New technologies to address explosive hazards in Africa

The report examines the application of new technologies to address explosive hazards in Africa, including landmines, explosive remnants of war (ERW), improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and ammunition storage area (ASA) explosions. It evaluates remote sensing tools like visible light cameras, thermal imaging, LiDAR, and SAR, alongside AI-powered deep learning for data processing. The document also explores alternative disposal methods such as thermite tools, binary liquid explosives, and explosive harvesting systems. It concludes by assessing technology readiness levels (TRLs) and providing recommendations for African states, the African Union, and donors to modernize HMA operations despite shrinking funding.

• Humanitarian mine action (HMA) funding has seen significant global reductions in 2025, with African programmes being particularly affected.
• The nature of explosive threats in Africa is shifting from conventional landmines and ERW toward the widespread use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), which are the weapon of choice for non-state armed groups in countries such as Mali, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Somalia, and the Central African Republic.
• Weaponised unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and first-person-view (FPV) drones have introduced new hazards in conflict zones like Sudan, Libya, and Mali, often leaving behind sensitive unexploded ordnance.
• Accidental or deliberate explosions at ammunition storage areas (ASAs) cause catastrophic casualties and spread high densities of explosive ordnance over wide areas, which are then often looted by non-state armed groups for IEDs.
• Airborne remote sensing technologies offer significant advantages for HMA by removing operators from danger and covering large areas efficiently. Visible light cameras (TRL 9) are the most affordable, while thermal imaging (TRL 8) is effective in arid environments, and LiDAR (TRL 7 or 8) can penetrate dense vegetation.
• The 'data deluge' from high-resolution sensors makes human-only analysis impossible; deep-learning AI models (TRL 7 or 8) are essential to automatically process imagery, increase detection probability, and reduce false alarms.
• Alternative disposal technologies can mitigate the scarcity of serviceable explosives in Africa: thermite-based tools (TRL 9) for incineration, binary liquid explosives (TRL 9) which are safer to transport, and explosive harvesting systems (TRL 9) that recover explosives from ERW to create demolition charges.
• International Mine Action Standards (IMAS) lag behind technological progress, with no published standards currently covering the use of UAVs, airborne sensors, or AI-based imagery analysis in mine action.

APA

Institute for Security Studies (2025). New technologies to address explosive hazards in Africa. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/pages/1764155169382-Mono-213.pdf

Chicago

Institute for Security Studies. New technologies to address explosive hazards in Africa. 2025. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/pages/1764155169382-Mono-213.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Security Studies |title=New technologies to address explosive hazards in Africa |date=November 2025 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/pages/1764155169382-Mono-213.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforsecuritystudies2025new, author = {{Institute for Security Studies}}, title = {{New technologies to address explosive hazards in Africa}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2025}, month = nov, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/pages/1764155169382-Mono-213.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }