NATO EOD Demonstrations and Trials - History

The  Centre of Excellence for Explosive Ordnance Disposal organises a series of NATO EOD Demonstrations and Trials with full support of the Ministry of Defence of the Slovak Republic. The events are  funded by the NATO Defense Against Terrorism Programme of Work (DAT POW) established under the auspices of the NATO Emerging Security Challenges Division.

The main objective of the event is to offer:

• The common platform for companies, research and development institutes, NATO bodies and nations to present the needs and latest technological solutions for an improvement of Alliance forces interoperability and EOD operator’s capability in protecting the forces and civilian population. 
• An open space for discussions, as part of the conference, seminars, or panels about Urgent Military Requirements for this DAT POW item and compare them with the orientation of actual roadmaps.
• To accelerate the fielding of counter-measure technological solutions in order to provide better equipment to our armed forces and civilian response agencies towards new challenges.

The first NATO EOD Demonstration and Trials was organised in 2010 in Trenčín, Slovakia. The main motto of this initial event was “To Assist in Saving Lives”. One part of this initial event was EOD robot testing, for which special obstacle track was prepared. Results from testing and comparison with others EOD robots were very appreciated by all attended producers as it helped them to  see pros  and cons of their technical solutions, thus to help them to identify  the new way ahead. 
All attendees also appreciated live demonstration of TTP provided by the Slovakian EOD team as for many of them it was the first opportunity to see procedures of EOD team in action and to better understand EOD teams requirements. The static exhibition was open also for public, what was warmly welcome by technical universities and companies of Trenčín county.
Since then until now five events have been organised every two years under different theme. 
 

In 2012, whole Demonstrations and Trials was revolving around the main theme “New Detection Technologies and Equipment Enhancing Operator`s Capability and Safety Measures”. During the event, participants introduced several new perspectives on the topic from industry, military SMEs from NATO and PfP countries. 

The event was special in the way that NATO Russia Council took place as relating expertise activity. The council held on the last day of NATO EOD Demonstrations and Trials was designed to identify cooperation space between the NATO and the Russian Federation in the field of the EOD. Outcomes of this meeting created a base for further cooperation in this area. Unfortunately, due to Crimea annexation by the Russian Federation was followed by NATO – Russia relationship deterioration and further cooperation ceased in 2014.

The topic of NATO EOD Demonstrations and Trials 2014 was dedicated to “EOD Challenges in post-ISAF in the Light of NATO EOD”. The event was divided into live demonstrations, conference and two seminars. 
The conference  was committed to future of military robotics and its potential in EOD manned systems. The seminars tried to estimate the limits of technologies in replacing of EOD operator’s ability and roles and procedures for testing of technologically advanced EOD equipment, thus  to  unify  all processes related to equipment test standardisation. 

The level of presentations and discussions reflected   expertise  of   20   speakers  representing   NATO, the EU, international   and   national   institutions,   agencies, academies, companies and others  from 11 countries, who took opportunity to present not only new but also edge cutting technologies. Static exhibitions were enriched by 43 exhibitors (companies, institutions, agencies) from 17 countries. 

To provide the event more accessible and to improve support to all attendees, the event was moved from Trenčín to Bratislava in 2016. Since then, the event has been organised in the INCHEBA Expo exhibition area.

“Protection as Complex and Composite Responses to Terrorist Threat” in 2016 was focused on a wide spectrum of protection as a challenge for EOD/IEDD and C-IED experts, producers, industry and SMEs involved in the fight against terrorism. During the event, participants had the opportunity to familiarise with the actual capacity of the present EOD and C-IED equipment as well as with new techniques and technology for protecting the force and population. 

During the theoretical part of D&T2016 scientists and experts presented current and future ways of developments in protection against hazardous materials, adjustment procedures, conduct and progress in the development of new EOD and C-IED devices and tools. More than 150 experts from 22 countries and more than 300 visitors saw static exhibitions and live demonstrations. Exhibitors came from 14 NATO/PfP/MD countries. 

Demonstrations and Trials 2016 indicated some important conclusions.  Concerning EOD/IEDD and C-IED technologies it was stated, that necessary technologies already exist and majority of them are integrated into the individual nation’s armed forces. The success of individual technologies is in the most cases directly associated with the final users’ expertise and their TTPs applied. 
Attention should be focused on comparison and verifying of parameters specified by individual companies. In addition, area of protection remains the most challenging for the further research. New methods and technical thought have to be developed in order to be beneficial for all.

The leading theme of 2018 year’s event was “Multidisciplinary approach to EOD“ as a challenge for the NATO and SMEs coming from various EOD and related domains, academia, industry and other organisations involved in the fight against terrorism. Participants had the opportunity to familiarise with current capabilities of the EOD, C-IED and MILENG equipment, including new techniques, procedures and technologies.

The scientists, producers and experts also presented the current and future trends and their elaboration into new EOD, C-IED and MILENG devices/tools. Event gathered more than 150 experts from 15 countries and over 200 visitors, who witnessed static exhibition and live demonstrations performed by exhibitors from 17 NATO and Partner countries.

The Senior Military Leader Seminar (SMLS) was organised for the first time as part of the event, dedicated to national, NATO and Partners senior military leaders/commanders with focus on key aspects of the EOD role in joint operations.
 

Main aim of SMLS was to inform about the EOD role within Joint Military Operations, including NATO Doctrines and EOD recognition within, EOD role in joint operation  (including Article 5 operations) and EOD COE support to EOD COI (community of interest).

Overall topic of the NATO Demonstrations and Trials 2020 planned between 23 – 24 September was “Technological Innovations Influencing Future EOD and Related Capabilities”. 

Unfortunately, due to the impact of COVID-19 disease, in order to protect public health and allow proper preparation as well as to ensure sufficient contribution by all stakeholders, the NATO EOD COE was forced to postpone the Demonstrations and Trials 2020 event.

To support appropriate planning, the foreseen time slot was estimated to October 2021.

Finally, on 13th and 14th October 2021, next iteration of the NATO EOD Demonstrations and Trials 2021 was held in Bratislava, INCHEBA Expo area. 

The leading theme of this year’s event was “Technological innovations influencing future EOD and related capabilities” as a challenge for NATO and Partners Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) coming from various EOD and related domains, academia, industry, and other organisations involved in the fight against terrorism.

 The event was inaugurated by SVK Minister of Defence Mr Jaroslav NAĎ, Deputy CHOD Lieutenant General Ľubomír SVOBODA and Chairman of the NATO EOD Working Group Colonel Paul M. ILLINGWORTH.

The SVK Minister of Defence stressed, that Slovakia has been the Lead Nation for EOD and a respected partner to NATO Alliance since 2004. He emphasized that the SVK MOD has a continuous interest in new technologies development, as well as to support procedures improvements in the fight against explosive threats.  

Already the 6th iteration of NATO EOD Demonstrations and Trials was reinforced with a commemoration of the 10th anniversary of NATO EOD COE endorsement by the North Atlantic Council in 2021. Due to the significance and importance of this year in COE's history, the most distinguished guests and 36 experienced speakers were invited to support the happening. 

During the event, over 270 visitors from 32 countries had an opportunity to see equipment and technologies related to EOD, which were presented by 36 exhibitors from 17 countries.

Based on immediate feedback from the visitors and exhibitors, we can proudly announce that the goals of the event were achieved and we are already looking forward to continuing with the next iteration in 2023 for the benefit of EOD and related capabilities Community of Interest.