At the end of April, the State Police Anti-Terrorism Unit OMEGA organized an international seminar titled “Neutralization of Improvised Explosive Devices in Special Operations Tactics,” which took place within the framework of the EU Internal Security Fund project No. VP/IDF/2024/3, “Strengthening the Response Capacity of the Anti-Terrorism Unit (Phase 1).”
The seminar was attended by explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) specialists from special intervention units of Ukraine, Bulgaria, Lithuania, and Estonia, as well as officials from the National Armed Forces (NBS) Combat Support and Sustainment Training Center, a representative from the NBS National Guard 54th Combat Support Battalion, and dog handlers from the NBS Military Police. Representatives from the NBS Special Operations Unit (SPECOP) were invited as observers. To strengthen international cooperation in the field of improvised explosive device neutralization, officials from the Unit conducted training for participants on working with technical equipment, such as the EOD robots Telemax and Teodor, as well as water cannons and X-ray equipment. Each participant had the opportunity to test the equipment and its operating principles during the training, which was conducted in conditions closely resembling real-task environments.
Participants were given a task during which they had to utilize technical means to locate and neutralize a dangerous object. In addition to the international exchange of experience, tasks were organized for inter-institutional dog handlers with service dogs specializing in the search for explosive devices and their components. The aim of the seminar was to promote international cooperation in the field of searching, identifying, and neutralizing improvised explosive devices, which was achieved through the joint execution of tasks.
Upon concluding the seminar, foreign participants expressed their gratitude for the opportunity to gain experience in cooperation with the officials of Unit OMEGA. The seminar provided an opportunity for participants to learn how explosive ordnance disposal specialists from Ukrainian special intervention units perform the neutralization of such objects in real combat conditions on a daily basis.
The seminar was implemented within the framework of the EU Internal Security Fund project No. VP/IDF/2024/3, “Strengthening the Response Capacity of the Anti-Terrorism Unit (Phase 1),” for which the managing authority in Latvia is the Ministry of the Interior. Its implementation period is from August 1, 2024, to August 31, 2026.
