Balance sheet for 2023

Austrian Armed Forces disposed of 51 tons of war material

(Bild: BMLV/Laura HEINSCHINK)

In 2023, the demining service of the Austrian Armed Forces was deployed 1075 times to recover and destroy war relics. This involved a total of 51,292 kilograms of war material of various kinds: the specialists rendered harmless 27.2 tons of infantry ammunition, 275 hand grenades, 17 bazookas and 45 unexploded aerial bombs, among other things.

The areas in which they were deployed were diverse: they included bodies of water as well as forest areas, cities and alpine terrain. The demining service (EMD) diving team recovered 90.7 kilograms of war materials from bodies of water. In high alpine terrain - especially in the Austrian-Italian border region - the Alpine Group removed 40.8 kilograms of ammunition from the First World War.

19 tons of war material blown up
The EMD destroyed 19.1 tons of war material by detonation at blasting sites belonging to the Austrian Armed Forces. Around six tons of infantry ammunition were annealed in a special furnace and the resulting ammunition scrap was recycled. Around 6.7 tons of war scrap were taken directly for final disposal, the ministry announced on Sunday.

The challenge for the specialists was that they came across 31 pieces of ammunition that were not safe to handle and could not be transported safely. These parts had to be destroyed on the spot by blasting. In the process, 125.9 kilograms of war material was rendered harmless.

Most operations in Lower Austria
Last year, the most operations were carried out in Lower Austria, where 13.9 tons of war material were removed in 480 operations. This was followed by Styria with 23.2 tons in 155 operations, followed by Upper Austria with around 6.4 tons in 145 operations. In Burgenland, around 780 kilograms were rendered harmless in 75 operations, followed by Vienna with five tons in 72 operations. In Carinthia, the EMD removed 309 kilograms in 59 operations, in Tyrol 1.2 tons in 47 operations and in Salzburg around 255 kilograms in 35 operations. Vorarlberg brings up the rear with seven missions and 226 kilograms of war material recovered.

Handling ammunition is extremely dangerous for unauthorized persons, warns the Ministry of Defence. If a suspicious object is found, you should keep your distance, prevent people or animals from getting too close to the find and contact the nearest police station immediately. The members of the demining service of the Austrian Armed Forces will then be requested to defuse the war relic and remove it safely.