UXO Clearance Solutions (UCS) is a UXO/ERW clearance company based in Laos, owned and managed by Australian & New Zealand Army veterans. Our key staff, both Lao & foreign, have decades of history working in this industry and have been important players in establishing the institutions of the UXO sector here.
We’ve successfully provided land clearance services for reputable organizations like World Vision, MIVAC, China Cable Corporation, Nam Theun Power Company, Burapha Wood, CARE, US Army Corps of Engineers, the US Embassy, Phonesack Group, SilviCarbon (formerly Stora Enso), and Hongsa Power Company, among others.
Our extensive experience, legacy, and innovative UXO clearance methodologies establish us as the go-to resource for both commercial projects and humanitarian initiatives.
Reach out to us for UXO advice tailored to your project needs. Whether it involves mining exploration, wind or solar farm construction, rural development, underwater clearance, or agriculture, explore our services page for an overview of the solutions we offer.
What is UXO and why is it still dangerous?
UXO stands for Unexploded Ordnance – that is, bombs or ammunition that didn’t function as intended.
It’s the “as intended” bit of that sentence that matters – just because a bomb didn’t go off when it was supposed to, doesn’t mean that the explosive materials contained within can’t still be set off by other means of disturbance.
These explosive materials and the steel that they’re encased in, are incredibly durable to the effects of time and ground conditions. Whether it be on dry land or at the bottom of a canal, even UXO from WWII can still go off.
Stories of Unexploded Ordnance
An estimated 30% of the bombs dropped on Laos between 1964-73 failed to detonate and thus, decades on from the secret war, tragedies like this are still occurring:
The first accident occurred in Thong village on September 17 when two men aged 29 and 25 were killed when they went to cut some trees to build their houses. While removing some wood that was lying on the ground they disturbed a device underneath which exploded and killed them on the spot.
