AllMovie

Nova: Bomb Squad takes a critical look at the Felix Bomb Squad. These men of the British military are responsible for diffusing or safely detonating bombs planted by the Irish Republican Army (IRA). The documentary includes a brief history of the IRA and how they involved youngsters in their activities after Bloody Sunday in 1972. It then explores the technological leapfrogging that began, as the IRA made better bombs and the Bomb Squad developed new techniques to stop them. The IRA created booby-trapped bombs with anti-handling devices, mail bombs, mortar bombs, and car bombs; Felix countered with remote-controlled robots, X-ray machines, foam used to dampen explosions, and "disrupters" that knock a bomb apart without setting it off. Men at the secret location of the Felix training center also receive training in terrorist tactics so that they can better predict what the bombers will do.