By Vincent Deery, CEO, 3DX-Ray Ltd
In October 2024 the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) and France, alongside UNMAS and the Conflict Armament Research and Mines Advisory Group, co-hosted an event entitled “Emerging Threats of IEDs: Insights and Responses”1. It discussed how improvised explosive devices remain an evolving, dynamic and multifaceted threat to peace, security and sustainable development. Their use continues to harm civilians, including United Nations personnel, disrupting the provision of humanitarian assistance, and impeding the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Claudia Garcia Guiza, a Political Affairs Officer at UNODA, presented key observations and recommendations outlined in the 2024 Secretary-General’s report on IEDs2. The report highlighted that nearly half of all explosive ordnance casualties in 2023 were caused by IEDs. Of those casualties, 68 per cent were civilians, underlining the devastating impact of IEDs.
In November, the UN reported that Libya faces major challenges with more than 444 million sq meters of its territory still contaminated with mines and war remnants.
And in December, as if to emphasize the global nature of the issue, an operation in South America, coordinated by Interpol resulted in the seizure of more than 28,000kg of explosive materials, 3,400 Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and thousands of other components used in their manufacture. There’s evidence that in South America, there’s a particularly high illegal flow of chemicals and components that can be used to make explosives. The trade of these materials is closely linked to organized crime and armed groups with IEDs used for a range of criminal activities, from terrorist attacks and territorial violence to robberies and strikes on security forces. IEDs are frequently used to inflict maximum harm and devastation, capitalizing on their anonymity and unpredictability to instil fear and chaos.
It’s clear that IEDs remain a global and constantly evolving threat, whether that’s in conflict zones, in the hands of rogue states, criminals or terrorist groups.
Whether it is for peacekeepers, humanitarian organisations, military or law enforcement EOD units, the need for enhanced detection technologies has never been more important.
Portable X-Ray systems have established themselves as one of the most indispensable detection tools available to EOD units worldwide. In fact, it is difficult to imagine how any unit could operate safely without one.
But not all the systems available on the market offer the same capability. For instance, not all systems offer remote-control, high-resolution imaging and colour discrimination.
Why are these capabilities so important?
One of the critical concerns frequently highlighted by operators is the need to avoid returning to a potential explosive device, exposing themselves to danger a second or even multiple times.
That makes getting high-quality images incredibly important. What determines the overall image quality is a combination of both the detector panel and the X-ray generator. The focal spot size of the generator and the panel together determine where you will get the best quality image.
If the focal spot size of the generator is poor the best image will be right at the panel’s surface, meaning poor penetration and a return to the device to reposition the panel and generator to scan other areas of the object.
3DX-Ray ThreatScan software enables EOD operators to take multiple scans, gradually increasing the power and exposure each time, increasing the penetration with each scan in a sort of virtual layer cake
of images, from front to back or top to bottom. And they are able to do this remotely.
This becomes more and more important the more complex the item being scanned.
For instance, scanning the boot of a vehicle suspected of containing a device. With the large panel on one side and the X-ray generator on the other, it is possible to scan the entire boot space from one side of a car to the other, including the panels and contents, without ever touching the vehicle. But the boot may contain multiple bags and containers haphazardly stored and each of those bags could also contain multiple items, making for a very confused image in a single scan. But, by remotely taking multiple scan images, each at a slightly higher power and penetration, the operator can achieve a layered view of the boot space, making it possible to view each successive layer in more detail. This can all be done remotely without the operator having to approach the suspect vehicle more than once.
Another important consideration is the threat posed by Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives (CBRNe). In this scenario, materials discrimination is a vital capability, enabling the operator to determine instantly whether there are any organic powders, substances or liquids present that could threaten chemical or biological contamination.
It works by differentiating different materials in each X-ray scan in different colours i.e. blue, green and orange.
Blue meaning metals – such as pipe bombs, knives, guns, ammunition, hand grenades, nails, ball bearings, steel, iron, copper.
Green means inorganic – such as aluminium, salts, chlorates, black powder, Al powder, calcium nitrate, clay plumbers’ putty, clay.
Orange means organic – such as most explosives, water, chemicals, soda, milk, flammable liquids.
But that’s not the only benefit of materials discrimination.
Terrorists and criminals also try to hide their weapons, bombs or contraband items and trick X-ray systems and operatives into missing them. A common method is to hide things behind or inside something that blocks the X-ray.
To overcome this, 3DX-Ray introduced a “Probe” function. “Probe” can virtually peel away dense blocking layers allowing you to examine items behind them. You can even identify organic and inorganic material behind the block based on the material’s average effective atomic number (Zeff).
At a glance materials discrimination also allows operators to see the relationship between organic and non-organic materials. For instance, organic materials on their own are likely to be innocent but if there is circuitry and wiring linked to an organic material, it is instantly suspicious and prompts furtherinvestigation.
So, as IEDs’ threats continue evolve, it’s not just about having a portable X-ray system, it’s about having the right portable X-ray system! ■
FOOTNOTES
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Vincent Deery is the CEO of 3DX-Ray Ltd.
Download PDF: 40-42 Vincent Deery article – Emerging threats of IEDs – COUNTER-IED REPORT, Winter 2024-25
Counter-IED Report Winter 2024/25