diff --git a/src/main/java/io/mapsmessaging/state/adapter/cot/CotIngestAdapter.java b/src/main/java/io/mapsmessaging/state/adapter/cot/CotIngestAdapter.java
index a06def2ef..abc1a81a6 100644
--- a/src/main/java/io/mapsmessaging/state/adapter/cot/CotIngestAdapter.java
+++ b/src/main/java/io/mapsmessaging/state/adapter/cot/CotIngestAdapter.java
@@ -203,6 +203,9 @@ public void sendMessage(@NotNull MessageEvent messageEvent) {
       if (payload != null && payload.length > 0) {
         enqueue(messageEvent.getDestinationName(), payload);
       }
+    } catch (RuntimeException exception) {
+      MessageOutcomeStats.failure(MessageOutcomeStats.Source.COT_INGEST, "unparseable");
+      logger.warn("CoT ingest adapter failed to queue an incoming message, dropped", exception);
     } finally {
       if (messageEvent.getCompletionTask() != null) {
         messageEvent.getCompletionTask().run();
diff --git a/src/test/java/io/mapsmessaging/state/adapter/cot/CotIngestAdapterDeliveryFailureTest.java b/src/test/java/io/mapsmessaging/state/adapter/cot/CotIngestAdapterDeliveryFailureTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f0c38de4f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/java/io/mapsmessaging/state/adapter/cot/CotIngestAdapterDeliveryFailureTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,132 @@
+/*
+ *
+ *  Copyright [ 2020 - 2024 ] Matthew Buckton
+ *  Copyright [ 2024 - 2026 ] MapsMessaging B.V.
+ *
+ *  Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 with the Commons Clause
+ *  (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ *  You may obtain a copy of the License at:
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *      https://commonsclause.com/
+ *
+ *  Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ *  distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ *  WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ *  See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ *  limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package io.mapsmessaging.state.adapter.cot;
+
+import io.mapsmessaging.api.MessageEvent;
+import io.mapsmessaging.api.message.Message;
+import io.mapsmessaging.state.drone.core.TwinManager;
+import io.mapsmessaging.state.metrics.MessageOutcomeStats;
+import io.mapsmessaging.utilities.admin.JMXManager;
+import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets;
+import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicBoolean;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.AfterEach;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.BeforeEach;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+import org.junit.jupiter.params.ParameterizedTest;
+import org.junit.jupiter.params.provider.EnumSource;
+
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertDoesNotThrow;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertEquals;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.mock;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.times;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.verify;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.when;
+
+class CotIngestAdapterDeliveryFailureTest {
+
+  private boolean originalJmx;
+
+  @BeforeEach
+  void disableJmx() {
+    originalJmx = JMXManager.isEnableJMX();
+    JMXManager.setEnableJMX(false);
+  }
+
+  @AfterEach
+  void restoreJmx() {
+    JMXManager.setEnableJMX(originalJmx);
+  }
+
+  @ParameterizedTest
+  @EnumSource(FailurePoint.class)
+  void delivery_failure_is_counted_completed_and_does_not_prevent_the_next_delivery(FailurePoint failurePoint) {
+    TwinManager twins = new TwinManager();
+    AtomicBoolean rejectEnqueue = new AtomicBoolean(failurePoint == FailurePoint.ENQUEUE);
+    CotIngestAdapter adapter = new CotIngestAdapter("/tak/cot/inbound/#", twins) {
+      @Override
+      void enqueue(String destinationName, byte[] payload) {
+        if (rejectEnqueue.getAndSet(false)) {
+          throw new IllegalStateException("Rejected enqueue");
+        }
+        super.enqueue(destinationName, payload);
+      }
+    };
+    byte[] payload = ("""
+        <event version="2.0" uid="delivery-recovery" type="a-f-A-M-F-Q" how="m-g"
+          time="2026-10-15T00:00:00Z" start="2026-10-15T00:00:00Z" stale="2026-10-16T00:00:00Z">
+          <point lat="38.0" lon="-9.0" hae="10" ce="1" le="1"/>
+        </event>
+        """).getBytes(StandardCharsets.UTF_8);
+    String destination = "/tak/cot/inbound/edge-a";
+    MessageEvent event = mock(MessageEvent.class);
+    Message message = mock(Message.class);
+    Runnable completion = mock(Runnable.class);
+    when(event.getMessage()).thenReturn(message);
+    when(message.getOpaqueData()).thenReturn(payload);
+    when(event.getDestinationName()).thenReturn(destination);
+    when(event.getCompletionTask()).thenReturn(completion);
+    switch (failurePoint) {
+      case MESSAGE -> when(event.getMessage()).thenThrow(new IllegalStateException("Message access")).thenReturn(message);
+      case PAYLOAD -> when(message.getOpaqueData()).thenThrow(new IllegalStateException("Payload access")).thenReturn(payload);
+      case DESTINATION -> when(event.getDestinationName()).thenThrow(new IllegalStateException("Destination access")).thenReturn(destination);
+      case ENQUEUE -> {
+        // The queue boundary fails once in the initialized adapter above.
+      }
+    }
+    long failures = failureCount();
+
+    assertDoesNotThrow(() -> adapter.sendMessage(event));
+
+    verify(completion, times(1)).run();
+    assertEquals(0, adapter.getQueueSize());
+    assertEquals(failures + 1, failureCount());
+
+    assertDoesNotThrow(() -> adapter.sendMessage(event));
+
+    verify(completion, times(2)).run();
+    assertEquals(1, adapter.getQueueSize());
+    assertEquals(0, twins.getTwinCount(), "Delivery must only queue; twin processing belongs to the worker");
+    assertEquals(failures + 1, failureCount());
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  void delivery_failure_without_a_completion_callback_is_also_contained() {
+    CotIngestAdapter adapter = new CotIngestAdapter("/tak/cot/inbound/#", new TwinManager());
+    MessageEvent event = mock(MessageEvent.class);
+    when(event.getMessage()).thenThrow(new IllegalStateException("Message access"));
+    long failures = failureCount();
+
+    assertDoesNotThrow(() -> adapter.sendMessage(event));
+
+    assertEquals(0, adapter.getQueueSize());
+    assertEquals(failures + 1, failureCount());
+  }
+
+  private static long failureCount() {
+    return MessageOutcomeStats.getCount(MessageOutcomeStats.Source.COT_INGEST, "unparseable", MessageOutcomeStats.Category.FAILURE);
+  }
+
+  private enum FailurePoint {
+    MESSAGE,
+    PAYLOAD,
+    DESTINATION,
+    ENQUEUE
+  }
+}