Army Safety Specialist Warns Pentagon Drone Push May Increase Accident Risks

An Army explosive safety specialist warned that the Defense Department's accelerated effort to develop and field low-cost drones for combat may be overlooking basic explosive safety standards, increasing the chance of mishaps. The assessment appeared in a March memorandum obtained by CBS News.

The memo detailed an incident in which a small explosive device attached to a mini-drone detonated inside a building at the Army's Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, Louisiana. The blast occurred when a soldier assigned to the 3rd Special Forces Group tried to disconnect the device during troubleshooting.

The soldier sustained lacerations to the arm and face along with a concussion but returned to duty shortly afterward. In the memo, the civilian Army employee with more than 20 years of combined military and civilian safety experience wrote that while Special Forces units are skilled at developing tactical solutions, the broader pressure to counter unmanned aerial threats is leading to the neglect of long-established safety practices.

Army Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. It listed possible causes for the unintended detonation, including static electric charge or hazards of electromagnetic radiation to ordnance linked to an improperly secured relay switch that allowed current to pass through the drone's carbon fiber frame.

Photographs included in the memo showed a damaged drone and scattered equipment on a table in a cluttered workspace. The device involved was an XM183 "MiniBlast" pyrotechnic cartridge manufactured by PR Tactical Corporation in Houston. The cartridge is designed to simulate combat effects during training exercises without using live munitions.

The memo noted that the XM183 has been assessed as presenting a medium-level hazard risk because it can produce dangerous fragments and can accidentally ignite or detonate. It also stated that the U.S. Army's Combat Capabilities Development Command had not provided a full material release for the XM183.

Under Army regulations, a full material release confirms that a material is safe for use, meets operational requirements and can be sustained through the Army's logistical system.

Drones have been part of U.S. military operations for decades, with expanded use during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The conflict in Ukraine has accelerated global adoption of inexpensive, expendable drone systems on the battlefield. Late last year, the Pentagon requested information from the defense industry on its capacity to produce roughly 300,000 drones.

The request followed an executive order from President Trump calling for increased production of unmanned aircraft systems. A U.S. Army Special Operations Command official told CBS News that the safety specialist's comments appear to be his opinion and not based in fact.

The official confirmed the memo's authenticity and the details of the safety report. A spokesperson for the U.S. Army's central safety center said the incident did not meet the threshold for formal investigation because it involved neither significant equipment damage nor permanent injury or death.

CBS News received no response from the explosive safety specialist or the office at Fort Polk.