The US Navy’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technology Center has warned personnel not to upload highly sensitive bomb disposal data into generative AI systems, including both government-approved platforms and commercial tools, according to internal documents seen by DefenseScoop.
The guidance targets the Automated Explosive Ordnance Disposal Publication System, the EOD community’s most sensitive technical reference for identifying and neutralizing explosive threats.
The database contains classified and controlled unclassified procedures and is restricted to trained specialists.
Officials cautioned that once sensitive EOD material enters a generative system, it may be retained, reproduced, or inferred beyond its original controls, raising the risk of unauthorized dissemination.
“It is the bible and it is extremely closely guarded, and in many ways you can’t do the job without the information there,” Brian Castner, a former EOD officer, told DefenseScoop.
While acknowledging the appeal of using AI tools to process technical material, he said the system’s strict compartmentalization is a deliberate safeguard.
The database also carries intelligence value, revealing which weapons US forces can and cannot safely neutralize. In the wrong hands, that knowledge could be used to design explosives to defeat existing disposal methods.
