In colder climates, ice formation and accumulation are a major safety hazard, which cause significant damage to infrastructure. These factors reduce operational efficiency and puts human safety at risk. For example, ice formation on aircraft wings can reduce aerodynamic performance, speed, and lift, and impede the movement of critical components, leading to unsafe situations. Efficient anti-icing and de-icing methods are therefore essential to mitigate these risks. Anti-icing and de-icing techniques are generally divided into active and passive systems. Active systems require an external energy source and are usually very effective, but these methods have several drawbacks, including the need for continuous external energy and potential damage to aircraft materials. Alternatively, passive methods such as anti-icing fluids and icephobic coatings prevent ice formation without requiring external energy. However, antiicing fluids are costly, environmentally harmful, and require frequent reapplication, increasing operating costs and labour. On the other hand, icephobic coatings use chemical or physical surface modification to impart anti-icing properties. Within this context, icephobic coatings are one of the best solutions to prevent or inhibit ice formation and accumulation. However, designing effective and durable icephobic surfaces is a challenge due to the complex and varied nature of ice formation influenced by environmental conditions. To develop these coatings, it is important to have a deeper understanding of the mechanisms of adhesion between ice and surfaces, to compare different technologies to identify the best possible solution, and to quantify their efficacy. Ice adhesion strength is one of the key parameters used to assess ice adhesion to a particular surface. To determine ice adhesion strength, several mechanical test configurations have been developed, such as the tensile test, the centrifugal test, the vertical shear test and the horizontal shear test. In the literature, the majority of tests have focused on understanding how surface topology affects ice adhesion strength, but no studies have focused on the effect of external factors or environmental degradation, even though both of these aspects are critical when considering the long-term durability and the real-world application of icephobic coatings. The aim of this thesis is to address this gap with a systematic research approach. Four different materials were used; Teflon, polypropylene (PP), polyurethane (PU), and 6082 aluminium alloy (polished and unpolished). Particles of PVC and SiO2 were introduced on the surfaces to simulate dust particles of different chemical nature, while silicone oil and UV radiation were used to simulate surface contamination and degradation. Ice adhesion strength was evaluated using a home-built horizontal shear test set-up. The research revealed an increase in ice adhesion with the presence of dust particles at the interface between ice and the aluminium substrates. On the other hand, for the polymer substrates, the ice adhesion strength was influenced by the interaction between the dust particles and the substrates themselves. Finally, UV radiation degradation and oil contamination led, in most cases, to a decrease in ice adhesion strength. The results showed some unexpected behaviour, indicating that more attention should be paid to the effect of the environment on ice adhesion.