BIS IS 19445:2025 — India’s First Bomb Disposal System Standard

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) notified India’s first dedicated national standard for bomb disposal systems — IS 19445:2025 — in 2025. The standard covers three widely deployed categories of blast-containment equipment: bomb blankets, bomb baskets, and bomb inhibitors. It was developed at the request of the Ministry of Home Affairs and DRDO’s Terminal Ballistic Research Laboratory (TBRL), Chandigarh, and is intended for voluntary adoption by procuring agencies, manufacturers, and testing bodies.

Why a domestic standard was needed

Bomb disposal equipment in India has historically been procured against international standards — primarily the NIJ (US National Institute of Justice) Standard 0117 for bomb blankets and the German DIN 32663 for blast containment. These standards offer rigour but two limitations have made an Indian standard necessary:

Accessibility

International standards are often paywalled, certified by foreign laboratories, and not always available to small Indian manufacturers in the explosive ordnance disposal supply chain. This raised cost and complexity for indigenous manufacturers competing for contracts with Indian state police forces, the NSG, and CISF.

Threat alignment

International standards are calibrated to threats characteristic of the jurisdictions in which they were drafted. The threat profile facing Indian law enforcement — improvised explosive devices used in urban, transport, and infrastructure contexts; specific explosive compositions used by domestic insurgent groups; the operating conditions of Indian agencies — does not always map cleanly to the threat profiles assumed by NIJ or DIN.

BIS therefore developed IS 19445:2025 as a domestic reference adapted to the operating realities of Indian agencies.

What the standard covers

IS 19445:2025 specifies qualitative requirements and test methods for three categories of equipment:

Bomb blankets

Flexible, multi-layer textile-and-aramid blankets used to drape over suspicious objects or to shield bystanders from blast pressure and fragmentation. The standard specifies:

• Minimum surface area
• Areal weight (kg/m²)
• Blast pressure attenuation
• Fragment arresting capability against standardised splinter loads
• Tear resistance under operational use

Bomb baskets

Rigid or semi-rigid containers — typically multi-layered steel-and-composite vessels — used to confine a suspect device. The standard specifies:

• Internal volume requirements
• Lid sealing
• Blast containment for specified charge equivalents
• Splinter retention
• Handling features (lifting points, transport compatibility)

Bomb inhibitors

Equipment designed to suppress or disrupt detonation — typically by deluging the device with water at high pressure or by disrupting its electrical circuit. The standard covers performance requirements for both water-jet and electrical-disruption variants.

Test procedures

The standard prescribes test range conditions, instrumentation requirements, and evaluation procedures. Tests are typically conducted at TBRL Chandigarh, the lead DRDO laboratory for terminal ballistics. Specifications include:

• Blast pressure measurement using piezoelectric transducers
• High-speed photography for fragment trajectory analysis
• Witness panels for fragment penetration assessment
• Acoustic monitoring
• Post-blast inspection of containment integrity

Who is behind it

The standard was drafted by a BIS technical committee with inputs from:

• Terminal Ballistic Research Laboratory (TBRL), DRDO — the principal technical contributor, particularly on test methodology
• Ministry of Home Affairs — the principal sponsoring ministry, reflecting the application of the standard by central armed police forces and state police bomb squads
• NSG, CISF, and BSF — operational users who contributed user requirements
• Indian manufacturers of bomb disposal equipment — for feasibility input

There is *no* foreign technical collaborator (such as a Russian research institute) involved in the standard’s development. It is a purely indigenous standard.

Voluntary adoption

IS 19445:2025 is not mandatory under any statute. It is a *voluntary* standard intended to:

• Provide procurement agencies (state police, CAPFs, BARC, AAI airport security) a domestic specification framework
• Enable Indian manufacturers to test and certify products domestically
• Reduce dependence on foreign certification for participation in Indian procurement
• Improve interoperability of equipment across agencies that source from different manufacturers

Voluntary status is normal for BIS standards in security equipment. Mandatory status would require a separate Quality Control Order under the BIS Act, 2016, which has not been issued for IS 19445:2025.

How it connects to indigenous defence manufacturing

IS 19445:2025 fits within a broader push under the iDEX (Innovations for Defence Excellence) and Make in India frameworks to enable Indian manufacturers to compete in the defence-and-security supply chain. By providing a domestic certification path, the standard lowers the entry barrier for Indian SMEs producing bomb disposal equipment.

Companies like Tata Advanced Systems, Bharat Forge, Mahindra Defence, and several Tier-2 defence-electronics SMEs have indicated they will use the standard for product qualification of new and existing bomb disposal lines.

Bomb disposal in India: the operational context

The principal operators of bomb disposal capability in India are:

• National Security Guard (NSG) — particularly through its Special Action Group
• Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) — airport and critical-infrastructure protection
• Border Security Force (BSF) — border areas with high IED prevalence
• State police bomb disposal squads — present in metropolitan and high-risk districts
• Indian Army Bomb Disposal Units — particularly in J&K and Northeast operational theatres
• Indian Air Force EOD teams — airbase and aircraft-related munitions
• Indian Navy Mine Counter-Measures units — naval bases and underwater EOD

IS 19445:2025 standardises the protective and containment equipment used by these agencies; it does not cover offensive munitions or specialised disposal robotics, which are governed by separate procurement specifications.

FAQs

What is IS 19445:2025?

India’s first national standard for bomb disposal systems, notified by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) in 2025. It covers bomb blankets, bomb baskets, and bomb inhibitors.

Who developed the standard?

A BIS technical committee with the principal technical contribution from DRDO’s Terminal Ballistic Research Laboratory (TBRL), Chandigarh. The Ministry of Home Affairs was the sponsoring ministry. There was no foreign collaborator.

Is the standard mandatory?

No. IS 19445:2025 is a voluntary standard. Procurement agencies, manufacturers, and testing bodies may adopt it for specification and certification purposes, but it is not enforced under any statute.

What three equipment categories does it cover?

Bomb blankets (flexible textile shields), bomb baskets (rigid containment vessels), and bomb inhibitors (devices that disrupt detonation by water jet or electrical means).

Why was an Indian standard needed?

International standards (NIJ 0117, DIN 32663) are paywalled or not fully aligned with Indian threats and operational conditions. IS 19445:2025 provides a domestic, accessible standard adapted to Indian requirements.

Does the standard improve interoperability?

Yes. By providing a single national specification framework, it reduces variations between equipment sourced by different agencies and supports cross-deployment in joint operations.

Where will tests be conducted?

Primarily at the Terminal Ballistic Research Laboratory (TBRL), Chandigarh — DRDO’s lead laboratory for terminal ballistics — using the test procedures specified in the standard.

How does this connect to iDEX or Make in India?

IS 19445:2025 enables Indian SMEs and defence-electronics firms to certify products against a domestic standard, lowering the entry barrier for participation in defence and security procurement under iDEX and Make in India.

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