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) commanders with training facilities and a liaison for Marine Expeditionary Units (MEU). The SOTG provides special operations training for various branches and also participates in the MEUs' Special Operations Capable Certification by acting as the "Training and Evaluation Board" for the exercises and events during the MEU annual training cycles.
Gyrocam Systems, LLC was part-owned and funded by a private equity fund that was located in Melbourne Australia. The company made the Gyrocam camera system, a gyro-stabilized camera system using multiple sub-cameras. Founded by Ken Sanborn, Peter Rudaizky and Edwin Daniels in 2003. Gyrocam Systems was based in Sarasota, Florida. Gyrocam also had facilities in Washington, D.C., and Afghanistan. Gyrocam marketed their systems as a technical solution to identify and classify objects of interest, including improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and enemy insurgent activity using stabilized, multi-spectral, optical sensor packages integrated on Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles. Gyrocam continued to expand their presence in the land sensor market providing integrated solutions to the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps. Gyrocam’s products also have airborne and maritime applications.
Program Executive Office Soldier is a US Army organization that is responsible for rapid prototyping, procurement, and fielding of equipment for the soldiers.
The US Army is to modify a government-owned Quick Reaction Capability Liberty Project aircraft into an Enhanced Medium Altitude Reconnaissance and Surveillance System - Multi-Intelligence (EMARSS-M) platform under a USD31.8 million contract it was announced on March 31, 2015.
Constant Hawk is a United States Army wide-area motion imagery system flown on crewed reconnaissance aircraft in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Counter-IED efforts are done primarily by military and law enforcement with the assistance of the diplomatic and financial communities. It involves a comprehensive approach of countering the threat networks that employ improvised explosive devices (IEDs), defeating the devices themselves, and training others. Counter-IED, or C-IED, is usually part of a broader counter-terrorism, counter-insurgency, or law enforcement effort. Because IEDs are a subset of a number of forms of asymmetric warfare used by insurgents and terrorists, C-IED activities are principally against adversaries and not only against IEDs. C-IED treats the IED as a systemic problem and aims to defeat the IED threat networks themselves.
Counter-IED equipment are created primarily for military and law enforcement. They are used for standoff detection of explosives and explosive precursor components and defeating the Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) devices themselves as part of a broader counter-terrorism, counter-insurgency, or law enforcement effort.
The Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System, or JLENS, was a tethered aerial detection system designed to track boats, ground vehicles, cruise missiles, manned and unmanned aircraft, and other threats. The system had four primary components: two tethered aerostats which utilized a helium/air mix, armored mooring stations, sophisticated radars, and a processing station designed to communicate with anti-missile and other ground and airborne systems. Each system was referred to as an "orbit", and two orbits were built. The Army-led joint program which fielded JLENS was designed to complement fixed-wing surveillance aircraft, saving money on crew, fuel, maintenance and other costs, and give military commanders advance warning to make decisions and provide notifications. Following cost overruns, underperformance, declining support in Congress, and public scrutiny following a snapped tether which allowed one craft moored at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland to drift on a 100-mile uncontrolled descent across Pennsylvania, dragging its cable tether which damaged power lines and cut power to 20,000 homes, the program was suspended in October 2015, and completely discontinued by 2017.
Combined Joint Task Force Paladin was the International Security Assistance Force command responsible for counter-IED efforts and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) during the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021). With military and civilian personnel spread across the entire country, CJTF Paladin provided EOD Technicians, counter-IED trainers, intelligence personnel, and forensics labs to the ISAF Regional Commands.
The Buckeye system is an operational airborne surveying system that provides high-resolution spatial imagery over an area of interest to support military operations involved with intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. Once mounted on a helicopter or an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), it incorporates visual information from a digital camera and elevation data from a Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) system to create a two and three-dimensional colored map with orthorectified, 4 to 6-inch resolution.
