The destruction of unstable and damaged ammunition in Albania.

Following the successful conclusion of the Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) demilitarisation project in Albania, the services of EOD Solutions Ltd has been retained to assist the Albanian Armed Forces (AAF) to destroy a large quantity of unstable and unserviceable ammunition.

Albania possess a large quantity of declared surplus and obsolete ammunition, some of which has proven to be in a highly unstable condition. Additionally a significant quantity of damaged ammunition has been recovered from the 15 "hotspots" - ammunition depots that were looted and where massive explosions took place in 1997. Ammunition which falls into either of these two categories has been earmarked for demilitarisation by open detonation for expedient and safety reasons.

EOD Solutions Ltd is providing technical expertise and resources to reinforce and capacity-build the AAF teams along side NATO's technical experts of the Partnership for Peace (PfP) mission to Albania, the Ammunition Management and Ordnance Disposal Advisory and Training Team (AMODATT).

The Company in conjunction with the AAF and the AMODATT have selected suitable locations where large scale demolitions, with a large gross weight can be conducted in safety.

The range of ammunition being destroyed covers the full spectrum of Land Service ordnance, less Small Arms Ammunition (SAA). There are significant quantities of High Explosive (HE) shell, Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPG) and anti-tank mines. The HE shell are principally the results of looting of the brass cartridge cases of Quick Firing (QF) fixed ammunition in 1997. Much of the ammunition will require repackaging prior to transportation to the destruction sites by the logistics organisation of the AAF.

The project, which is being undertaken under the auspices of the Stability Pact for South East Europe, is expected to continue for approximately 8 months.