NSWC Indian Head Division Co-Hosts EOD Technology and Bombing Prevention Summit

NSWC Indian Head Division Co-Hosts EOD Technology and Bombing Prevention Summit

By Kristen Knott, NSWC IHD Public Affairs

Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Division's (NSWC IHD) Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technology Center (EODTECHCEN) co-hosted the first-ever EOD Technology and Bombing Prevention Summit at the National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland, Dec. 3-5. NSWC IHD co-hosted the event with the United States Bomb Technician Association (USBTA), which brought together hundreds of government, industry, law enforcement and international EOD leaders and partners.

"This is the largest gathering for EOD technicians, bombing prevention professionals and industry partners from around the world," NSWC IHD Commanding Officer Capt. Steve Duba said in his opening remarks. "We're living through some extremely dynamic and challenging times. Relevant, timely technology advancements are needed to address gaps in our capabilities. The military can't solve this problem alone. Industry can't solve this alone. Our state and local teammates can't solve this alone. We all play different roles but we must come together for this mission."

Nearly 600 attendees attended the three-day event, which featured sessions on current and future states of the bomb disposal communities and real-time threat information from experts in their fields. The event also included an exhibit floor with 44 industry leaders in the latest state-of-the-art EOD equipment and technology as well as networking opportunities to share best practices and EOD resources.

"Our original intent was to demonstrate our abilities as a technical agent in the EOD community by bringing together innovative technology from academia, industry, government agencies, etc." said NSWC IHD EOD Deputy Department Head Denice Lee. "This technology may not be developed specifically for the EOD mission as-is, but with our unique perspectives, we can work to make it interoperable with others systems, or designed to close a gap in capabilities."

In addition to co-hosting the event, NSWC IHD and USBTA signed a public-private partnership agreement on Dec. 2 under the command's Center for Industrial and Technical Excellence designation. Under the 10-year agreement, NSWC IHD and USBTA will work together to provide test, evaluation, and demonstration and assessment services for energetics and energetic systems.

"The current and future mission of the EOD Technology Center requires industry partners, and working with those partners," said NSWC IHD EOD Department Head Jason Perry. "That collaboration creates innovation and opportunities for us to look at new tools, technology and information. EOD operators and public safety bomb technicians from local, state and federal levels can work together to face the future fight."

"This has been a great success. For our first year to get this response and amount of people interested in participating has been really telling that it's been needed in the EOD community," Lee said. "This was not only educating the military, or the security professionals or the people using this technology, but also the ones building it who can help us get where we need to go. Doing an event like this shows EOD technicians what we can bring to the table and what our value is to them as technicians in the field."

NSWC IHD - a field activity of the Naval Sea Systems Command and part of the Navy's Science and Engineering Establishment - is the leader in ordnance, energetics, and EOD solutions. The Division focuses on energetics research, development, testing, evaluation, in-service support, manufacturing and disposal; and provides warfighters solutions to detect, locate, access, identify, render safe, recover, exploit and dispose of explosive ordnance threats.