A couple of weeks ago I posted an article about Electronic Countermeasures to help prevent IED attacks against our soldiers in Iraq. I wanted to know why there wasn't something available to jam the frequencies being used to trigger these devices. There were some great comments from military guys including the following one which was so good I thought it deserved a little more attention:
Be sure to read further. You won't want to miss this...
Comment posted by Joe P.>>
There is no reason but stupidity and cost as to why more jammers are not deployed. The Israelis have used them for over ten years to successfully limit their vulnerability to IEDs.
The Dept of Defense is spending a fortune on building many sophisticated electronic devices, most of which never are used. Nobody cares about the grunt in the field until it becomes a threat to reelecting the President.
Jammers can be bought off-the-shelf. One similar to what the Pakistan President had cost about $10K. They block all Rf, no matter if at a cellphone frequency or in the junk band (garage door openers). In volume, the military could deploy one properly rigged jammer to protect a convoy that would cost $5K.
It is not just the lack of jammers that is astonishing, but how about the Hummers with canvas doors being used in combat zones. Pure stupidity. A BB gun could shoot through that canvas.
Better than a jammer, the military can easily deploy devices that ring cellular phones. By randomly doing that, you would blow-up the bombs before the convoy approached, if they used a cellular phone.
<<<
My email to Joe bounced so I have no way of knowing whether he knows what he's talking about or not. If Joe's comments are correct, someone needs to get busy.
Thanks to E. Peterson for this link in the Washington Post to an article that provides additional information about IED's.
Well, Jim, in some respects I could answer this question. But then I'd have to cut your head off and put it in a safe. You might find that a little claustrophobic. Not all silence is a lack of info, just a lack of shareable info.
Posted by: John of Argghhh! at February 25, 2004 10:00 PMHere is an answer to the question, however, my question is, why has it taken so long to get these devices built and deployed. It seems to me that these things should have been standard equipment on Army vehicles for the past 3 years.
Army awards contract for IED jammer
BY Frank Tiboni
March 2, 2004
The Army awarded a $6.8 million contract to EDO Corp. yesterday to build a device that will help U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq detect roadside bombs.
EDO's Communications and Countermeasures division, located in Simi Valley, Calif., will build 132 Warlock Green electronic countermeasure devices. The contract is part of a $47.4 million contract initiated by the service in November, said a March 1 Defense Department contracts' announcement.
Warlock Green emits a radio frequency that jams communications signals that detonate roadside bombs, called improvised explosive devices. EDO also manufactures a less sophisticated jammer called Warlock Red, said a Dec. 29 company statement.
EDO will start delivering Warlock Green to U.S. and coalition troops in Iraq in June, according to an industry official familiar with the device's fielding. William Walkowiak, the company's investor relations director, and the Army declined comment.
Roadside bombs, the weapon of choice for Iraqi insurgents, have killed or wounded more than 300 soldiers since the United States invaded Iraq last year.