The Counter-Improvised Explosive Devices – Centre of Excellence (C-IED COE) participates in the exercise Valiant Blaster, supporting the training programme of the Spanish Marine Brigade.

27 November 2024.- From 17 to 22 November, the C-IED COE participated in the exercise Valiant Blaster, held annually in Cádiz.

Organized by the Spanish Marine Brigade as part of their training programme, the exercise is aimed at maintaining and improving the EOD capabilities needed in the fight against IEDs.

The exercise included EOD units from Spanish Armed Forces (Navy, Army and Air and Space Forces) and Allied countries, as well as personnel from diverse law enforcement agencies. Its main objective has been to promote, strengthen and increase interoperability between the various EOD units, as well as to share TTPs and best practices, with special emphasis on Defeat the Device within the three pillars of the C-IED fight.

The C-IED COE, as a reference centre in the discipline, has supported the exercise with the participation of experts from the “Defeat the Device” branch. It has also provided participants with an updated conference on the different emerging threats in the various theatres of operations where the Spanish Armed Forces and Allied Armies currently carry out their missions.

Through the preparation of realistic scenarios, thanks to the data collected in areas of operations, activities have been carried out where participants have faced a wide variety of IEDs (commanded, activated by the victim, suicide vests, car bombs, among others) and have been able to put into practice the usefulness of various TTPs, integrating EOD practices, level 1 technical exploitation and the work of the WIT team and the CCEOD in the intelligence cycle.

Participating in these initiatives, the C-IED COE shows, once again, its commitment with the provision of updated training, its availability to collaborate with other units and its role as a referent in the fight against IEDs.