Posted on 08/07/2005 12:19:06 PM PDT by Rooivalk
Maybe they can pre-detonate the IEDs 500 miles inside the Iranian and Syrian borders.
The cell phone industry could help here too, by
building phones that respond to a signal to make
an "idle ring".
Cell towers in high-threat locations could issue
such commands at random times to all phones in
their coverage.
Bombers would quickly cease using cell phones as
timers, triggered either by calls or by self-alarms,
if the was significant risk of early detonation.
It is about time. We are slow to react.
Sattler would not confirm that high-power microwave (HPM) devices are being used to pre-detonate IEDs, but the Pentagon and aerospace industry officials acknowledge that such technology has been developed and tested in the U.S. "The intimidation of pre-detonation will shut [bombers] down many notches," he predicts. "There is some pre-detonation on the battlefield now. I will also say there are some sharp people . . . increasing that capability."
Current technologies for finding IEDs have topped out in their ability to locate these devices at about 50%. Most U.S. casualties continue to be from IEDs or automobile-borne bombs, some of them used in suicide missions.
Alliant Techsystems developed an HPM system that last fall exploded 75% of the mines planted in a range near Yuma, Ariz. Support for the technology from the Air Force Research Laboratory indicates that it may be destined for use from aircraft. It's the first HPM system ruggedized for transport. Raytheon also has developed and fielded an adjunct system that uses an uncooled infrared sensor powerful enough to detect buried mines but light enough to be carried by unmanned aircraft. It also was to have been deployed to Iraq this summer.
Another approach to mitigating the danger of IEDs involves correlating large amounts of intelligence and surveillance data to determine the time of day and locations where such weapons are often planted. Observers monitor those sectors from aircraft or hidden sniper posts with fast-reaction forces standing by. In one new, specialized project, researchers have begun targeting enemy planners, organizers, suppliers and bomb makers in their homes and workshops before attacks can be launched. The effort is based on fusing intelligence to the basic building blocks of ground moving-target indicator data gathered by Joint Stars, U-2 and other aircraft. The data can be played backward to see where the bombers and vehicles came from.
SATTLER BECAME a target for critics when he said the battle of Falluja last year broke the back of the Iraqi insurgency. He stands behind his proclamation by pointing to the elimination of the city as a safe haven for insurgents and remnants of the former regime of Saddam Hussein. Sattler points to the end there of the production of vehicle-borne improvised explosives and the training and equipping of suicide bombers. He also notes they found up to 600 caches of weapons, bomb-making materials and chambers where torture was being filmed. After the town was cleaned up, the Marines noticed that the effectiveness and number of insurgent attacks declined because "the A-team and trainers are gone," Sattler says. However, he admits the insurgents are making the attempt to regain some presence.
The measures of success in Iraq have grown more sophisticated as the conflict goes on, Sattler asserts. About the time of the Falluja offensive, he wrongly thought success was the "number of Iraqi security forces in uniform standing in formation in the morning," Sattler says. "The metric was how many do we have. We weren't focusing on capability at that point. When the fighting started in April in the first Falluja fight, we [had] not set them up for success [with proper training and equipment]. They were a brand-new force. As anybody who was pragmatic would do, they said this is not going to work and they laid their weapons down and evaporated."
The Marines have since established standards for equipment, training and leadership. In some cases, they had to disband units (particularly Iraqi National Guard) because the loyalties of locally recruited soldiers were first to the family, the tribe, friends and only then to the rule of law, he says. As a result, Iraqi soldiers and policemen are now stationed outside their home province. A second effort was a counter-intimidation program so that officials and their families aren't constantly under threat of assassination. The concern is to "intimidate the intimidators" while still meeting moral and legal standards, says Sattler.
Marine detachments now team with and mentor Iraqi security forces, provide them with logistics, artillery and close air support, and support them in counter-insurgency operations. "Nor do they put them into battle before they are ready," he says. Other initiatives being thrown into the fight include: *Biometric devices such as retina scans so that Iraqis can be positively identified (and the information transferred from city to city).
Not to be a wet blanket, but it can't be that difficult to shield the bomb circuitry enough to defeat a "pre-detonation" EM pulse.
Many technological advances occur in times of war.
Considereing how the terrorists use wire activated IEDs to counter the effects of our jammers, a pulse sent up those wires would surely detonate the device
And keep in mind that the tactic you suggest must have already been considered by the developers of predetonation hardware being sent to Iraq
I do believe that has been factored into the plan
A few bomb shops blowing up and stories planted that rival terrorist factions are doing these things would sow confusion and disrupt terrorist morale
At the beginning of WW2 aircraft were fabric and wood. At the end there were jets
So true, so true
Um.... EMP generators barely fit on a SEMI trailer. They're not going to fit on a UAV.
Predetonation devices were used by operatives in Lebanon ~20 years ago, successfully blowing up actual bomb factories.
Any shielding that would be effective against a high energy broad spectrum radio frequency spike would also render any radio or wired detonator either useless or stupidly obvious. Sure, you could shield a bomb factory, but the moment, you leave with your car bomb, BOOM!
Addendum: Unless, of course, you're talking about a nuclear weapon, which tends to be a one shot device and not great for the friendly troops who happen to be in the area.
There are all types of EMP generators
Kits for you to buy and build
http://www.plans-kits.com/plans/emp.html
This is what you can buy. Military grade is much better
Um, no.
Those aren't EMP generators. Some of them are HERF generators, but there is no such thing as a "man-portable EMP generator".
If you think those are EMP generators, I have some beach front property in Mongolia that I'd like to sell you.
Actually the technology of shielding and "hardening" devices for these environments is not easy. Even proven technologies can suffer from poor workmanship. As has been pointed out, if the device must receive signals from the electromagnetic spectrum, then there is a way to exploit jammers and EMP over circuit rating devices. It is safe to say that every advance requires a counter advance by the enemy, and if we play the game, our resources and ability to operate in the open should be an advantage.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.