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Army Safety Specialist Warns Pentagon Drone Push May Increase Accident Risks
An Army explosive safety specialist stated in a March memo that the Defense Department's rapid development of low-cost drones is bypassing established explosive safety principles. The memo described an incident in which a mini-drone detonated and injured a Special Forces soldier. A U.S. Army Special Operations Command official said the specialist's views represent an opinion not based in fact.
May 15, 2:47 PM·2m read1 source
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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.
