Pentagon rush to counter drone threat may be undermining safety standards, Army explosive safety specialist warns
Source: CBS News
Updated on: May 15, 2026 / 2:47 PM EDT
Washington — As the U.S. military races to adapt low-cost, expendable drones for battlefield use, an Army explosive safety specialist warned that the Defense Department's rush to innovate may be outpacing basic explosive safeguards, raising the risk of accidents.
The assessment was tucked inside a memo obtained by CBS News detailing how a mini-drone had detonated, causing injuries to an Army Special Forces soldier.
In a March memorandum, a civilian U.S. Army employee — with more than 20 years of experience in uniform and as a civilian employee evaluating and monitoring safety experience in the service — cautioned that while U.S. Army Special Forces units are adept at improvising solutions in the field, the broader drive to counter unmanned aerial threats has imposed pressures that could undermine long-established safety standards.
"We fully understand [Special Forces]'s ability to innovate and create tactical solutions to accomplish a mission set [or] task," the memo states, but it goes on to say that the safety specialist believes that the Defense Department "is in such a rush to solve future and enduring threats related to [unmanned aerial systems]" that "basic explosive safety principles are being ignored," and "will ultimately lead to a greater risk associated with mishaps [or] accidents."
Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pentagon-rush-to-counter-drone-threat-army-safety-standards-warning/