Explosives

A US Army quadcopter engaged and destroyed a winged drone during an exercise at Fort Rucker, Alabama. These days, that's not such a rare occurrence, but this one is different – it's the first that used a Claymore landmine strapped to the quad.

We're used to seeing robot dogs doing all sorts of weird things, but how about something to make the world safer? The British Ministry of Defence's answer is using the mechanical mutts to make detecting and defusing bombs safer and more efficient.

Anduril Industries has just announced the Bolt and Bolt-M drone. These aren't your average hobbyist drones either, as the M stands for "munitions," packing up to a 3 lb (1.4 kg) payload of your favorite tactical ordnance.

Oceanbotics' SRV-8 underwater ROV (remotely operated vehicle) is certainly no slouch, nor is its more capable sibling, the SRV-8X. The latest version of the vehicle, the SRV-8 MDV, takes things even further – it blows up sea mines.

While metal detectors are useful for detecting land mines, they can be fooled by buried metallic debris … plus some mines don't contain any metal. A new system is claimed to work better, by reading the molecular signature of explosives used in mines.

Israeli defence tech company Elbit Systems has launched a lethal, autonomous suicide drone. The Lanius is an agile racing quad with a range of AI-powered scouting, mapping and target classification abilities, and the ability to explode when required.

July 16 marks 75 years since of the first detonation of an atomic bomb. Now famous as the Trinity Test, the giant explosion was the culmination of the ultra-secret Manhattan project and would within weeks lead to the end of the Second World War.

Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) can be difficult for soldiers to detect, as they're made in a variety of shapes and sizes, and are typically buried in the road. A new vehicle-mounted system, however, is designed to "spot the signs" of IEDs.

​​Bomb disposal work is as dangerous as it comes, but the British Army will now have an advanced new tool to help them with the task at hand. Welcomed into the ranks this week is a shiny new set of ground vehicles that will afford the bomb disposal team some useful capabilities.

Joseph Wang and colleagues at the University of California, San Diego have created a ring with a difference. It detects chemical and biological threats in the wearer's environment.​

Lately, we're beginning to see how flying robots can play a role in dangerous scenarios, the latest example being a laser-equipped drone that can detect explosives and chemical compounds from above.​

Scientists have developed a fluorescent material they claim can more reliably detect explosives in the vicinity, by being a bit more selective about when it changes color.