Package-Type Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs)

Concealed Mortar/Artillery Projectiles







The enemy in Iraq has used IEDs consisting of mortar and artillery projectiles as the explosive device. The most common explosives used are military munitions, usually 122 mm or greater mortar/tank/artillery.

The use and characteristics of these have included the following:

* Thrown from overpasses.
* Thrown in front of approaching vehicles from roadside.
* Usually thrown by males—who are not always adults.
* Emplaced in potholes (covered with dirt).
* Emplaced along MSRs and alternate supply routes (targeting vehicles).
* Employed along unimproved roads (targeting patrols).
* Employed with 120-mm and larger artillery or mortar projectiles.
* Found alone or in groups.
* IEDs behind which are placed cinder blocks or piles of sand to direct blast into the kill zone.
* Command detonated—either by wire or remote device.
* Time-delay triggered IEDs. IEDs that can be detonated by cordless phone from a car (allows for mobile firing platform and prevents tracing or triangulation).

Modified Conventional Munitions

The examples below are all IEDs that have been recovered in Iraq.
Anti-Tank Mine encased in
concrete and command
detonated via remote control

Improvised Off-Route Antitank Mine 500lbs bomb rigged as IED
Artillery shells rigged as IEDs Artillery shell-based IEDs hidden in bags along roads

Artillery shell-based IED hidden in
plaster made to look like a concrete block

FROM: http://www.globalsecurity.org

Vehicle Borne IEDs (VBIEDs)

Vehicle borne IEDs (VBIEDs) are devices that use a vehicle as the package or container of the device. These IEDs come in all shapes, colors, and sizes which vary by the type of vehicles available — small sedans to large cargo trucks. There have even been instances of what appeared to be generators, donkey drawn carts, and ambulances used to attempt attacks on Coalition Forces and the New Iraqi Government.

Larger vehicles enable larger amounts of explosive that can be used, resulting in a greater effect. Functioning of devices can vary within the same methods as the package types and can have the same common characteristics or indicators as other IEDs. VBIEDs have increasingly used larger amounts of explosives, and the explosive charge has ranged anywhere from 100lbs to well over 1000 pounds. The explosive charge has included items such as mortar rounds, rocket motors, rocket warheads, PE4 explosives, and artillery rounds. Functioning of devices can vary within the same methods as the package types and can have the same common characteristics or indicators as other IEDs A growing technique in VBIED attacks in Iraq has involved the use of multiple vehicles. In such instances, the lead vehicle is used as a decoy or barrier buster. Once stopped or neutralized and with coalition forces starting to move to inspect or detain – the main VBIED comes crashing though and into the crowd before detonating; thus resulting in an increase of the casualty ratio.

FROM: http://www.globalsecurity.org

Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) / Booby Traps Locations

Indicators

By definition, booby traps are disguised or well-hidden, victim-activated devices. The initiating object is going to be fairly obvious, as it is the object that the enemy hopes a soldier will interfere with in order to set off the trap. Booby traps rely on an unwary or distracted soldier touching or pulling a physical object (such as a war souvenir) or provide a too-easy access or simple solution to a problem (such as leaving only one door open in an otherwise secure building).

In an operational environment where booby traps have been used, soldiers must be trained to constantly question why things are positioned where they are or why the enemy might have left obvious routes open. The enemy will watch reactions and procedures executed when moving through an area. They will be looking for natural behavior and weaknesses in soldiers' drills. For example, in Vietnam, the Vietcong (VC) noticed soldiers liked to kick empty soda cans that were lying on the ground. It was not long before the US troops found that the VC were leaving explosive devices in empty cans lying alongside regular patrol routes. The devices were activated when the cans were kicked.

Many of the booby trap indicators mirror those of mines. These include areas where the locals do not enter, such as abandoned buildings and attractive items that are usually left alone.

* Electrical wires, batteries, booby traps, and store items (clothes pegs, mouse traps, steel tubes, and springs).
* Isolated boxes and containers along routes.
* Abandoned vehicles, military equipment, weapons, uniforms, and papers.
* Trip wires, string, and cables.
* Disturbed soil and sand.
* Dust.
* Footprint trails that stop suddenly.

Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) / Booby Traps

Firing Devices

In low-intensity, stability and support operations and counterterrorism conflicts, there may be high incidences of improvised devices and booby traps. It is impossible to provide a complete list of firing devices (FDs) and improvised demolition materiel that can be used. Most improvised traps are variations of those described below. Some IEDs can be victim-activated.



Nonelectric FDs. Most nonelectric FDs are based on pressure, pressure release, or trip wire actuation. Improvised FDs are usually of the shear pin or pin removal type. * Improvised electric FDs. An electric FD requires a current to pass between two contacts. The ways in which this can be achieved are unlimited. Booby traps/IEDs utilizing electrical components are limited by having to use a power source. In most cases, the power source will be a battery. The life of this type of booby trap is limited to the life of the battery.

FROM: http://www.globalsecurity.org

Electronic Warfare in WW1- The Telegraph War (5)

Powerful stations were established in Germany the main one being a Nauen.. When war broke out and Germany lost its cable links it still retained a world wide network of wireless stations. Moreover by wirelessing a German station in the United States messages could then be put on an international telegraph service there. This was how many messages to and from Mexico and South America were transmitted. This was facilitated by a strange decision made by President Wilson himself, this was that, whilst to enforce US neutrality, outgoing radio messages would be subject to a Federal censor’s approval (to ensure that they were not of a military nature), there would be no control over telegraph messages carried by cable. Thus a coded message could be received by a German commercial wireless telegraphy service in the USA and then taken to an American cable service for onward transmission to anywhere in the world without any check on its contents.Britain also invested in wireless stations around the world, primarily to service the needs of the Royal Navy.

Improvised explosive device (IED)

From: Wikipedia

An improvised explosive device (IED; also known as a roadside bomb due to contemporary use) is a homemade bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action. One may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery round, attached to a detonating mechanism. IEDs may be used in terrorist actions or in unconventional warfare by guerrillas or commando forces in a theater of operations. In the 2003–present Iraq War, IEDs have been used extensively against coalition forces and by the end of 2007 they had become responsible for approximately 40% of coalition deaths in Iraq.[1] They are also the weapon of choice for insurgent groups in the 2001–present Afghanistan War.[2] They were also used extensively by cadres of the rebel Tamil Tiger (LTTE) organization against military and civilian targets in Sri Lanka[3][4] before the LTTE was dismantled in mid 2009 by the Sri Lankan military forces.

How Camcorders Work - CCD

How Camcorders Work

Hoe CCD Work

Hoe CCD Work

First Video/Electronic/Audio

First Video/Electronic/Audio

Airplane Cockpit Video Recording

Airplane Cockpit Video Recording

Night vision device Zero to Fouth Generation

Night vision device Zero to Fouth Generation

Electronic Warfare Capability

Army initiates electronic warfare capability
BY Lt. Col. Carl S. Ey

Sgt. 1st Class Robert Dorneman controls the switch panel to raise the Joint Land Electronic Netted Sensor (J LENS) tower during maintenance at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan. The J LENS is used to provide security for Kandahar Airfield. Photo by Sgt. Andre' Reynolds
More Images
WASHINGTON (Army News Service) - The Army is developing a new core competency for career Soldiers and officers interested in becoming electronic warfare specialists."As the Army continues to face an increasingly sophisticated, learning and adaptive enemy, who will engage in asymmetric warfare characterized by irregular tactics, terror, and the use of the most deadly casualty-producing means available to them, we find ourselves needing to develop new ways to attack and defeat these adversaries," said Lt. Gen. James J. Lovelace Jr., Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations.

IR Windows

IR Windows

Raytheon Completes Design Review for CVN 78's Dual Band Radar

Raytheon and the U.S. Navy recently completed a critical design review (CDR) for the Dual Band Radar (DBR), which will be installed on the Navy's next-generation aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) (Figure 1). The DBR, produced by Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems (IDS), is the Navy's most advanced multifunction radar; it will provide superior surveillance capabilities supporting air operations and ship self defense. Leveraging advanced technologies to meet the carrier mission requirements in both deep water and littoral environments, DBR will be the U.S. Navy's most capable radar and a critical asset for the fleet.The review demonstrated that the radar, currently in production for the Zumwalt-class destroyer (DDG 1000), meets the critical operational requirements of the Ford-class aircraft carrier. As a result of DBR's modular, open architecture design, only minor modifications need to be made to accommodate specific platform differences between DDG 1000 and CVN 78. The DBR's open architecture design provides the flexibility to adapt the radar to different naval surface combatant platforms, combat systems and missions. The Dual Band Radar combines the benefits of S-band and X-band radar capabilities to provide superior performance in a broad range of environments against a variety of threats; its innovative design greatly reduces manning.

Picture: The Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers (or Ford-class) will be the next generation supercarrier for the United States Navy. Shown here is an artist’s depiction of the CVN-78 Gerald R. Ford.

From: http://www.cotsjournalonline.com/

Electronic Warfare in WW1- The Telegraph War (4)

Like all new devices it took time to roll the new system out but it was in fairly widespread use amongst the Allies by the end of the war. More advanced versions of the Fullerphone system were in extensive use in World War Two.
Wireless Wars

In 1914 the use of wireless was largely restricted to large relatively permanent land installations and ships. The inhibiting factor was both the lack of portability of the equipment itself (particularly the receiving units) and the size of aerial needed to have any sort of effective range. By the end of 1918 wireless sets were in use in the front line, in tanks on wireless trucks, from aircraft and even motorcycle mounted. Right from the beginning wireless played an important strategic role. Germany anticipated the possible loss of its submarine cables if war broke out and invested heavily in installing powerful wireless stations in all its colonies, even the smallest. German commercial companies were ‘encouraged’ to set up subsidiaries with large transmitters and receivers in countries that were likely to be neutral. The United States was the principal country in which this was done and Telefunken established a number of stations there (they also supplied the US Army with wireless equipment).

Picture 1 Motorcycle mounted Marconi set
Picture 2 Fullerphone in use

Electronic Warfare in WW1- The Telegraph War (3)

The threat of German raiding parties was not lost on other parts of the World. In Canada troops were despatched to guard telegraph stations on both Pacific and Atlantic coasts. In New Zealand the coastal forts, with their disappearing guns, were manned. However with the destruction of the German squadron at the battle of the Falkland Islands, the loss of the Emden and the fall of the port of Tsientao Germany had no naval force outside European waters that could threaten the international cable network.
Tapping the Telephones.
The Western Front was festooned with the wires of trench and field telephone and telegraph systems. Although the official British Army instruction was to bury these at least a foot and a half this was not always possible in the heat of an action.

"Tora! Tora! Tora!" ("Tiger! Tiger! Tiger!")

ELINT, Information Operations Helped Japanese Forces Achieve Surprise at Pearl Harbor

On December 7, 1941, air and naval forces of the Empire of Japan struck the US Navy base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and surrounding Army and Navy facilities. Twenty-one ships of the Pacific Fleet were sunk or damaged in the attack, including two battleships sunk and six heavily damaged. Nearly 200 US aircraft were destroyed and over 150 damaged, most while still on the ground. Total US casualties amounted to 2,403 dead (68 of which were civilians killed by improperly fuzed anti-aircraft shells) and 1,178 wounded. Nearly 1,800 sailors perished on the battleship USS Arizona alone. Japanese losses amounted to 29 aircraft shot down and five midget submarines sunk or beached: 64 men in all.
The raid commenced when the Japanese cruisers Chikuma and Tone each launched a floatplane about 220 miles north of Oahu at 0530 local time to ascertain the exact anchorage of the US fleet. Twenty minutes later, the carriers of Japan's First Air Fleet, Akagi, Kaga, Hiru, Soryu, Zuikaku, and Shokaku turned into the wind to begin launching approximately 350 fighters and bombers in two waves. The aircraft included Nakajima Type 97 "Kate" level bombers, some armed with torpedoes and others with bombs; Aichi Type 99 "Val" dive bombers; and Mitsubishi Type 0 "Zero" fighters. Cmdr Mitsuo Fuchida, leading the first wave, used a Honolulu radio station broadcasting Hawaiian music to home in on the target. At 0735 the scout plane from Chikuma broke radio silence that had been maintained since the force left Japan twelve days earlier with a report that the US fleet was at its Ford Island anchorage. Fuchida sighted the ships at 0740 and saw that they were sleeping peacefully. As his attack wave divided into smaller units to deliver its ordnance, Fuchida radioed the code words signaling complete surprise had been achieved: "Tora! Tora! Tora!" ("Tiger! Tiger! Tiger!").

Source code

In computer science, source code (commonly just source or code) is any collection of statements or declarations written in some human-readable computer programming language. Source code is the mechanism most often used by programmers to specify the actions to be performed by a computer.

The source code which constitutes a program is usually held in one or more text files, sometimes stored in databases as stored procedures and may also appear as code snippets printed in books or other media. A large collection of source code files may be organized into a directory tree, in which case it may also be known as a source tree.

A computer program's source code is the collection of files needed to convert from human-readable form to some kind of computer-executable form. The source code may be converted into an executable file by a compiler, or executed on the fly from the human readable form with the aid of an interpreter.

The code base of a programming project is the larger collection of all the source code of all the computer programs which make up the project.

Electronic Warfare in WW1- The Telegraph War (2)

More spectacular was the expansion of the international telegraph network, mainly through the laying of submarine cables (each cable comprising many individual wires). Every major power owned its own commercial network of cables, in time of war these came under either direct government control or close supervision. The technology had also advanced to the point where primitive forms of multiplexer and code compressors were in use to allow a single wire to handle multiple messages. Switching equipment, although fundamentally mechanical, had become complex and expensive. The destruction or damage of an international telegraph station or relay could cause considerable disruption and take a long time to replace (especially if complex equipment had to be transported to it by sea). Such stations thus became important strategic targets in time of war.
Britain with her wide spread empire and trading interests was particularly vulnerable to damage to the cable network, she was, however, well placed to protect her cables and wreak havoc on those of her enemies. Germany had a problem as, for geological reasons, most of her international cables left Europe via the English Channel. As we shall see later she made some alternative arrangements.
On August 4, 1914 Britain opened the telegraph war by cutting the German submarine cable that ran from Borkum in the North Sea to the Spanish island of Tenerife in the South Atlantic. There was a substantial German research station on the coast of Tenerife and there were fears (possibly incorrect) that this was being used as a cover for espionage and potentially for U boat support. As Tenerife lay close to the sea routes that British ships would take to Britain’s West African colonies and South Africa, Winston Churchill (then 1st Lord of the Admiralty) ordered the cutting of the communications link.

NEW TARGETING AND NAVIGATION PODS

By Karl Schwarz

The introduction of Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infra- Red for Night (LANTIRN) in the late-1980s significantly boosted the US Air Force's capability to accurately attack ground targets in all weather conditions. The two pods for low-level navigation and target designation were first mounted on the Boeing F-15E Strike Eagle and subsequently on the F-16 Fighting Falcon as well.

Today, however, a system that was born in the era of the Cold War no longer meets the altered requirements. Its first-generation thermal imaging sensor is no longer good enough for successful missions carried out from the now preferred attack altitudes of 10,000m or more. A replacement is needed, so the US Air Force ran a competition for an Advanced Targeting Pod (ATP), from which Lockheed Martin emerged as the winner last August.

F-16 Fighting Falcon

As of late-January 2005, the CJ model of the F-16 Fighting Falcon at Shaw AFB had been upgraded with a number of features to improve its SEAD capabilities. These were the Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System, the targeting pod and the Link 16. The cueing system upgrade on a helmet shows heads-up display data on the helmet visor and allows the pilot to select a target without changing the jet’s direction. The system enables the pilot to visually identify, lock the weapons system on and engage an air or ground target without looking through the heads-up display on the aircraft itself. The targeting pod is another upgrade incorporated on the aircraft. It has a forward-looking infrared sensor which displays an infrared image of the target for the pilot. The pod helps with precise delivery of laser-guided munitions by using a laser to determine range to a target and to the ground. In the future, pilots are to have even greater capability with an advanced targeting pod known as the Sniper XR. The third upgrade for the aircraft is the Link 16 which allows aircraft to share cockpit data and lets pilots merge into one display what all the airplanes are seeing. The data link helps pilots quickly gain situational awareness, and it gives them a combat edge in having complete knowledge of the battle space around them.

Picture Sniper XR Targeting Pod

Electronic Warfare in WW1- The Telegraph War

There is a common misconception that electronic warfare began with the Second World War but, even if it was not so labelled, it played a significant part in the First World War at both a strategic and a tactical level.

Both sides relied on complex cable and wireless links for communication and intelligence gathering on an international scale whilst, at the fronts, they maintained a complex web of trench and field telephone lines and exchanges. It has been said that in 1918 that there were probably more military telephones serving the Allied lines on the Western front than there were domestic ‘phones in Britain, America and France. It would therefore be surprising if the Allies and the Central Powers had not attempted to damage each others networks, protect their own, gather intelligence from their opponent’ networks and disseminate misleading information through it.
The Telegraph War

The electric telegraph played an important role as early as the American Civil War and by the 1870s most major armies had telegraph sections that could lay cables and relay messages. In the Franco Prussian War the French were already deploying portable telegraph sets that could be strapped to a soldier’s back. The British Army in the 1880s developed a horse drawn limber system that could lay telegraph cable at the gallop. Almost all armies were still using such equipment in 1918 (although many of the cable laying vehicles were motorised).

From: http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=2058111175640698081

EO MISSILE APPROACH WARNING

1. The greatest threat to aircraft and 1. The greatest threat to aircraft and helicopters comes from IR missiles. As these are not normally associated with radar guidance, aircrew get no warning of the impending danger unless they are lucky enough to either see the weapon being launched or in flight. The proliferation of IR missiles is high, if we look only at shoulder launched ‘Manpad’ systems the most numerous is the SA-7 with many hundreds of thousands having been produced. The US Stinger has been sold in numbers approaching 50,000 while the French Mistraal numbers 12,000 to 18 different countries. The following examples give an indication as to the success of passively guided IR weapons:
a. During 1977 to 1985 905 of all loses were to IR guided weapons. 4.4% were to radar guided weapons.
b. During the Gulf War 78% of all loses were to IR weapons.
c. Over the last 20 years only 10% of aircraft have been shot down by radar guided weapons.

ELECTRONIC WARFARE

1. Electronic Warfare (EW) is military action to exploit the electromagnetic spectrum which encompasses the interception, identification and location of electromagnetic emissions, the employment of electromagnetic energy to reduce or prevent hostile use of the electromagnetic spectrum and actions to ensure its effective use by friendly forces.

The 3 major divisions within EW are Electronic Attack, Electronic Protection and Electronic Warfare Support.

ELECTRONIC WARFARE SUPPORT

1. Electronic Warfare Support (ES) is that division of EW involving actions tasked by, or under direct control of, an operational commander to search for, intercept, identify and locate sources of intentional and unintentional radiated electromagnetic energy for the purpose of immediate threat recognition. Thus ES provides information required for immediate decisions involving EW operations, threat avoidance, targeting and other tactical actions. 2. The sub-divisions of ES include the following: a. Combat Direction Finding that are actions taken to search for, intercept and locate sources of intentional and unintentional radiated electromagnetic energy. b. Combat Threat Warning are actions taken to identify intentional and unintentional radiated electromagnetic energy for the purpose of immediate threat recognition and warning. This will include for example warning and the cueing of ECM techniques in the tactical environment. This is particularly important as the application of countermeasures at the correct time is essential. Too early and the countermeasures may give away the presence of the attacking aircraft, too late and the aircraft may be engaged successfully.

Laser Stretches 167 Miles

BIRMINGHAM, UK, Dec. 16, 2009 – A 270-km (167.7-mile) optical fiber has been transformed into the world’s longest laser, a platform capable of delivering next-generation, secure information transmission, including telecommunications and broadband. Currently, telecommunications or data transmissions converted to light to travel through standard optical fibers lose about 5 percent of their power for every kilometer that they travel. The signals must be amplified to ensure they reach their destination, a process that creates background noise and affects signal quality.

The engineers at Aston University in Birmingham, who are leading research into ultralong fiber lasers through the university’s photonics research team, used the Raman effect (a natural phenomenon that affects light passing through a material) and fiber Bragg gratings to create a uniform distribution of light through a cavity in the superlong optical fiber. They also used the laser as a transmission medium, rather than a source of coherent radiation.

AIM-9X Block II Missile

TUCSON, Az: A U.S. Air Force F-15C fired Raytheon Company's AIM-9X Block II Sidewinder advanced, infrared-guided air-to-air missile as part of the missile's developmental testing program. The weapon successfully guided and passed within lethal range of a BQM-74 target drone, meeting all primary test objectives.

The Nov. 20 test occurred at the U.S. Air Force's Eglin Air Force Base test range and marks the second time the missile has been fired.

"The AIM-9X Block II will give the warfighter an unparalleled advantage," said Capt. Jeffrey Penfield, the U.S. Navy's Air-to-AirMissile program manager. "AIM-9X Block II offers the warfighter a solution that combines maneuverability, off-boresight capability, speed and affordability."

The AIM-9X Block II adds a lock-on-after-launch capability, redesigned fuze and a one-way forward-quarter datalink capability to the AIM-9X Block I.

"The U.S. Navy and Raytheon achieved this milestone by leveraging our experience building more than 4,000 AIM-9X Block I missiles for the U.S. and its allies," said Harry Schulte, vice president ofRaytheon Missile Systems Air Warfare Systems' product line. "Raytheon is committed to helping warfighters around the world defeat advanced threats by providing the most capable and reliable air-to-air missiles in the world."

Raytheon Company, with 2008 sales of $23.2 billion, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, homeland security and other government markets throughout the world. With headquarters in Waltham, Mass.,Raytheon employs 73,000 people worldwide.

From: http://www.defencetalk.com/

Relationship between ESM and SIGINT

The functions of search, intercept, location and analysis are common to both ESM and SIGINT operations. ESM and SIGINT operations are conducted before and during hostilities and can be practised during military exercises. Differences arise in purpose and employment of these functions and the use of the derived information. The purposes, for which operations are performed, and the techniques used to carry them out, are to be the basic criteria for determining whether they are to be described as EW (ESM) or SIGINT operations. There must be close coordination between ESM and SIGINT operations, particularly when separate assets are employed, to ensure duplication of effort or conflict of interests is avoided.

Definition of SIGINT

SIGINT is a huge sphere of operations and as you would imagine it is rather difficult to define it in a short simple statement. SIGINT can be described as all the processes and techniques required to intercept and study foreign communications and RADAR EM emissions during peacetime and in support of military operations before and during hostilities. The following is a suggested and acceptable definition:

“Sigint is the intelligence communications intelligence (comint) and electronic information derived from intelligence (elint)”