James Ziegler
Martin Nelson
United States Naval Academy
1
UNCLASSIFIED
Iraq Casualties
Dates
Number
of U.S.
Fatalities
IED
Fatalities
IED
Percent
2003
486
21
4%
2004
848
288
34%
2005
846
534
63%
124
87
69%
2,304
16,653
40%
2006
(3 mo)
Mar. 2003 –
Mar, 2006
Source: www.ICasualties.org
2
(killed)
(wounded)
• Problem occurred because terrorists
are using a new technology that had
not been foreseen.
• Previous terrorist bombs detonated
using timing devices. Difficult to use
against defended targets, and could not
be used against mobile targets.
• Widespread availability of commercial
RF switches (car fobs, cell phone, etc.)
allowed precise timing without
exposing terrorist to counter-attack.
3
Extended IED Tactics
Prime IED exposed
to stop traffic
Hidden IEDs destroy
stopped traffic
Traffic
• Ten or more holes dug to hold 6” artillery shells. Shells
buried and connected by flash cord.
• Prime IED exposed so (1) traffic will stop and (2) will
act as marker for distant activator.
• When traffic stops, IEDs activated using RF control.
4
DAISY CHAINS FEATURING MORE THAN 20
ROUNDS HAVE BEEN DISCOVERED
• 22 155-mm
rounds
• 380 m kill
zone
• Daisy
chained with
det cord
• Buried Shells
have been
excavated
5
Iraq IED Tactics
• 2003-2004 IEDs planted
at night using 5-20 men
digging holes next to
road.
• 2004 Deployment of
night-vision Predator
UAVs used seek-anddestroy tactics.
• 2005 – IEDs planted in
• By end of 2004, night
daylight by men dressed as
deployment of IEDs
Road Crews.
effectively ended on
• 2005 – Less than 20% of
major highways.
day-light buried IEDs
reported by Iraqi civilians.
6
RF - IED INITIATORS:
CAR ALARMS / KEYLESS ENTRY SYSTEMS
• Most common RF - IED
initiator
• No modification req’d; output
taken to detonator
Car alarm receiver
• 12 V power
• Effective range 100-150 m
Car alarm transmitters (key fobs)
7
8
RF - IED INITIATORS: WIRELESS DOORBELLS
•
•
•
•
Inexpensive
Readily available
Simple to modify
for IED use
Output taken from
chime speaker
Doorbell receiver
Doorbell transmitters
9
RF - IED INITIATORS: TWO-WAY RADIOS
Two-way radio hidden in a
wooden box
• Large choice of frequencies
• Ranges of up to 5 km
• Some homemade decoder boards
encountered
• Requires some degree of skill
10
RF - IED INITIATORS: CORDLESS PHONES
Long-range handset and base station (12 V power)
HOUSEHOLD handset and base station (12 V power)
11
RF - IED INITIATORS: MODEL TOYS
Model receiver in box
Trigger controller
12
Futaba Model 6XA-FM
Toy car modified as RF - IED
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS: IEDs IN IRAQ
70% of attacks in
the Sunni
Triangle occur
during morning
0900-1200
RC DEVICES ENCOUNTERED
DEVICE
RANGE
Car alarm/keyless entry
200 m
Wireless doorbell
200 m
Cordless phone
100 m
Nokia phone
1-2 km+
Model car/toy receivers
1-150 m
Transceivers/decoder
VEHICLE CONVOYS ARE PRIME TARGETS FOR IEDs
13
5 km
14
IED - MAIN CHARGES
• Majority are ordnance items:
artillery shells and mortar rounds
• Bulk TNT, PE-4, and PE-4A also
used (PE-4 and PE-4A are RDXbased)
• No homemade explosives
encountered
15
IED - CONCEALMENT
•
•
•
•
•
16
Cast in concrete
Hidden in roadside trash
Placed in burlap or plastic bags
Concealed in tires
Hidden in trees
IED - Detonation
• Primarily commercial electric
blasting caps: several foreign
designs
• Detonating cord also used
• Standard procedure: fuze
wells potted with PE-4A;
blasting caps or detonating
cord then inserted
17
18
What Countermeasures for Simple RF-IEDs?
Bradley Fighting Vehicle
(22 tons) fitted with RF
Jamming.
>1,000 units, “Warlock”,
being produced by
Raytheon (based on
Univ. New Mexico
design).
Effectiveness is
moderate because BFV
is slow (< 30 mph).
RF Jamming is indiscriminate and requires guessing as to
frequency band. Also interferes with military
communications and civilian RF applications.
19
20
IED Countermeasures
• Some experts believe that a more effective IED countermeasure might be achieved
through technology that can detect IEDs from afar, and then create a pulse of
electromagnetic energy to prematurely detonate them, or burn out and destroy their
circuitry. One device is the Neutralizing Improvised Explosive Devices with
Radio Frequency (NIRF). The device produces a high-frequency field at very short
range that can neutralize electronics. The Pentagon reportedly will deploy NIRF in
Iraq later this year.
• Other devices create a protective area around moving convoys. A Pentagon
microwave project, code-named PING, is already deployed in Iraq, and reportedly
has been successful at helping locate insurgent weapons caches. The machine, which
fits inside a Humvee, sends out electromagnetic waves that can penetrate a
building’s interior to detect IEDs.
• Other sensors, such as the Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy system
(LIBS), are being developed to detect traces of explosives used for IEDs from as far
away as 30 meters.
• The “Talon” is a bomb-disposal Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV), or robot, that
comes equipped with a mechanical arm to pick up and inspect dangerous objects,
such as suspected IEDs. More than a hundred of the remote-control robots are now
being used in Iraq and Afghanistan, with an equal amount on order. Another robot,
called the “PackBot” has also been used by the Army to clear bombs and explore
suspected terrorist hideouts.
http://www.usembassy.it/pdf/other/RS22330.pdf
21
Funding for IED Countermeasures
• 2002 Funding ~ $
30 M
• 2004 Funding ~ $
85 M
• 2006 Funding ~ $ 3,320 M
22
Causing Electronics to Lock-Up
Using Particle Beams in Air
• Irradiation with Neutrons has no effect (doses
exceeding 1012/cm2 (2 hour irradiation).
• Irradiation with high energy protons (capable of going
100’) has no effect (doses exceeding 1010/cm2 (1 hour
irradiation).
• Electron beams – Total lock-up within 1 second
for a beam of < 1μA.
Note: An e- beam of
18 MeV might go 230’ in air (theory).
23
23 MeV e- Accelerators
Widely Available
Johns Hopkins Medical Center
23 MeV Varian Therapy Tool
24
Electron accelerator (18 MeV)
used in current e-Zapper tests
The electron accelerator used in the tests described in this
report. It creates an electron beam with energies up to 18 MeV,
which exit from the 3mm tube at the left. The accelerator is an
RF linac, capable of producing more than 10mA (DC equivalent)
of electrons at the maximum energy.
25
e-Zapper
26
Typical e-Zapper Target
A typical e-Zapper target
used in the experiments.
This is a walkie-talkie
with a quoted range of 2
miles. It has both a bell
alarm and a LED alarm,
either of which could be
rewired to activate a
micro-relay connecting a
battery to a detonator.
The walkie-talkie has three primary chips, any of which could
disable it. The walkie-talkies were killed in <5 seconds using about
50 nA/cm2 of e-beam intensity.
27
Intensity of e-Zapper
One target was placed
about 1’ from the e-beam
exit aperture during
initial setup, and the
beam instantly drilled a
hole in the plastic
housing. The melted
plastic hole measured
slightly less than 1 cm,
indicating both the beam
size and the potential
beam power.
(Noted on the case are the positions of three chips inside the ringer
case, which are required to activate the bell chimes.)
28
Deactivation
without
Detonation
Experimental paper (1966)
showed explosives only
detonated by heat. Can not be
set off by radiation. Typically,
need >220C.
Experiment: Surrounded RF
device with shot-gun shells
and bullets. Deactivation
occurred in 2 seconds, with no
detonation.
29
E-Zapper Status - 2006
30
e-Zapper
Original
Equipment
and
Essential
Equipment
31
James Ziegler
Martin Nelson
United States Naval Academy
33
UNCLASSIFIED