BLACK CAT WATCH
Welcome to the May 2026 edition of the Black Cat Watch. In this edition we cover the month of May 2026. We report on the latest updates in EOD Robotic 3D Optics, Secure Data links, the worldwide EOD news, and a small sample of recent UK EOD incidents.
The Regiment
Regimental Update
We send congratulations to WO2 (SSM) Bradley who selected as WO1 and takes over the role of SMI (Reserves) at RHQ.
Also, congratulations to Sgt James Nash who promotes to SSgt, and has been successful in selecting to remain at 221 Fd Sqn for his next post as Senior PSI.
The Regiment welcomes 2Lt Hannah McCaulay who joins 217 Fd Sqn at Southend and 2Lt Guido Rowe joins 579 Fd Sqn at Redill.
The Regiment continues to work towards its Conventional Munitions Disposal (CMD) end state. Thanks go to Rey Fadil whose legacy KSE and plethora of paperwork has helped the Executive Officer (XO) and G7 stores Team to build their proposals for a 3 week mobilisation CMD course and also routine career CMD courses.
Ex BLACK CAT ATTACK was run during May, the first rural exercise of the training year. Four sections completed round robin stands focusing on EOD, Search, Combat Engineering, BCDT, followed by a complex deliberate attack.
Young Officers were in command of SHQ for the duration, putting them through their paces. They also started in-house revision on the Combat Estimate which will continue through the year. The next exercise will be Ex BLACK CAT ASSAULT at DEMS Trg Regt in June.
EOD Capability Update
EOD Robots Equipted With 3D Camera Sensors
Traditional EOD robots have long relied on 2D cameras, forcing operators to guess depth, clearance, and distance when manipulating a threat. The latest tech introduces highly accurate spatial awareness: Automated Photogrammetry and EODVOID: Initiatives like the U.S. Army's EODVOID (Explosive Ordnance Disposal Visual Ordnance Identification Database) use automated photogrammetry. Robots equipped with multi-camera arrays can scan a piece of ordnance from all angles and construct a highly detailed 3D model in a single action. This feeds into computer vision algorithms that help identify a threat even if it is rusted, damaged, or deformed. Factory-Calibrated Stereo 4K & Real-time SLAM: For both ground-based and maritime/underwater EOD (such as Deep Trekker’s recent SPECTRA and REVOLUTION platforms), systems are incorporating dual 4K stereo cameras. Combined with 3D Sonar SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping), these systems continuously map the spatial geometry of a threat in real-time, outputting highly accurate 3D point clouds without needing external reference markers.
Secure, Link Drop Free Wireless Robot Control
Historically, EOD Robots have relied on embilical cord, wireless Bluetooth and Secure WIFI communucations technology for remote control.
These systems have been subject to jamming, 'see through', or mobility constriants, now new technology is prividing anti jamming, non-drop, and barrier penetrative robot signal control.
As modern threats evolve to include commercial drones and complex improvised triggers, electronic warfare has become vital to EOD security.
Integrated Land CEMA: Advanced, reprogrammable systems (such as Leonardo's Guardian Shield) have introduced next-generation integrated EOD ECM capabilities. These systems provide modular, highly flexible jamming to protect operators from radio-controlled threats and sophisticated electronic triggers in demanding environments.
public World News
Conflict Zone: Ukraine
Following waves of missile and drone strikes across the country in May '26,EOD teams from the State Emergency Service (SES) have been working around the clock to manage unexploded volatile hardware in urban and agricultural areas:
Kh-101 Cruise Missiles: In the Pryluky district of the Chernihiv Oblast, SES EOD specialists successfully isolated and safely neutralized the intact warheads of two Russian Kh-101 cruise missiles that crashed in open fields but failed to detonate.
Urban Neutralization: During a heavy aerial attack on Kyiv, emergency responses in the Holosiivskyi District were complicated when an unexploded warhead landed on a residential tennis court. EOD teams were rushed in to conduct precision clearance amidst ongoing fire rescue operations.
Ukraine remains one of the most heavily mined countries in the world, with roughly 132,000 to 139,000 square kilometers (over 20% of the country) considered potentially contaminated.
The latest updates regarding EOD operations include the following:
1. Shift to High-Tech: Drones & Magnetometers
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence is heavily prioritizing tech-driven clearance to keep human sappers safer.
UAV Magnetic Mapping: Demining specialists are undergoing targeted training at the Ukrainian Training and Testing Complex (UTTC) to map hazardous areas using drones equipped with specialized magnetometers. These sensors detect localized anomalies in the Earth's magnetic field to map out subsurface metal and buried unexploded ordnance (UXO).
Full-Cycle Training: EOD operators are learning everything from flight-mission planning to piloting multiple drone platforms, effectively relying on AI and autonomous remote systems to pinpoint danger zones before crews step foot on the ground.
Conflict Zone: The Middle East
The ceasefire between the US and Iran remains technically intact. However, as at the 30th May 2026, the Straits of Hormuz remain 95% closed. Donald Trump has failed to endorse the latest Memorandom of Understanding seen as the pathway to enable a 60 day detailed peace negotiation period.
The US launced target strikes on Larak Island on the 25th May hitting missle launch sites and mine laying fast boats. In retaleration Iran launched a missle strikes against the US airbase in Kuwait.
Both the US and Iran are playing a high stakes game of 'Chicken', the politcal commentatators describing the US as playing poker (with bluff), and the Iranians playing a game of strategic Chess. Therefore, the countries are not playing the same game.
President Trump continues to post optimistic peace deal comments through his 'Truth Social' application, which effects global stock markets in Oil and Stock index futures. The truth is, nothing has materially progessed to open the Straits of Hurmuz as at the end of May.
With strategic oil reserves continuing to decline weekly by millions of barrels of oil, the world remains on the precipice of an energy imposed recession,
radar Recent UK EOD Incidents
May 2026
| Date | Location | UXO Discovered | Disposal Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st May | Southway area, Plymouth, Devon | SC 250kg WW2 German Bomb | Because the bomb disposal experts deemed the heavy device unsafe to move, a joint specialist team from the British Army (8 Engineer Brigade) and the Royal Navy established a strict 400-metre evacuation cordon. They successfully executed a controlled, partial detonation in situ.. |
| 9th May | Hollymoor Way, Northfield, Birmingham | Homemade Explosives | Suspect explosive items discovered at a residential address following a police raid, 400m cordon put in place whilst an EOD team mitigated the threat. |
| 12th May | Morrisons Car Park, Black Fan Road, Welwyn Garden City | A "suspected unexploded bomb" uncovered by workmen executing groundworks. | The EOD team was called out to evaluate the object; it was safely excavated, loaded into a secure container, and removed from the site to be disposed of at an off-site demolition range. |
| 14th May | Shoebury Common Beach, Southend-on-Sea, Essex | World War II-era anti-aircraft (AA) artillery shell | An Army EOD team was dispatched to the beach and successfully destroyed the shell via a controlled explosion right on the shoreline.. |
| 24th May | Beach near Teignmouth Pier, Teignmouth, Devon | Suspected Naval Shell | EOD officers attended the scene during low tide to safely assess, recover, and remove the item from the beach.. |
| 26th May | Dowson Road, Norwich, Norfolk | A historic explosive device was discovered in a residential garden | The Army’s EOD team arrived at the scene, safely assessed the device, and carefully transported it away from the residential area to a secure site off Drayton High Road. A controlled explosion was carried out later that afternoon, |