The experimental characterization of the electromagnetic (EM) response of a set of inert improvised explosive devices (IEDs) is presented in this paper. The characterization is based on measurements of gain and input impedance of the firing circuits of inert IEDs in the range of 200 MHz to 2 GHz. First, a theoretical model to predict the average gain is developed. A comparison between the measurement results and theoretical predictions is presented. Then, the power delivered to a hot wire-based electro-explosive device connected to the inert IED is calculated for each measured case and it is statistically analyzed. The effects on the IED response of different characteristics of the coupling, such as the IED's elements, the incident field polarization, and the impedance mismatch, are also studied. In addition, the statistical performance of the induced power and current are determined and compared with the results of a numerical model based on Monte Carlo simulations. It is demonstrated that both approaches, a theoretical model based on an equivalent antenna and Monte Carlo simulations, can be used to describe the average EM response of the firing circuit of IEDs.