Fighting Afghanistan’s Dumbed-Down — and Deadly — Bombs
- By Nathan Hodge
- October 27, 2009 |
- 4:14 pm |
- Categories: Af/Pak, Terrorists, Guerillas, Pirates
Afghanistan’s low-tech, relatively primitive bombs might be even harder to stop than Iraq’s comparatively sophisticated improvised explosives. The Pentagon is sinking almost a billion dollars into new tools to stop this dumbed-down threat, like sensors and software that can detect minute changes on the ground, along with dozens of other initiatives.
It’s a particularly urgent need: Between 70 and 80 percent of coalition casualties in Afghanistan are now caused by improvised bombs. The International Security Assistance Force announced today that eight U.S. troops — and an Afghan civilian working for the coalition — were killed in “multiple, complex” roadside bomb attacks in southern Afghanistan.
In Iraq, the Pentagon’s Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization played a cat-and-mouse game against sophisticated insurgent bomb-making cells who used military-grade explosives and radio-frequency triggers. As violence crested, insurgents there were laying as many as 100 of the deadly devices in one day. The organization spent billions to field radio-frequency jammers and speed the development of mine-resistant vehicles, and the total number of deadly attacks dropped precipitously.
In comparison, Afghanistan’s bombs are much more crude. Insurgents there often mix up homemade explosives that are triggered by command wire or a simple pressure plate. But detecting those elementary components “is a very difficult physics problem,” JIEDDO director Lt. Gen. Thomas Metz tells Danger Room.
We’ve become accustomed to the idea that a weapon’s potency grows with its sophistication: “Smart” munitions are more effective than dumb ones; supersonic jets can shoot down slower planes. But Afghanistan and its IEDs are proving the exception to that rule.
Over the past year, Metz said, the organization has spent “just south of $1 billion” on Afghanistan-specific counter-IED initiatives, a push that began in support of an expected plus-up in U.S. troops. As part of that effort, JIEDDO is investing in some potentially game-changing technologies for detecting pressure-plate devices and deeply buried bombs and finding the command wires that arm and ignite them.
Finding command wires, Metz said, could be done with “change detection” technology: Sensors and software that can detect minute changes on the ground — for instance, where someone may have recently dug up a road or moved some soil around.
“I’ve got a lot of confidence that we are closing in on being able to detect the command wire,” he said. “And then the question will be proliferating that to the force — and building the training package that goes with that, and building what we call the conops, the operational concept: When the sensor senses the command wire, gets that information down to the ground [forces] and the ground uses it in a way that can not only keep them away from the IED but maybe set their own ambush or set their own way to backtrack.”
Metz was not an early convert to change-detection technology. When it was first tried out in Iraq, he said, “it wasn’t good enough, and I was wasting aircraft time to try to prove it one way or another, and I was not very confident in 2004 that change detection was going to get me [to] where the IED was dug in.
“It has improved to the point that you can see a lot — and very, very small disturbances. So that change detection gives you the first hint of where that command wire may be, and that hint then cues you to take another sensor, which gives you a much better ability to see the wire itself and your false positives go down tremendously. And you’re able to relay that information to the ground and let them take that from there.”
Nonetheless, the overall number of roadside bomb incidents have continued to surge over the past year. Later, we’ll take a closer look at some more Afghan-specific technology that the U.S. military is hoping will turn the tide.
[PHOTO: U.S. Army]
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Where is that pic from?
Can you please explain the photo? There was no caption asociated with it when I clicked on it. Thank you.
Indeed, the photo, if real or not is probably a bit over the top for display.
“associated” not “asociated”. Sorry.
that really is some photo. also whats with this crap above my comment? looks like asian links or something
The picture is from a realistic training exercise, supported by the JIEDDO Joint Center of Excellence (JCOE) at the National Training Center in Ft. Irwin, CA.
Today’s tragedy underscores the gravitas of battle tested Vietnam War hero and Silver Star winner Senator John Kerry’s warning about General McChrystal’s “plan”:
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“But I believe his current plan reaches too far, too fast. We do not yet have the critical guarantees of governance and development capacity—the other two legs of counterinsurgency. And I have serious concerns about the ability to produce effective Afghan forces to partner with, so we can ensure that when our troops make heroic sacrifices, the benefits to the Afghans are actually clear and sustainable.”
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Indeed, it appears that President Obama (PBUH) is heeding Kerry’s wise counsel as he carefully reflects upon all conceivable choices as well as all of their possible consequences before announcing his next move:
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“I won’t risk your lives unless it is absolutely necessary. And if it is necessary, we will back you up to the hilt.”
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What a refreshing change from the mindless insanity of the Insane Klown Posse of neocons led by international war criminals Chimpy Bu$Hitler and Shotgun Cheney who rushed (more accurately, “hustled”) America into an illegal war for oil after they fumbled the ball on 9/11.
ROFL @ honest_clowd
John Kerry… war hero… BWHAHHAHAHAHAHA
Like YOUR president and Secretary of state he was for the war before was agsinst it before voting to fund it and then not fund it an then write a speech about it and then have a dinner about it and then take some polls about it to see how he should feel about it. He reminds me of Frank Burns form Mash. How the people of mASSachusetts keep voting him in office I don’t understand.
Anyhow. The pic is from a realistic training exercise. Too bad the author of the article forgot to mention that or put a NOT FAMILY SAFE tag on the link to the article.
To quote Ripley from Aliens… Ripley: I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure.
AMXO
The best solution to any problem is to prevent said problem from occuring.
End the vicious lie of a war. Not one from Iraq. Not one from Afghanistan. Fifteen from Saudi Arabia.
Just leave Afghanistan and Iraq. Give UP on being a world superpower, let china have that rabid elephant if it wants it. Go insular. End suburbia and the commute to work. If we switch to walking to work the norm, driving the exception and a ton of public transport our domestic reserves of coal will be good for at least 1000 years.
We can still keep our cars. But wouldn’t it be nice if your car broke down only worrying about your next pleasure trip, not if/when you could get it fixed so you could keep your job or not spend more than you earn on taxis?
@ honest cloud and greengestalt
you two should team up and really do some damgae ruining these blogs with your crap
Correct me if im wrong but did Kerry the Coward get one of his purple hearts after he tossed a grenade into a Sanpan and was hit with a peice of rice? A sanpan that was unarmed? AS for the GREAT PUBUH Obama.. Yes lets keep this up cause having a president make the command decisions worked really well in vietnam.
It strikes me as odd that forces as powerful and advanced as the United States Armed Forces and the British Armed Forces/Royal Marines are having so much trouble with these IEDs. In no way do I think it’s funny or am I saying that these soldiers aren’t smart enough, I’m just saying it’s odd that the technology isn’t already there for these IEDs.
Let’s hope they sort something out soon, our men are dying.
“Afghanistan’s bombs are much more crude. Insurgents there often mix up homemade explosives that are triggered by command wire or a simple pressure plate”
No idea where Metz gets his information. These types of devices were and are very prevalent in Iraq. We should not be surprised by their use in Afghanistan.
The defeat of the device can be assisted by technology, and it is, but good intelligence work, effective route clearance, and a comprehensive counterinsurgency campaign are what will truly reduce casualties from IEDs.
Odd thing about the photo, (before I saw the note that it was from a training exercise) I was thinking if an IED was big enough to remove everything except the front and rear axel and targeted (or shaped) well enough to slice off the crew compartment, there would absolutley be no survivors (or even reminants of them). I don’t think there would be anything worth training for in a situation like that because NO ONE would survive that blast.
@ AMXO: Anger issues much?
An IED a day keeps the invaders away.
The US-haters call us “invaders”, but its my understanding many, if not most, of the Taliban are not Afghanis either.