Counter-IED Market Size & Share Analysis - Growth Trends and Forecast (2026 - 2031)

Global Counter-IED Market Trends and Insights

Rising defense-budget allocation to asymmetric warfare preparedness

Defense ministries now allocate larger slices of rising budgets to irregular-threat capabilities. The US FY 2026 request tops USD 1.01 trillion, explicitly funding counter-terrorism and demining technologies. European NATO members that exceeded the 2% of GDP defense benchmark in 2024 continue to channel incremental funds toward C-IED programs, influenced by operational lessons from Ukraine. East Asian expenditure reached USD 411 billion in 2023 and is still climbing, translating into fresh tenders for detection radars, handheld disruptors, and route-clearance UGVs. As budgets grow, procurement agencies emphasize open architectures and rapid technology refresh to stay ahead of proliferating homemade devices.

Accelerated fielding of manned–unmanned teaming (MUM-T) C-IED assets

MUM-T doctrine has moved from prototypes to field deployment. The US Army’s Apache–Shadow–Gray Eagle experiments demonstrated autonomous convoy route-clearance, validating interoperable data links for IED defeat missions. Israel Defense Forces now operate RobDozer bulldozers and M113-based autonomous systems for high-risk neutralization, cutting human exposure on Gaza border routes. European ground forces follow suit through the Franco-British Maritime Mine Counter Measures and ELROB trials that showcased Rheinmetall’s UGV convoy leader. The resulting demand favors scalable control software and standardized payload bays compatible with mixed manned and robotic teams.

Rapid advances in AI-enabled multi-sensor fusion for IED detection

Defense labs have paired machine-learning classifiers with ground-penetrating radar, EO/IR cameras, and EM sensors to lift detection probability while slashing false alarms. During high-throughput checkpoint trials, DHS pilots showed that AI fusion lowered positive-alarm rates by 30%. The Army’s C5ISR Center reports that fusing metadata from multiple sensor pods gives route-clearance platoons real-time predictive threat heat-maps, shrinking decision cycles from minutes to seconds. Commercial innovators such as APSTEC scale the concept to civil portals that screen 3,000 people per hour without operator intervention.

Growing demand for vehicle-agnostic CREW kits across allied armed forces

Coalition operations exposed the inefficiency of bespoke jammers fixed to a single vehicle type. New modular Counter-Radio Controlled IED Electronic Warfare (CREW) kits, exemplified by Northrop Grumman’s JCREW Increment 1b, bolt onto tactical trucks, MRAPs, or UGVs with minimal wiring changes.^{[2]Source: Northrop Grumman, “JCREW Counter-IED Systems,” northropgrumman.com} NATO standardization documents now incorporate common power connectors and software-defined radios, allowing allies to swap spares in theater. Procurement offices endorse this flexibility because it reduces lifecycle cost and accelerates spares pooling during joint operations.

High capital cost of EW-grade GaN RF front-ends

Gallium-nitride power amplifiers let CREW transmitters cover wide 5G-era threat envelopes because GaN offers higher electron mobility and thermal efficiency than older gallium-arsenide parts, allowing smaller devices to push kilowatt-class output across multioctave bands. The downside is manufacturing: GaN layers are grown on costly silicon-carbide substrates in metal-organic chemical vapor deposition reactors that still run single-digit wafer yields, so each die that survives probe testing carries a premium price. Limited trusted-foundry capacity inside the United States and Europe compounds the problem, forcing primes to compete with commercial telecom buyers for the same epitaxy slots, which keeps average selling prices well above USD 20 per watt in the L-band. Northrop Grumman engineering briefs caution that unless new 150 mm reactors and automated back-end lines come online by 2027, volume buys larger than brigade scale could slip a year or more for smaller allies that lack multiyear funding lines, prompting some defense ministries to hold legacy silicon jammers longer than planned.

Spectrum-management bottlenecks limiting CREW jamming power levels

Civil 5G roll-outs now dominate the 3.3–4.2 GHz mid-band and large parts of the 700 MHz and 26 GHz ranges, which militaries previously treated as discretionary training spectrum. To protect commercial services, national regulators working through the ITU and bodies such as the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations impose power spectral-density caps and force electronic-warfare units to leave guard channels, which shortens effective standoff range when jammers operate near high-rise glass and steel that already attenuate signals. Field commanders in megacities face a trade-off: radiate enough energy to burn through urban clutter and risk telecom interference fines, or accept reduced neutralization bubbles that leave troops within insurgent trigger distances. The European Defence Agency recommends agile, directional antennas and real-time spectrum-sensing firmware so jammers can hop away from public networks in milliseconds. Still, these mitigation features raise system cost and complicate coalition interoperability tests.^{[3]Source: European Defence Agency, “Spectrum Management Challenges in Electromagnetic Operations,” eda.europa.eu}

Segment Analysis

By Capability: Detection Dominance Drives Current Deployments

Detection solutions generated the largest slice of the counter-IED market revenue in 2025, equal to a 59.10% counter-IED market share, as commanders prioritized finding bombs before convoys rolled. Ground-penetrating radar paired with high-resolution synthetic-aperture algorithms now distinguishes disturbed soil at a walking pace, while passive RF sniffers flag trigger circuits. The counter-IED market size for countermeasures is projected to rise 4.59% annually to 2031 as doctrine shifts toward active defeat.

Demand for countermeasures centers on wideband CREW transmitters covering 20 MHz to 6 GHz and directed-energy weapons such as Iron Beam lasers that neutralize threats at the speed of light. Robotics adds another layer: armored EOD UGVs like IAI RobDozer employ 15-ton plow blades and remote-controlled disruptors, enabling route-clearance in hostile terrain without exposing sappers.

Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

By Deployment: Vehicle Integration Reflects Operational Priorities

Vehicle-mounted systems accounted for 66.60% of the counter-IED market size in 2025, underpinned by convoy protection doctrines that embed jammers, cameras, and radars onto tactical trucks. The approach delivers on-board power and ballistic shielding, making it the default for brigade movement and logistics resupply.

Growth momentum, however, is shifting skyward. Aerial pods—whether slung under manned helicopters or Group 4 UAVs—are forecast to post a 5.18% CAGR, the fastest in the deployment category. Early US Navy ALMDS mine-detection pods and Army NERO EW payloads illustrate the appeal: wide area coverage, minimal exposure to roadside ambush, and quick redeployment to new theaters. Dismounted troops still rely on man-portable disruptors such as the 11 kg GMJ9500 to secure cordon searches in urban alleys.

By End User: Military Applications Drive Current Demand

Armed forces generated 86.10% of 2025 revenue, a testament to two decades of combat experience against improvised threats. Procurement agencies demand ruggedized electronics rated for sand, salt-spray, shock, and encrypted communications that mesh with coalition networks. Foreign Military Sales (FMS) pipelines extend the same US-approved kits to partner nations, maintaining commonality for joint exercises.

Civil agencies now accelerate purchases, lifting the homeland security segment's CAGR to 4.78%. Border-inspection fleets adopt Eagle M60 high-energy scanners to detect bulk explosives in cargo trucks, while metro police install walk-through AI portals able to process 900 passengers per lane per hour without stopping flow. The civilian segment thus broadens supplier addressable markets beyond traditional defense primes.

Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

By Technology: Electronic Warfare Leadership Faces Autonomous Challenge

Electronic warfare (EW) solutions retained 46.40% of 2025 revenue share on the strength of decades-old RF-jamming doctrine and maturing software-defined radio architectures. Tunable notches safeguard friendly comms, and auto-detect functions classify new threat waveforms in seconds. Yet performance ceilings loom as adversaries hop into mmWave bands.

Robotic and autonomous platforms show the sharpest climb—5.55% CAGR—thanks to falling sensor prices and superior survivability. The Israeli military has logged more than 40,000 drone and rocket interceptions using IAI radars paired with autonomous effectors, a reference that persuades export buyers. Manned–unmanned teaming, therefore, reshapes the technology mix, integrating autopilots, LIDAR, and AI-enabled obstacle avoidance into what used to be purely EW-centric procurements.

Geography Analysis

North America represented 49.30% of the counter-IED market revenue in 2025, sustained by a USD 1 trillion defense budget and deep operational know-how from Iraq and Afghanistan. The DoD pushes multi-domain protection prototypes into user evaluations, trimming acquisition cycles and preserving regional leadership. Canada’s border-security upgrades and Mexico’s focus on organized crime IEDs add incremental demand.

The Asia-Pacific counter-IED market exhibits a projected 5.05% CAGR through 2031, the fastest zone, propelled by territorial flashpoints in the South and East China seas. India invests in Israeli radars, roadside jammers, and robotic mine plows under emergency procurement rules, while Australia funds unmanned route clearance as part of its Defense Strategic Review implementation. ASEAN states adopt lower-cost man-portable disruptors to protect urban transit hubs, broadening the regional customer base. Europe sustains buying momentum through NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence and accelerated rearmament triggered by the war in Ukraine. Multinational programs in Brussels coordinate test protocols and life-cycle support, lifting smaller member states that lack Indigenous C-IED labs. In the Middle East and Africa, procurement remains episodic, but oil-export gains allow Gulf states to purchase top-tier directed-energy systems, while UN peacekeeping missions in the Sahel fuel demand for rugged detection kits.