[ProtectOurFreedom]

NASA Standard Detonator ("NSD") commonly used on frangible nuts. People in spaceflight operations are trained to work safely with NSDs.

[TalonDJ]

There is a large difference between a nut that can go *bang* and a bomb large enough to destroy an entire aircraft. Not just shoot it down, but obliterate the technology. That is a pretty big bomb. The problem is not working with the bomb safely. The problem is that when you connect it to sensors specifically designed to make it blow if someone is working on it. If there is an easy (and safe) way to disarm it then there is no point in having it there in the first place because it will be easily defeated. NASA bolts and air bags are designed to NOT explode if you work on them. The same is true for air to air missiles, which someone else mentioned. Missiles and bolts cage be ‘safed’ by a technician because they are not designed specifically to blow technicians up.

Airbags are dangerous to work on and they are not even designed to explode if you work on them.

But even all that would have an engineering solution if there was a need for it. There isn't. The ‘self destruct’ on sensitive crashed planes is a 2 thousand pound bomb under an F-16. You lose a drone and you send the F-16 to bomb it. It is simple and saves a lot of development effort. The only weak spot of that system is the will of the president who has to order bombs dropped on another country.

There is no point in lugging around all the weight (drones already have a tiny payload) and risking maintainer's lives when you have a simple solution. The whole POINT of a drone is that they are less complex, cheaper, have long range, and don't risk anyone's life. If you put a big touchy bomb on each one you reduce every one of those benefits.