The fourth NCT eXplosive Asia Event took place in Kuala Lumpur on May 12-14 in cooperation with the Malaysian Armed Forces. The event welcomed more delegates than ever before while hosting the first ever regional EOD forum in Malaysia. Highlighted by the Opening Keynote Address by General Tan Sri Dato Sri (Dr.) Zulkifeli bin Mohd Zin, Malaysian Chief of Defense, NCT eXplosive Asia discussed C-IED and EOD related challenges in prevention, training, response and procurement in Asia. 

In its fourth year, NCT eXplosive Asia assembled more delegates than ever before. With a large Malaysian delegation, and various international representatives from more than 20 countries, this year’s event was a more than worthy successor of previous editions in India, Thailand and Cambodia. Organized in cooperation with the Malaysian Armed Forces, the event raised a lot of interest in Malaysia itself, being the first focused regional C-IED and EOD conference in the country. As the event’s highlight, the Malaysian Chief of Defense himself, General Tan Sri Dato Sri (Dr.) Zulkifeli bin Mohd Zin, gave the Keynote Opening Address of this year’s NCT eXplosive Asia in front of representatives of the Malaysian Navy, Air Force, Army, Police and other Government Agencies. 

Current IED related challenges in Asia and worldwide 

The development of NCT eXplosive Asia into the largest and leading C-IED and EOD forum in Asia during the last four years is paralleled to the continuously changing threat environment. The kind of IED threats, related challenges in several countries, TTPs of international and regional terrorist networks, as well as available solutions provided by the international industry changed dramatically. After the withdrawal of ISAF from Afghanistan in 2014, armed conflicts that took place in the Middle East in the last 15 years as well as consequences of the Arab Spring are increasingly showing their challenging legacy for regional stability. Unfortunately countries such as Libya, Yemen, Iraq and Syria have practically become failed states, providing a safe haven for various terrorist networks – a fact highlighted by the establishment of ISIS in the Levante. 

Going further to the East, countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan and India are still challenged by terrorist attacks including explosives and IEDs on a daily basis. At the same time, Southeast Asia has come a long way, learning from several disastrous IED attacks in the 2000s such as the Bali Bombings. This has resulted in an enhanced regional cooperation and the establishment of regional Bomb Data Centers in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines. Moreover, these countries still face a recurrent threat of insurgencies, guerilla warfare and terrorist attacks in several regions. Starting from the enduring conflict in Southern Thailand, IED attacks in the Philippines reached a five-year peak in 2014 resulting from activities of terrorist networks such as the New People’s Army, Mindanao Khilafa Islamiyah, Secessionist Groups in the Southern Philippines and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters especially in the Mindanao and Lugon Area. Also Malaysia is increasingly fighting an internal threat in the Eastern Sabah Safety Zone. 

The NCT eXplosive Event Series in 2015 and 2016 

Due to this year’s outstanding success, the positive feedback of Malaysian representatives and the persistent need for the exchange of information in the region in cooperation with industry, next year’s NCT eXplosive Asia 2016 will again take place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – celebrating the event series’ five-year anniversary in November 2016. 

Therefore, this year’s NCT eXplosive Asia served as a first assessment of lessons learned from the last events, the development of IED threats in Asia and what the industry has to offer to counter such challenges effectively in order to protect both the soldier and the public. The Malaysian Chief of Defense Forces emphasized the importance of such events as ‘Non-State Actors as opposed to nation states become increasingly prominent in conflicts throughout the world.’ He continued: ‘These groups deemed as insurgents, separatists, militants, terrorists or transnational crime organizations have challenged the international community through a more asymmetric approach of violence to offset the disproportionality which exists. To meet this end, the use of Improvised Explosive Devices has become the primary choice of weapons in their inventories. […] To the participants of this conference, you have my heartfelt appreciation for involving yourself in a most vital aspect of Human Security which will shape the way we respond to this threat in the future.’ 

Following the Opening, the assessment of regional IED threats and respective needs in training, procurement and C-IED approaches was made by speakers such as Superintendent William Senoron (Chief of the Philippine Bomb Data Center) as well as his colleagues Colonel Dante Dinsay (Philippines Department of Transportation), Colonel Dararutana (Royal Thai Army) and Colonel Ronny Asnawi Asri (National Counter Terrorism Agency, Indonesia). Joined by renowned experts such as Inspector General Brigadier BK Ponwar (Counter Terrorism and Jungle Warfare College) and Commandant Mohd Jamal Khan (Institute of IED Management, Central Reserve Police Force, India), they gave an impressive introduction on the development of IED threats in their countries. In the Philippines for instance, terrorist networks are increasingly targeting public transportation and critical infrastructure and therefore face an important threat to public security. Captain Khalifa Saeed Al-Fulaiti (Weapons and Explosives Institute, Abu Dhabi Police, U.A.E.) also gave an outstanding example how the Abu Dhabi Police effectively prevents terrorist attacks also on critical infrastructure through training and further preventive efforts. 

In addition to these regional assessments and displays of needs and requirements in South and Southeast Asia, experts from Europe shared their experience and best practices from defeating the device to countering international terrorist networks in order to contribute to the overall training effort of the event. Maj. Julio Ortega (Spanish Ministry of Defense) shared the first lessons learned from the MNTEL C-IED forensics project in Afghanistan, followed by the best practices of the German Armed Forces in dealing with IEDs in Afghanistan, in particular roadside bombs, presented by Lt Col Christoph Wallner (C-IED Center of Excellence, German Armed Forces Joint Forces Operations Command). In addition, Samuel Paunila (GICHD) and Col. Mathew Geertsen (OECD) covered the problems that follow conflicts like in Ukraine when it comes to ERW disposal, ammunition safety management and stockpile disposal. 

That the threat of explosives does not only include the challenge of C-IED, but also the management of landmines and their respective disposal, was highlighted in an impressive speech by H.E. Sophak Monkol, new Secretary General of the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority. He concluded that the challenge of dealing with explosives is not only limited to warfare scenarios and the fight against terrorism in various countries. Regional mine action centers and the international community including major donors such as the U.S. Department of State and Norwegian People’s Aid will have to deal for a dozen years with international demining and land release that already followed impressive results for example in Cambodia. 

Industry Solutions 

And what does the industry provide as solutions that both apply for demining and C-IED missions? The exhibition of this year’s NCT eXplosive Asia included a perfect example of how industry can contribute in fighting IEDs and landmines. This starts with the Saab Training and Simulation equipment that allows extensive means to prepare the force in dealing with IEDs and landmines and therewith saves not only costs, but more importantly the lives of first responders and soldiers. In addition, companies such as Bruker Detection, ICM, Vallon, MAS Zengrage and K10 Working Dogs provided an overview of state of the art explosives detection, breaching tools and approaches that can also both serve for C-IED missions, critical infrastructure protection and mine detection. And last but not least, Cobham and Nexter provided a perfect example of second generation robotics, large and small, that can help defeating devices in various situations while putting the soldier and first responders out of risk. This year’s industry stakeholders therewith also encountered an overwhelming feedback from a regional C-IED community that is in urgent need for improved training tools, state of the art detection equipment and robotics. 

NCT Europe offered multiple opportunities to discuss every aspect of CBRNe in depth, including conference panels from recon to decon of CBRNe operations, USAR, medical preparedness and C-IED & EOD strategies with a series of interactive workshops.

Among these workshops we must mention the one dedicated to Airforce Capabilities in Countering CBRNe Threats and the one chaired by LTC Bernd Allert, Head Doctrine and Concept Development Section of the NATO JCBRN Defense COE, on Interoperability and Multinational Military Cooperation Across Europe. Another unique workshop was the CBRNe Capability Development Round Table reserved for international CBRNe Commanders and selected industry representatives with the aim of discussing future CBRNe threats and mission requirements in a trusted environment.

The event was seen as a total success and received fantastic feedback from sponsors, delegates and speakers alike. 

“The NCT eXplosive Asia Conference was important to Saab in order to offer and demonstrate to regional countries within Asia Pacific with significant IED threats, a proven training solution utilised to effectively and efficiently train their respective responsive task forces.  IB consultancy was timely and highly efficient in accommodating the needs of Saab and as a result, significant opportunities were presented, both militarily and business to business, resulting in the event achieving the outcomes that Saab had desired.  A very successful and worthwhile conference, executed impeccably.” Neil Patrick, Director, Marketing & Sales – Land Systems, Saab Asia Pacific.

“Indeed a very efficiently organised NCT eXplosive Asia 2015 event in Kuala Lumpur. Every interaction was well slated for a clear understanding. I felt honoured to give my presentation in such an International conference and it was a pleasure to listen to the Malaysian Army Chief and all other speakers.” Inspector General Brigadier Ponwar, Chattisgarh Police, India. 

“NCT eXplosive Asia has become one of the “must attend” exhibitions for ICM. The exhibition is a wonderful place to meet and discuss with real EOD experts, bomb squad team members, and high-ranking officials from Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and so on. The modest size of the event makes it easy to really interact with colleagues and prospects in a way that is hardly reachable in other major security events. Moreover, the large range of contacts and support from the IB-Consultancy team assures that both exhibitors and visitors meet the relevant party according to their expectations. NCT eXplosive Asia’s experience was a smashing success! Expectations were all met and ICM would recommend this quality event to all companies looking to meet both end users as decision taking officers.” Gregory Leclercq, Area Sales Manager, ICM x-ray. 

“The NCT eXplosive Asia 2015 event had a great exhibition. The organization was perfect in every aspect. The most important aspect in my opinion was the high level of the conference due to the quality and amount of information that was exchanged. The exposition of material was also very interesting, with the “front line” companies of the sector. It is my second time, and I am sure that NCT events are an unchallenged opportunity to improve knowledge and contacts in the CBRN and explosive businesses.” Maj. Julio Ortega Garcia, CBRN Defense School, Spanish Armed Forces.