“Until recently, most roadside explosives in [Iraq] were triggered remotely by an insurgent using a cellphone, doorbell or other wireless device,” USA Today notes.
But U.S. forces have picked up more and more radio frequency jammers to keep the bombs from going off. And so the insurgents are switching gears.
“The new weapon out there is the pressure-detonated IED,” Col. Steven Salazar, commander of the Army’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team, warned company commanders during a recent battle briefing. “It’s a very dangerous tactic…“
Pressure-switch bombs [do they mean landmines? — ed.] aren’t entirely new. They have been used, on and off, by insurgents as far back as fall 2003, says Maj. Dean Wollan, intelligence officer of the 3rd Brigade. They still are commonly found in Ramadi, Fallujah and Baghdad.
In the Baqouba area north of Baghdad, insurgents had abandoned the use of pressure-triggered bombs this spring after U.S. and Iraqi forces discovered eight of the devices before they could be detonated. The bombs were poorly assembled, Wollan said.
The re-emergence of pressure-activated bombs has come as insurgents have acquired more expertise in building and placing them. “These guys either received additional training, or new personnel has moved in to show them how to do it correctly,” Wollan said.
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
I can’t believe this is news. Why is it so exciting while it is not so different from land mines, except that it probably uses artillery rounds as a substitute for explosives. I feel that terrorists have come to a dead end in innovations. Probably there are not many more inventions that will add on to the capabilities of IEDs. with all others have already been in use.
Noah, you should KNOW better, by now!
A “land mine” is an unsophisticated, low-tech device that cannot be used to wrangle any further funding from Congress!
Therefore, “land mines” are an obsolescnt form of jargon!
Now, “A Pressure Activated Improvised Explosive Device”… That is clearly a threat to National Security which will require supplying billions of dollars of additional money into the ‘Future Combat System’!
More than likely, the main difference is in placement of the explosive…
The ‘land mine’ is usually buried in the road, and uses a much smaller charge, typically to immobilize the vehicle so that the Artillery can then kill it…
A ‘pressure-activated IED’ may use the exact same tripwire, but for a much larger explosive, probably placed at the side of the road, with the intention of causing injuries to the Vehicle’s crew…
What country are they blaming this on. Iran, Syria, N. Korea, France.
Good Morning Pedestrian,
I disagree with you, a trip through Radio Shack or an Allied Radio (Electronics) Cat. has all kinds of way to trip a switch. How about Laser pointers, trip wires, Blue tooth, 802.11, delay timers, counters, IR sensors, Viberation sensors etc. the list is endless.
We keep underestimating the Ala Babbas. Most seem have higher IQ’s then our Imperial General Staff combined. As a returnung Marine officer said last Spring, “…the enemy is about six weeks behind us.”
If we had a real war time President there would be some Generals or as the late Col. (USA, Ret.)David Hackworth so correctly labeled them “The Perfumed Princes and Princesses of the Pentagon” getting fired and more then a few Majors and Lt. Col’s. who have a tour or three under there BDU’s and don’t find there things a surprise, being jumped a couple or three ranks.
ALLONS,
Byron Skinner
“Stewart’s Platoon”
This can only mean one thing.. THE IRA HAS STOLE THIS TECHNOLOGY FROM BRITAIN, IT IS JUST TOO COMPLEX!!
Meant to say stole the technology and then passed it on to the Iraqi Resistance decades later.
>How about Laser pointers, trip wires,
>Blue tooth, 802.11, delay timers, counters,
>IR sensors, Viberation sensors etc.
>The list is endless.
Vibration senosrs LOL. Several seconds later the planter sets this up, with roaring armored vehicles approaching, it seems that it will detonate in advance. Let’s hope the planter does not get upset and let the weight contact the surrounding ring killing himpself. In other words, useless. Vibration sensor is not such a new concept for use in man made bombs, even it was not used in Iraq. Regarding your proposals, all of your concepts are already being used, excluding Wi-Fi but including it when concidering it as part of electromagnetic wireless communication method. Nice try, but you failed to do your homework. Still, I will give you a C- for your imaginations. As an addition, don’t post those type of comments again if you don’t want more people to get hurt; the Di-jihad is still being fought on the Internet.
Good Morning Pedestrian,
I didn’t meanto insult your fragile ego but I’m very much aware of this particular kinda of warfare, in ways I doubt you could ever imagine. You comments regarding vibration devices indicated your limited knowledge about triggers.
It also appears that you ability to read is also in question. Te point of my statement was not the deployment of different types of “IED’s” but the chain of command.
But again you juvenile response is indictive of the thinkiing or lack of, with our military in general.
I don’t give out grades, that for school teachers but so far you haven’t shown that you know anything worthy of even a failing grade.
ALLONS,
Byron Skinner
“Stewart’s Platoon”
Ohhh my god… I really interesring in what country are they blaming this on too… I think, it’ll be Iran
Now, boys, please, let’s keep this Civil, and not turn it into a ‘Flame War’…
Thanks!
As to who they’ll ‘blame’ this on, you can bet it won’t be on ‘our firends’ in Saudi Arabia, where a lot of the money is likely coming from, even now…