IRAQ: Enter Operation River Gate ~~ Zarqawi's "Islamic Republic of Haditha" is in jeopardy.

The Anbar Campaign intensifies and Zarqawi's "Islamic Republic of Haditha" is in jeopardy. The Coalition – including Iraqi Army units – have launched Operation Bawwabatu Annaher (River Gate) and are taking the fight to Haditha, Haqlaniyah and Barwana. This operation is being conducted in conjunction with Operation Iron Fist in the Qaim region, and Operation Hiba (Mountaineers) in Ramadi (which we discussed last nig

The other operation:

October 04, 2005
Iraqi Army in Ramadi - Operation Mountaineers
By Bill Roggio

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Coalition forces continue to battle with insurgents in an effort to secure Ramadi. Over the past two weeks several incidents of fighting have been reported. John Carlson, a reported embedded with 224th Engineer Battalion of the Iowa National Guard writes "It's noon Monday in Ramadi as I write this (4 a.m. in Iowa) and there's been a big battle underway in the city. You can hear the machine gun fire from Camp Ramadi." The evidence points to low level clashes, however.

Mr. Carlson describes an IED (improvised explosive device) hunter patrol manned by the engineers of the 224th. The soldiers use a vehicle called a Buffalo – which is specifically designed to find and root out roadside bombs and underground mines. It has been so effective that jihadis have immortalized it with graffiti imploring others to "Kill the Claw" – the long arm of the Buffalo that digs for IEDs.

The patrol of the 224th digs up several IEDs until the claw is put out off commission. The accompanying Marines and other patrols in the area report several firefights with insurgents. The Guardian reports an Iraqi Army patrol was attacked, and fought back. Effectively.

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Above is an excerpt...see link for a map and further detail.

Regarding the Buffalo:

Bomb-Busting Buffalo

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Bomb-Busting Buffalo

"A few months ago, spray-painted graffiti began appearing on Baghdad walls," reports Defense News' Greg Grant. "'Kill the Claw,'" it read in Arabic.

The message was aimed at a new vehicle called the Buffalo, a thickly armored mine disposal truck that seeks out and disposes of deadly improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Its 30-foot retractable arm has a camera, to help the operator inside see what he’s doing, and a claw-like rake for finding and detonating the roadside bombs.

The insurgents’ graffiti was not quite the advertising campaign expected by Buffalo manufacturer Force Protection, but it is a testament to how effective the 24-ton vehicle has proven in neutralizing the biggest killer of American troops in Iraq. Since its introduction in late 2003, the Buffalo has become the favorite of U.S. Army combat engineer teams.

Grant's right. I spent a fair amount of time with engineer teams in Baghdad this summer, and they all raved about the vehicle. Not just because they were well-protected. But also because the thing had a kick-ass air conditioning system, too. And comfortable seats -- which is important on a 12-hour route clearance shift.

However, Grant gets it wrong when he says that "so far, nobody has been injured while riding in one of the vehicles, which have taken repeated IED hits with only minimal damage to exterior components."

I talked to several soldiers who had Buffalo-riding buddies injured by the handmade bombs -- and by their own thick skulls. These guys would dig up an explosive with the Buffalo's spindly claw. And then, they'd be so proud of what they found, they'd want to snap a quick picture of their prize. So they'd use the claw to bring the bomb right up to the Buffalo's cab. And then, the IED would go off.

More on the Technology to fight the IED's:>{?>B>MORE ON WARLOCK'S TRICKS

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MORE ON WARLOCK'S TRICKS

It's not much. But I've got a leeetle more information on the military's hush-hush defense against improvised explosive devices, or IEDs.

The Warlock radio frequency jammers are made by the New York and Simi Valley firm EDO. And they're based on an earlier EDO product called the Shortstop Electronic Protection System, which is designed to protect troops against proximity-fused weapons, like mortar rounds and artillery shells. According to EDO, Shortstop grabs the electronic signal that one of these weapons makes, "modifies the signal and sends it back to the weapon making the fuze think it is close to the ground. The fuze then prematurely detonates the warhead rendering the weapon essentially harmless."

The Warlock doesn't do anything quite so dramatic. Instead, "it basically works by intercepting the signal sent from a remote location to the IED instructing it to detonate," an Army official told Inside Defense (which has a wrap-up of all its recent IED stories here.) "The signal 'cannot make contact, therefore when it can’t make contact it doesn’t detonate,' much like a cellular phone call that does not connect, he added. "The cell phone never gets through, but [enemy forces] think it go through."

The jammers come in two flavors, each interrupting different frequency bands. Warlock Green connects off of the 24V DC power supply of any military vehicle, an Army document notes. Warlock Red is "designed to connect off the cigarette lighter and/or 12V DC power supply."

THERE'S MORE: "The Army is testing a new method of intercepting improvised explosive devices that relies on an up-armored humvee and two types of vehicles designed in South Africa to withstand blasts from land mines," Inside Defense also notes.

$2.9 million will pay for two "Hunter/Killer" teams, each with an up-armored humvee, an enhanced RG31 Medium Mine Protection vehicle, and a bulldozer-like Buffalo Explosive Ordnance Disposal vehicle, the magazine says.

U.S. forces -- including the 82nd Airborne's Task Force Pathfinder -- have been using the vehicles since the beginning of the year. According to an Army public affairs story, soldiers like the RG31 because it's built to withstand a bomb (more on how that's done here) and because it's roomy. "Like riding in an armored Cadillac," one soldier quips.

And:

RG-31 Mine Protected Vehicle

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RG-31 Mine Protected Vehicle

Alvis OMG

Alvis OGM RG-31 Mine, bullet proof armored vehicle
With a combat weight of 8,400 kg., the RG-31 MK3 4x4 Mine Protected APC is built from an all-steel welded armor monocoque hull, typical of South African mine protected vehicles, providing excellent small-arms and mine blast protection as well as small arms fire. The vehicle accommodates a crew of 10 including the driver. Dismounting is provided via a large rear door and two front doors. A different version, the RG-31M features a military wiring harness, central tyre inflation and several other new characteristics. This Vehicle has a crew of 5. RG-31 is currently in service with US Army Task Force Pathfinder attached to the 82^nd Airborne Division in Iraq. Procurement of 148 additional vehicles, under a $97 million contract was announced in February 2005.

More things of interest:

Mine / IED protected Vehicles Design Principles

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Mine / IED protected Vehicles
Design Principles

Page 4 out of 4 in this article

A convoy of US Marines in Iraq. As attacks on convoys became frequent and more sophisticated in 2004, casualties of the US forces mounted sharply because most such vehicles were unarmored.
One of the most important requirements for combat vehicle's protection is counter mine design. Traditionally, guerilla forces used standard mines to hit enemy patrols and military vehicles. Such mines included small (anti-personnel) or larger anti-tank mines, as well as armor penetrating and self-forged fragmentation (SFF) mines. Mines originally developed as a defensive weapon, were originally used to delay and disrupt enemy movements into a defense organized area. Mines are usually laid on the ground either exposed or buried, and are activated by pressure, magnetic influence, or other effects (tripwire, etc.). When employed by paramilitary and guerilla forces, mines are used mainly buried in unpaved remote countryside routes. Mines are usually based on few common operating mechanisms, which are familiar to mine disposal professionals. Therefore, effective protection and countermine techniques can be employed against such threats.

Protection of vehicles against mines generally follows several guidelines, including blast deflection, mitigation and roll prevention. The most common technique is the use of oblique blast absorbing panels, on the hull floor. These panels are deflecting the shock and fragments outside the fighting compartment, and stabilize the vehicle, preventing it from rolling over. Another concept is the use of outrider wheels, covered by spacious wheel bays which disintegrate by the blast, absorbing much of the pressure thereby reducing the lethal effect on the vehicle's hull. Such elements were implemented on South African and Indian mine-protected vehicles, as well as the Israeli RAM and RAM-2000 and the mine protected Abir version.

Makeshift protection kits were rushed to Iraq for installation on operational Humvees, while many more new up-armored M-1114s are produced. In this picture, the protection kit provides partial cover for the cabin, with armored doors and bulletproof transparent side windows and windsheild The rise of the global terror, assisted by the proliferation of modern communications technology, introduced a dangerous shift from the familiar standard issue weapons, to the use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The introduction of such makeshift weapons proliferated in Ireland, Chechnya, Iraq and Afghanistan, Bosnia, Lebanon and by the Palestinians in the occupied territories. As evidently proved in Iraq and Chechnya, the use of such explosive devices is not adopted from lack of basic, standard issue weapons, but due to the tactical advantages of such systems, when employed by loosely organized urban guerilla cells. Unlike the mine which is triggered by pressure or magnetic influence, IEDs do not necessarily require physical contact or pressure for activation but can be activated by remote control, including wire, electronic signals or cellular phone. This mode of operation can be employed against selective targets, even on busy urban traffic lanes, as repeatedly demonstrated in Iraq. In fact, the IED has become the symbol of the modern urban guerilla.

The up-armored vehicle offers effective protection for troops in travelling position as well as on dismounted operations. Standard mine protected vehicles do not always provide the optimal protection against IED. But they can provide the first of defense when an army encounters IED environment. Since operation of IED is characteristic of urban guerilla warfare, rapid response against IED is imperative for survival. Unarmored vehicles must be fitted with armored cabins, providing reasonable blast protection, on top of standard bullet-proof defense. Large windows, firing ports and access doors on both sides of the vehicle, are required for rapid and safe dismounting of the crew, enabling them to regroup and respond quickly with effective fire. Such concepts are provided for both Humvee tactical utility and transportation vehicles, such as the MTVR truck and Remote controlled firing stations, mounting light machine guns, Automatic Grenade Launchers (AGL), observation systems and ranging devices (target markers, laser rangefinders etc), are required for effective counter-IED action in an urban environment. Such equipment is of course vulnerable, but mutual cover by precision firepower from adjacent vehicles in the combat patrol denies the enemy further damage, provided that the engagement is quick, decisive and accurate.

MTVR Medium Truck Protection Kits

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New protection suits were recently introduced for the Oshkosh Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement truck (MTVR), used by the US Marine Corps. The corps is planning to protect 3,000 of its 3,600 trucks. Plasan Sasa has also introduced an MTVR armoring solution. Plasan and Oshkosh recently won a $144 million US Marine Corps contract to supply 796 ECP-58 Armor Kits for MTVR trucks, based on Plasan Sasa's protection systems. According to the Pentagon release, 75% of the work will be done by Plasan Sasa in Israel. The Marine Corps has options to add 124 additional kits as an options, which could bring the total value of the contract to $204 million. The new kits were designed specifically for the MTVR and include cabin protection and armor plating of the cargo bed as well as suspension upgrades and air-conditioning systems. The armor is designed to enable the occupants to return fire behind protected positions. The trucks will be delivered through 2005 starting in the first quarter. The solution provides ballistic and mine protection against various small arms and IED threats. Armor Systems International (ASI) has also proposed an armor kit for the truck. This kit weighs 6,700 lbs and includes the armor, transparent armor windshield and windows. The cab weight is 2,200 lb, and the armor protection for the cargo bed weighs 4,500 lbs. The kit includes LLM blast mitigation system for mine/blast protection.

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