They worked on Droids in Star Wars, so why not an al-Qaeda communications center.
“They” are electro-magnetic grenades — not something you’ll find in the typical armory but apparently something that could soon be in the hands of GIs.
“EMP grenade technology is out there, but I’ve never had my hands on one,” said Col. Laurie Buckhout, chief of the newly formed Electronic Warfare Division, Army Operations, Readiness and Mobilization, during a bloggers roundtable Tuesday from the Pentagon.
A Web search for “Electro Magnetic Pulse grenade” turns up a number of hits, many related so Star Wars and gaming sites. One Star Wars-oriented site notes EMPs also are known as Electrostatic Charge Detonators and were an anti-droid weapon used during the Clone Wars.
The EMP grenade was one of several sci-fi type weapons that the military has been developing and, in some cases, fielding. Buckhout also mentioned lasers for taking out missiles and the so-called Active Denial System, which uses microwaves which heat a person’s skin to uncomfortable levels.
The purpose of the roundtable to was discuss the Army’s new Electronic Warfare career field, a 29-series MOS that will include officers, warrant officers and enlisted personnel. The career field grew out of the Army’s need for an expert force able to counter radio-controlled IEDs, though the troops making up the new specialty will be doing more than that, according to the Army; they’ll also be the go-to people for commanders wanting to know how they can exploit the electromagnetic spectrum tactically across their operations.
The Army has wanted an organic EW corps for some time. Personnel responsible for EW in Iraq and Afghanistan are mostly drawn from the Navy and Air Force, according to Buckhout. Using portable jammers, they can dominate the radio spectrum defeat any signal coming from a cell phone or other device used to trigger a roadside bomb.
But there’s a problem: the jammers may also interfere with legitimate radio signals. These can include U.S. troops’ own systems, radio-controlled links to robots used by IED demolition teams and emergency communications systems.
Thus, the Army’s drive to come up with signal-jammers that can be slewed into specific emitters. Large systems, such as those employed by aircraft, can do the job, Buckhout said, but it’s “like using a sledgehammer to kill a mosquito.”
It kills the mosquito, she said, but it does a lot of damage, too.
“The Army needs to have its own … on-the-ground assets to complement our abilities,” she said, “to get the enemy first or stop them from getting us on the ground.”
“Electronic warfare is going to be fought on the ground, not just in the air, and you have to have an attack from the ground point of view.”
The new Army career field will number 1,619 Soldiers in all, and th-ey will come from the active-duty, reserve and National Guard, she said. It will give the Army the largest professional ED cadre of any branch of the U.S. or NATO militaries, she said.
The Soldiers will operate at the battalion, Brigade Combat Team, and division levels, as well as joint billets, she said, enabling the troops to have a full career path available to them.
The equipment they will develop and use, meanwhile, will be tailored for Soldiers. Weapons or systems won’t be heavy or single-purpose, but will allow for electronic attack at different levels. The target may be a small building or a village, she said, and so a small jammer could be used, or EMP grenades.
EW training is being held at Fort Sill, Okla., home of the Army’s artillery school. Buckhout said that’s because EW is seen as something to be targeted and fired, and that’s what they do at Sill.
She said the first EW Soldier should be fielded by the end of Fiscal 2010 and that all authorized positions should be filled by sometime in Fiscal 2011.
– Bryant Jordan
While creating an Electronic Warfare (EW) capability in the Army is a worthy endeavor, I believe is not needed in the form discussed. To proceed with this initiative will create unnecessary redundancies and redirect Soldiers into a career field with an arguably short life span.
The Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) is tasked with addressing this need. Upon review the JIEDDO website (https://www.jieddo.dod.mil/ABOUTJIEDDO/AJHOME.ASPX) it is clear that the tasks mentioned in this article is currently addressed by this organization. To create a career field specifically addressing this problem will establish a redundant capability into the military structure. A better solution is to give this mission to the US Army Signal Corps.
The US Army Signal Corps is the proper proponent to nest this function within the US Army. Signal Soldiers are currently trained to manage spectrum and can be retrained to engage in EW. These Soldiers have the equipment and technical ability to properly address this need without the creation of a specialized branch of the US Army.
The IED threat is real. Thus far it has been a leading killer of Soldiers in combat. So, yes it should be addressed forcefully. But a better way to do this is to tap into the existing force structure that is best suited to take this role. These new EW warriors will ultimately be nested with the communications elements in units. It is a natural fit due to the technology and coordination required to effectively counter the threat. Creating a separate force structure will only complicate the much-needed work in this area.
“The target may be a small building or a village“
Oops, looks like we knocked out your only means of communications, plus your generator. But it could have been worse, we could have used 155mm artillery…
>“EMP grenade technology is out there, but I’ve never
>had my hands on one,” said Col. Laurie Buckhout,
I know how to build an easy DIY EMP grenade to knock out IED electronics. Was it that complicated?
Sounds cool, where do I sign up? Will one of those EMP grenades take out the annoying 12″ subwoofer cars that pass by my house?
Sounds like a work in progress. Very cool technology when they do get it to work.
>Sounds cool, where do I sign up? Will one of those EMP grenades take out the annoying 12″ subwoofer cars >that pass by my house?
If the grendade reaches the range for the EMP to reach the electronics of the subwoofer, yes! but
I rather would optimize a microwave oven to cook it
This probably dates me badly, but as I recall, active radio receivers emit a small radio signal, though this may only apply to superhet systems, and it might also be possible to ping the antenna of an IED
As to the unwelcome side effects of indiscriminate jamming, that’s what directional antennas are for.
And EMP is well known to blow semiconductor junctions, and at the wavelengths of interest should be pretty directional. If it’s powerful enough, it should even be able to pop electrical detonators
I am a career soldier and reading this BS that everybody put on here about EMPs and about signal corps, you all have lost the spectrum on what this is about this is the future and it is here to stay a 155 doesnt cure anything except blowing things apart which you dont know if you got the RIGHT thing or not!!! the electronic warfare training area is right on the money and with the comments you post about getting it to work right all of these components do work right and if you would get your 12 out of your 6 and open your eyes this technology and the personnel who are experts in these fields could someday save you or your buddys life, in other words wake up its all because you dont understand the concepts and what it does you dont like it.
Again i am a career Soldier and IED MG, as well as EWOC 1K and i have saved many lives with this technology SO live with it.
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