Defeating Improvised Explosive Devices (IED): Asymmetric Threats and Capability Gaps

Since our enemies are unable to defeat the U.S. Army through conventional means, they engage in sophisticated hybrid forms of warfare to exploit our vulnerabilities and threaten our national security. Because todays improvised explosive devices IED are not fueled by traditional military explosive materials, they avoid detection by traditional explosive detection technologies. The emergence of IEDs has led to the need for military organizations and civilian agencies to research and quickly deploy new systems to counter these asymmetric threats. Through the exploitation of IEDs, military organizations and civilian agencies will be able to determine how they function, and this knowledge will enable the Joint EOD community, and conventional troops, to defeat this threat.