Aim

The C-IED COE is pleased to invite you to the C-IED COE Annual Conference 2026 (CIEDAC26) on Counter-IED, Technical Exploitation (TE) and Battlefield Evidence (BE), which will take place from 15-18 (Monday to Thursday) June 2026, at ILUNION Valencia 4 Hotel in Valencia, Spain.

This conference unites military, law enforcement, industry, and academic experts to tackle NATO’s evolving challenges. It fosters collaboration on emerging threats, shares insights, and identifies capability gaps and solutions. Building on past success, it continues to connect the Counter-IED and Technical Exploitation/Battlefield Evidence communities. Day one will open with group discussions and an Icebreaker, followed by targeted sessions on days two and three, enabling participants to engage across key disciplines.

The theme of CIEDAC26 is “The Evolution of Counter-IED Operations, Battlefield Evidence, and Technical Exploitation.”

Topics

The main topics for CIEDAC26 will be based on:

• C-IED in Multidomain Operations: What does the future of C-IED in military operations look like? Explore the role and integration of C-IED across the full spectrum of military operations, from low-intensity conflicts to high-end warfare in MDO.
• Advancing NATO’s TE and BE Capabilities: Promote and expand NATO’s TE/BE initiatives among Alliance members, Partner Nations, industry stakeholders, and law enforcement agencies.
• Information and Intelligence Sharing: Facilitate the exchange of threat updates related to ongoing conflicts, emerging technologies, and developments in C-IED and TE/BE training, education, and equipping.
• Community Insights: Bring together subject matter experts to share operational experiences, recent developments, and evolving requirements across C-IED, TE, and BE
• Innovation and Enablers: Establish relationships with Industry and Academia to support NATO defence planning priorities for technology, equipment, experimentation, and concepts.
• Interagency collaboration in C-IED/TE/BE: Understand human network dynamics and potential solutions through the collaboration within the joint/interagency environment. Discuss synergetic cross-boundary efforts and comprehensively reinforce capabilities against the effects by adversary human networks.