IED

Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) are makeshift bombs built from available materials and used primarily by insurgent and terrorist groups against conventional military forces. They can range from simple pipe bombs to sophisticated explosively formed penetrators (EFPs) capable of piercing the armor of military vehicles. IEDs have been the single most lethal weapon faced by U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, responsible for approximately 60% of all coalition casualties in those conflicts.

IEDs can be triggered by pressure plates, command wires, radio signals, infrared beams, or cell phone signals. Their construction varies enormously, from surplus artillery shells buried beside a road to complex arrays of linked charges designed to defeat mine-resistant vehicles. The adaptability and low cost of IEDs, often built for less than $100, make them extremely difficult to counter, as each countermeasure developed by the military prompts a new design from the bomb maker.

The IED threat drove massive investment in force protection, including the rapid fielding of Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles, the development of electronic jamming systems to block radio-triggered detonators, and the creation of the Joint IED Defeat Organization (now the Joint Improvised-Threat Defeat Organization). The lessons of the IED campaign have permanently changed vehicle design and route clearance procedures for military forces worldwide.