The evolution of the IED

摘要

Will the weapon of choice of today's insurgents also be the weapon of tomorrow? That is the question posed by new data on the proliferation of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). While the IED is sometimes described as a new technology, it actually has a lengthy history. Ships loaded with explosives were used as far back as the 1500s, while various jury-rigged bombs and mines were used in our own Civil War, such as at the naval battle of Mobile Bay and the land battle of Petersburg. Even the "new" version of IEDs — whose explosively formed penetrators can pierce even the armor plating of the U.S. military's mine-resistant vehicles — actually dates back to World War II.