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An improvised explosive device (IED) is a homemade explosive device constructed and deployed in a manner not standardized by official military ordnance. IEDs are typically assembled from commercially available explosives, household components, or repurposed military stock, and are designed to damage, injure, or kill. The improvised nature and variability of IEDs complicate detection and response compared with conventional weapons.

Most IEDs share three components: an energetic material (the explosive), an initiator or triggering mechanism, and a container that shapes the blast and fragmentation. Triggers may be mechanical (pressure or motion), electrical (firing circuits), electronic (remote, radar, or timing devices), or a combination. Delivery methods include concealed or roadside devices, pipes or cylinders, vehicle-borne IEDs (VBIEDs), and suicide IEDs.

IEDs have appeared in many conflicts and in civilian settings, where their adaptability allows use by insurgents and terrorists against military targets, security forces, and civilian infrastructure. The effects can include blast overpressure, fragmentation, fires, and structural damage, with casualties often disproportionately high for the size of the device.

Prevention and response rely on trained explosive ordnance disposal teams, bomb detection dogs, and coordinated emergency planning. Risk reduction emphasizes intelligence gathering, secure storage of explosive materials, public vigilance, and rapid deactivation or safe demolition of suspicious devices. International law prohibits the deliberate use of IEDs against noncombatants and establishes penalties for wrongdoing.