Pentagon rushing 10,000 jammers to Iraq (to counter roadside bombs)

[Barrett808]

Washington, DC, May. 5 (UPI) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Rumsfeld has approved $10 million to rush 10,000 new jammers to Iraq to help combat roadside bombs, Pentagon officials said Thursday.

The $10 million is being released under an emergency authorization provision approved by Congress that lets the Pentagon move up to $100 million without going through the standard reporting procedures so long as it is done for troop force protection reasons.

"We are replacing miles of paperwork and lots of bureaucracy with personal accountability," said House Armed Services Committee Chairman Duncan Hunter, R-Calif.

Each of the jammers costs $1,000. They were just tested last month and will be flooded into Iraq in the next two months, CQ Today reported this week.

(more)

http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20050505-052026-1653r.htm

[Jacobin]

1. Then everything will be okay in IraqNam

No. REally, everything will be okay. The only problem is remote detonated roadside bombs. After they get the jammers, IraqNam....ya know, those flowers....the flowers will be thrown.

I promise.

Really. BETTER than the elections. The jammers, yeah, that'll fix it.

[brucefan]

12. Don't forget the statue

of Bush!

[Zorra]

25. Great post, Jacobin. Yuh, then everything will be okay in Iraqnam.

I promise too.

"BETTER than the elections. The jammers, yeah, that'll fix it."

Fuck them all, and the horse they rode in on too.

Lying pieces of shit.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

2. And they are just now figuring out how to detonate a remote bomb?

Boy these guys are DUMB.

[Cobalt Violet]

7. What the hell took them so long?

How many had to die first.

[LifeDuringWartime]

20. thats the first question that came to my mind n/t

[DulceDecorum]

13. They are MUCH better at Business & Lobbying

March 16, 2005
Roughly 400 defense-industry executives representing several hundred companies showed up for an industry day sponsored by the Army late last year. Dozens of companies are expected to throw their hats into the ring by the end of this month to compete for a contract worth as much as $350 million to develop next-generation IED jammers.
Army spokesman Lt. Col. Christopher Rodney said the service plans to test the potential jammers between March and May. By June, the Army will select a technology.
“Hopefully then we will move into production as fast as possible,” Rodney said.
During the competition, the Army hopes to find a technology that can jam a wide array of remote-controlled IEDs, which can be detonated by everything from garage-door openers to cell phones.
“We are looking for one jammer to do it all,” Rodney said.
http://www.hillnews.com/thehill/export/TheHill/Business/031605_pentagon.html

One mass produced unit which can easily fall into enemy hands
vs
the entire brainpower of a nation that wants to be free.

Gentlemen, place your bets.

[DulceDecorum]

3. Question:

Won't those jammers also fry everything electrical that the US military is depending on?
Like their F/A-18 Hornet jets?

Didn't Paul Van Riper pretty much predict the outcome of this war?

[ET Awful]

5. Not necessarily, however, they might wreak havok on any cell phone

service in the immediate vicinity, that is if my memory is functioning and, as I recall, many of the IED's are triggered by cell phone.

[DulceDecorum]

8. How about if

you fix the bomb so that as long as the cellphone (or whatever) is working,
the bomb stays put,
but three seconds after the jammer cuts the connection, the bomb detonates?

In other words,
suppose the Iraqis allow for the jamming
and use the jammer on the Humvee as the detonator?
Heck, that would increase the efficiency of the roadside bombs, wouldn't it?

[Massacure]

15. Jammers usually go through hundreds if not thousands of frequency a second

If you had enough range, the bomb would go off far away enough from the convoy. The civilians still get screwed over though.

Oh, and about posts 3. Jammers don't fry electronics. Electromagnetic pulses do. I don't think the U.S. uses EMPs though, and the U.S. is careful not to jam the frequencies they use.

[DulceDecorum]

16. Thanks

Luckily I have not yet been compelled to study up on that subject.

[moggie]

18. So, they can be used to screw up communications

Like, say, journalists' phones? Hmm.:tinfoilhat:

[bemildred]

4. This has NOTHING to do with the Calipari report. Nothing.

NOTHING, you hear me!

[Rose Siding]

6. The WaTimes previously reported that insurgents adapted around jammers

snip>
"Enemy sophistication continually improves," said a recent U.S. military briefing to commanders. "The enemy is adapting all the time."
The document said that after the U.S. had success with jamming radio signals between the bomber and the improvised explosive devices (IEDs), insurgents quickly reverted to direct-wire ignition that cannot be jammed.
...
In some cases, the jammers work. But the insurgents have adapted by using the hard-to-jam signals from cordless phones or cell phones, or simply stringing a wire from the remote control to the bomb's battery.
"I hate to say this, but the Defense Department is not where it should be in defeating these things," said a Defense source who is working on solutions to the problem.

http://www.washtimes.com/national/20050425-122710-9671r.htm

[leftchick]

28. it is okay

the company that won the contract still gets its dough even though the jammers will prove useless. :(

[Robb]

9. The time to know when this is for real

...is if anyone mentions the redundantly named Directed Energy Directorate.

That, and if they pull out the Hornets and stick with F-16s, as they're more deftly hardened to such stuff.

Otherwise, window dressing.

[info being]

10. Make that 10,000 new targets

[jobycom]

11. Anyone else suspect a followup story will include who's really

getting that 100K? Who makes these jammers, how much did they contribute to Bush in 2004, and how long until reports complaining of the complete lack of efficacy of these devices is released?

Am I too cynical?

[DulceDecorum]

14. "No matter how cynical (you) get, (you) can't keep up."

-- Lily Tomlin.

[Jacobin]

19. Surely not a CA constituent of Duncan's!!!

How cynical of you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

well, okay, I wouldn't bet against you.

[slackmaster]

17. If they work against cell phones I want one

The price sounds about right.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

21. anyone want to take odds on what it does to all the

high-tech shit the soldiers depend on now?

if this shit were not so serious, it would be laughable.

on edit... look for the return of the f4 wild weasal any day now

[atreides1]

23. It will take time to get the weasels up and operational

They'll have to bring the F4 Wild Weasels out of the bone yard, and train pilots to fly them.

[bemildred]

24. I remember that, another dumb move. nt

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

30. They will, it appears, have plenty of time

maybe even enough time to dig the A4D's out too.
another plane the AF should never have retired.

[hector459]

22. How long before these jammers fall into insurgent (resistence) hands?

You know damn well it's going to happen.

[NickB79]

26. The end result will be more attacks on Iraqi forces

If the resistance in Iraq can't kill US soldiers directly, they will redirect their efforts even more at recruiting centers and police stations, killing more civilians like we've seen in the past week. They will also increase the number of suicide bombers to counter our jammers. They seem to have no shortage of men willing to die for their beliefs, so why not just dig a hole big enough for an IED and a suicide bomber on the side of the road? Put a small periscope in there and he pushes the button himself when the troops are in range.

[leftchick]

27. More Waste of Money. It will just increase the suicide and VBEDs

That are happening daily to all day long....

http://us.news3.yimg.com/img.news.yahoo.com/util/anysize/345,http%3A%2F%2Fus.news2.yimg.com%2Fus.yimg.com%2Fp%2Fap%2F20050505%2Fcapt.bag10605051056.iraq__bag106.jpg

An Iraqi boy views the spot where a US Army vehicle burns after it was hit by a suicide car bomb in the Dorah district of Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, May, 5, 2005. At least 20 people were killed in three separate attacks targeting Iraqi and US security forces in Baghdad Thursday. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

[unhappycamper]

29. The F-22 Raptor will be able to take out IEDs.

Unfortunately they cost $225,000,000 a pop. (I don't know for sure if they can, but $225M should buy a LOT of capability.)

I seem to recall we had the same problem in Nam. 40 years later the war department is still working on it..... Take notes this time, you assholes!