US experts train NSG, Army on IED-defusing skills

As improvised explosive devices (IEDs) grow more lethal with military-grade explosives and high-impact design and drones become the favoured mode for Pakistan-based elements to smuggle them into Jammu & Kashmir and Punjab, the National Security Guard and Indian Army personnel too have upgraded their bomb handling and disposalskills by training with the US Explosives Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit (USEODMU) at Guam in the US.

The two-week joint training programme in Guam, which concludes on Friday, has witnessed experts from USEODMU and Rapid Material Analysis Cell-Pacific training bomb experts from NSG and Indian Army in aspects like explosive ordinance disposal, post-blast investigations, sensitive site exploitations, detonator analytics, electronic and digital exploitation, field level evidence collection and analysis.

“The joint programme will not only add to NSG’s operational strength but the pool of trained experts and instructors can prepare other forces to take on IED challenges. All this will ensure a comprehensive security setup for the upcoming G20 conference,” a senior police officer told TOI.


NSG, through the National Bomb Disposal Centre, handles all emergencies relating to IEDs and bombs, including bomb disposal, post-blast investigation and analysis. As per NBDC data, there were a total 90 IED across India in the year 2022, down from 132 in 2021. The number of recoveries of IEDs rose to 558 in 2022 from 536 in 2021.

A source said IEDs used in J&K and Punjab are no longer made in India but sent from Pakistan via drones. Most Pakistan-origin IEDs use high-grade military explosives like RDX.