The following release was adapted from a release published by NCITE on July 15, 2024. The July 18, 2024, webinar for this report is available on YouTube.
The National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center (NCITE) recently published a new report, Research Challenges in Combating Terrorist Use of Explosives in the United States. The report outlines the current terrorist improvised explosive device (IED) threat environment and identifies key priorities for explosives experts—in government, industry, and academia—for preventing and disrupting future attacks. The National Strategic Research Institute (NSRI) at the University of Nebraska, a University Affiliated Research Center designated by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), contributed operational support and subject matter expertise to the project.
"The insights and recommendations provided in the report enable better decision-making at all levels, from strategic planning to tactical operations," said Wes Carter, NSRI research director for field operations and training. "The focus on detection, training and response strategies directly contributes to the safety and effectiveness of personnel dealing with explosive threats, and the report's findings can guide the allocation of resources, ensuring that investments are made in the most effective technologies and strategies. It is forward-thinking and actionable, and I'm proud that our team was able to bring in so many members of the response community, including the DOD, to ensure that it was relevant to their needs."
Terrorists continue to use IEDs because they are relatively easy to make and cause outsized harm to targets, said NSRI Fellow Dr. Austin Doctor, head of counterterrorism research initiatives at NCITE and principal investigator on the IED project. This makes them a particularly dangerous tool in a heightened threat environment.
"The IED threat to homeland security isn’t static. It’s evolving in concerning ways. This is accelerated, in part, by malign use of emerging commercial technologies and the shifting landscape of violent extremism in the U.S.," Doctor said.
Doctor credited NCITE’s close partnership with the interagency counter-IED mission community with helping the project team identify key challenges around which the scientific community can orient efforts to mitigate the future terrorist IED threat.
"I’m grateful to the Department of Homeland Security for entrusting this important work to NCITE,” Doctor said.
The NCITE publication updates a previous report, published in 2008, that has long served as a landmark resource in the field. To gather information, NCITE hosted a 2023 workshop in Washington, D.C., that brought together some of the nation’s leading minds in explosives and challenged them to work together to identify knowledge gaps in the current understanding of the IED threat.
"This project is a perfect example of the kind of interdisciplinary, timely and responsive research that NCITE is well positioned to do,” said NCITE Director Dr. Gina Ligon. “This fits squarely within our mission to help protect our nation from emerging threats with in-depth academic pursuit."
The new report outlines 10 critical “grand challenges,” or priorities in which applied science and technology research could most benefit practitioners and policymakers working to disrupt the IED threat. Among these priorities:
- Bolstering the security of soft targets, such as event venues and sport stadiums.
- Understanding how emerging technologies, such as commercial drones, extended reality, and artificial intelligence, may shape terrorist IED attacks.
- Developing a common lexicon and system of information sharing among individuals and organizations in the counter-IED mission community.
The two-year project was funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (DHS S&T). Within S&T, DHS’s Office of University Programs (OUP) funds Centers of Excellence at colleges and universities around the country, which conduct research to support national security.
NCITE, a Center of Excellence based at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO), holds an agreement with DHS that allows the government to request research that relates to its most pressing needs.
"This report demonstrates the critical role DHS’s Centers of Excellence play in keeping our nation safe,” said Jennifer Foley, deputy director with OUP. “By tapping NCITE’s deep bench of academic expertise, we’ve been able to put together a clearer picture of the current IED threat, giving those tasked with protecting us all from these attacks a critical new tool."
Throughout the research process, NCITE worked closely with the Office for Bombing Prevention within the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) which helped ensure the report’s relevance to those working in the counter-IED mission community.
"This research fulfills a critical need for the boots-on-the-ground practitioners who everyday are working to protect our communities from terrorist explosive attacks,” said Jason Stewart, deputy branch chief with the Office for Bombing Prevention. “I know that this report will serve as a key resource for the counter-IED mission community for years to come."
Daniel Polanski, NSRI director of training, said NCITE's top researchers and data analysts, combined with NSRI's unique expertise in the chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive (CBRNE), significantly enhanced the project's value.
"I was particularly impressed with NCITE's ability to process a vast amount of data and transform it into a relevant, usable and digestible product," he said. "The most important lesson was the willingness and enthusiasm of the law enforcement community and DOD personnel to participate and contribute. They were eager to be part of the solution and to share their years of knowledge to improve the community they have dedicated their lives to serving."
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About the National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center (NCITE)
The National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center (NCITE) is the Department of Homeland Security's Center of Excellence for terrorism prevention and counterterrorism research. It is the nation's leading academic center for the study of emerging and novel terrorism threats. Based at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO), the NCITE consortium includes more than 50 expert researchers from partner institutions across the U.S. and Europe. unomaha.edu/ncite
About the National Strategic Research Institute (NSRI)
Through the National Strategic Research Institute at the University of Nebraska leading scientists deliver innovative national security research, technology, product and strategy development, training and exercises, and subject matter expertise to the Department of Defense and other federal agencies. One of only 15 DOD-designated University Affiliated Research Centers in the country, NSRI is sponsored by U.S. Strategic Command and works to ensure the United States’ safety and preparedness against increasingly sophisticated threats. Read about our mission.
