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August 13th,
2007 - Jamming Systems Play Secret Role in Iraq |
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Jamming Systems Play Secret Role
in Iraq By Peggy Mihelich Cable News Network August 13, 2007 A silent, invisible battle
is being fought against roadside bombs in Iraq. Though the military doesn't
like to advertise their use, electronic jamming systems are playing a key
role in neutralizing the threat. "Any weapon we had
against IEDs, [improvised explosive devices] was utilized including jamming
technology," said Jason Spencer, 29, an Oklahoma City, Oklahoma,
engineer who served with the Army in Iraq in 2005. Vehicle mounted electronic
jammers attempt to block a signal going to a radio-controlled IED. The
military also uses portable backpack jammers. "The sophistication of
IEDs definitely increased during my time in Iraq," said Spencer.
"There was a definite increase in remote detonation." A signal going to a
remote-controlled IED operates on a radio or infrared frequency. Jamming devices, known as
Counter Radio Controlled Improvised Explosive Device Electronic Warfare, or
CREW systems, attempt to intercept or block a signal before it reaches its
intended target, preventing detonation. One common method is barrage
jamming, which knocks out a broad range of radio signals. However, it also
knocks out communications used by U.S. troops putting them at increased risk. "Ideally what you want
to be able to do is have something that can grab very precise signals,
capture the signals and render them irrelevant without knocking out your own
communication," said CNN military analyst retired Army Brig. Gen. James
"Spider" Marks. These technologies represent
the last line of defense, Marks said. "We don't want to give our
potential enemies an understanding of what we are doing to counter their
efforts," he said. Along with jammers, troops
use air surveillance, robots, blast-resistant vehicles and mine rollers as countermeasures.
PhotoSee counter-IED technologies in Iraq » IEDs are the No. 1 source of
U.S. and alllied casualties in Iraq, according to the Department of Defense.
From July 2003 to July 2007, 1,565 coalition forces were killed by IEDs,
according to iCasualties.org. "We dealt with hundreds
of IEDs while in theater," said Spencer. "IEDs were always on our
minds during every patrol." Spencer says IEDs come in a
variety of shapes and sizes. "From a simple mortar round on the side of
the road with a fuse and a wire running to a push-button, to complex
explosives poured into concrete (shaped like curbs) with remote detonators
and booby traps." Most roadside bombs are
remotely detonated using common household devices: cell phones, garage door
openers, burglar alarms, key fobs, doorbells, or remote controls for toy
cars. "Our enemy hides in
plain sight. He buys his bomb parts in stores. It's standard commerce,"
said Marks. U.S. forces are dealing with
an adaptive, innovative and flexible enemy, according to the Joint Improvised
Explosive Device Defeat Organization, or JIEDDO, which is leading the
counter-IED effort for the military. As insurgents modify their
devices to outwit the military, the military in turn adapts its own jamming
technologies. Many companies have been
tapped to supply jammers to coalition forces. JIEDDO is interested in
technologies that can be used in the field within two to eight months -
"light speed" in Defense Department terms. The Army's main CREW system
is the Warlock Duke, a vehicle- mounted radio jammer developed by Syracuse
Research Corporation. It's capable of jamming most radio-controlled IEDs,
according to the Pentagon. The Navy, which oversees the
CREW program, contracted BAE Systems to produce 3,800 wearable jammers to be
fielded in Afghanistan and Iraq in 2008. Canadian firm Med-Eng is
building jammers for the Marines, reports military contractor General
Dynamics. By the end of 2007, JIEDDO
will have funded more than 30,000 jammers for Marine and Army units. They
have spent $1.6 billion on jamming technology for this fiscal year. "This gear saves lives
every day," wrote retired Gen. Montgomery Meigs, director of the Joint
IED Defeat Organization, in a column titled "On the Offensive: The
Battle Against IEDs." One in six IEDs causes
casualties in Iraq, JIEDDO reports. To remain effective the enemy "must
expose himself more and take higher risks to do his ugly work," Meigs
said. In January, the Government
Accounting Office launched a review of JIEDDO and its efforts to counter
IEDs. The Defense Science Board criticized the agency for focusing too much
on defensive countermeasures "to which the enemy quickly adapts, making
these efforts less effective," in an April 2006 report. JIEDDO is fully cooperating
with the GAO, said Col. Dewey Ford, director of strategic communications for
JIEDDO. He added that Congress has long supported eliminating the IED threat. JIEDDO said it is
aggressively going after the bomb makers, working to destroy their networks.
The agency acknowledges that the mission won't be achieved merely by
technical means. "The best way to
counter the IED threat is through understanding the network that allows an
IED to even be assembled," said Marks, who supports JIEDDO's work. "I'd rather have the
guy who is going to put that IED in place get killed long before he's even
part of the network. And I don't want him to know how I found him out because
I want to find out where all his buddies are and kill them too." External link: http://edition.cnn.com/2007/TECH/08/13/cied.jamming.tech/#cnnSTCText |