Nett Warrior (NW) (formerly known as the Ground Soldier System ) is an integrated dismounted leader situational awareness (SA) system for use during combat operations of the United States Army .
91-448: The Nett Warrior system provides SA to the dismounted leader with the aim of enabling faster and more accurate decisions in the tactical fight. The system includes navigation, SA and information sharing capabilities. Its goal is to enable leaders to avoid fratricide and increase effectiveness of combat mission execution. The NW program focuses on the development of the SA system. This includes
182-506: A bomb disposal robot was used to deliver explosives to kill Micah Xavier Johnson , who was hiding in a place inaccessible to police snipers . As well, drones carrying explosives were used in a suspected assassination attempt against Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro in 2018. ISIS and Al-Nusra have used bombs detonated in tunnels dug under targets . In 2008, rocket-propelled IEDs, dubbed Improvised Rocket Assisted Munitions , Improvised Rocket Assisted Mortars and (IRAM) by
273-765: A car bomb or vehicle-borne IED (VBIED, pronounced vee-bid ). On occasion the driver of the car bomb may have been coerced into delivery of the vehicle under duress, a situation known as a proxy bomb . Distinguishing features are low-riding vehicles with excessive weight, vehicles with only one passenger, and ones where the interior of the vehicles look as if they have been stripped down and built back up. Car bombs can carry thousands of pounds of explosives and may be augmented with shrapnel to increase fragmentation. ISIS has used truck bombs with devastating effects. Water-borne Improvised Explosive Devices (WBIED), i.e. boats carrying explosives, can be used against ships and areas connected to water. An early example of this type
364-462: A radio-controlled improvised explosive device (RCIED) is controlled by radio link. The device is constructed so that the receiver is connected to an electrical firing circuit and the transmitter operated by the perpetrator at a distance. A signal from the transmitter causes the receiver to trigger a firing pulse that operates the switch. Usually the switch fires an initiator; however, the output may also be used to remotely arm an explosive circuit. Often
455-751: A theatre of operations . In the Iraq War (2003–2011), insurgents used IEDs extensively against U.S.-led forces, and by the end of 2007, IEDs were responsible for approximately 63% of coalition deaths in Iraq. They were also used in Afghanistan by insurgent groups, and caused over 66% of coalition casualties in the 2001–2021 Afghanistan War . IEDs were also used frequently by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Sri Lanka during
546-625: A "friendly" was rare, but in industrialized warfare, deaths from friendly fire are more common. Friendly fire should not be confused with fragging , which is the uncondoned intentional (or attempted) killing of servicemen by fellow personnel serving on the same side. Paul R. Syms argues that friendly fire is an ancient phenomenon. He notes recorded events in Ancient Greece and other early accounts of battles. He and other historians also note that weapons such as guns, artillery, and aircraft dramatically increased friendly-fire casualties. By
637-434: A German aircraft. Late in the war the "protection squadron" that covered the elite German jet fighter squadron as it landed or took off were brightly painted to distinguish them from raiding Allied fighters. Errors of response inhibition have recently been proposed as another potential cause of some friendly fire accidents. These types of errors are different from visual misidentification, and instead appear to be caused by
728-752: A Homemade Explosive Lab, or the physical location where the devices are crafted. An IED has five components: a switch (activator), an initiator (fuse), container (body), charge (explosive), and a power source (battery). An IED designed for use against armoured targets such as personnel carriers or tanks will be designed for armour penetration, by using a shaped charge that creates an explosively formed penetrator . IEDs are extremely diverse in design and may contain many types of initiators, detonators, penetrators, and explosive loads. Antipersonnel IEDs typically also contain fragmentation-generating objects such as nails, ball bearings or even small rocks to cause wounds at greater distances than blast pressure alone could. In
819-478: A bullet from a rifle. Without this stabilization the trajectory can not be accurately determined beyond 50 meters. An EFP is essentially a cylindrical shaped charge with a machined concave metal disc (often copper) in front, pointed inward. The force of the shaped charge turns the disc into a high velocity slug, capable of penetrating the armor of most vehicles in Iraq. Directionally focused charges (also known as directionally focused fragmentary charges depending on
910-548: A completely improvised manner or may be an improvised modification to an existing weapon. A common type of this is the Molotov cocktail . A speculative device incorporating radioactive materials designed to result in the dispersal of radioactive material for the purpose of area denial and economic damage, and/or for the purpose of creating a primary patho-physiological toxic effect (morbidity and mortality), or secondary psychological effect (causing fear and behavior modification) on
1001-420: A comprehensive approach to countering the threat networks that employ IEDs, not just efforts to defeat the devices themselves. Because the components of these devices are being used in a manner not intended by their manufacturer, and because the method of producing the explosion is limited only by the science and imagination of the perpetrator, it is not possible to follow a step-by-step guide to detect and disarm
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#17327988333421092-683: A detonating mechanism. IEDs are commonly used as roadside bombs , or homemade bombs . The term "IED" was coined by the British Army during the Northern Ireland conflict to refer to booby traps made by the IRA , and entered common use in the U.S. during the Iraq War . IEDs are generally utilized in terrorist operations or in asymmetric unconventional warfare or urban warfare by insurgent guerrillas or commando forces in
1183-427: A device that an individual has only recently developed. As such, explosive ordnance disposal (IEDD) operators must be able to fall back on their extensive knowledge of the first principles of explosives and ammunition , to try and deduce what the perpetrator has done, and only then to render it safe and dispose of or exploit the device. Beyond this, as the stakes increase and IEDs are emplaced not only to achieve
1274-441: A digital, graphical display of the leader’s location on a digital geo-referenced map image along with soldier and leader locations. The display is hands-free. The software connects through a secure radio to send and receive information from one NW to another, connecting the dismounted leader to the network. The radio also connected the equipped leader to higher echelon data and information products. Soldier position location information
1365-399: A failure to inhibit a shooting response. A number of situations can lead to or exacerbate the risk of friendly fire. Difficult terrain and visibility are major factors. Soldiers fighting on unfamiliar ground can become disoriented more easily than on familiar terrain. The direction from which enemy fire comes may not be easy to identify, and poor weather conditions and combat stress may add to
1456-495: A fog of war has come under considerable criticism, as it can be used as an excuse for poor planning, weak or compromised intelligence and incompetent command. Errors of position occur when fire aimed at enemy forces may accidentally end up hitting one's own. Such incidents are exacerbated by close proximity of combatants and were relatively common during the First and Second World Wars, where troops fought in close combat and targeting
1547-658: A hand-held screen device with the Rifleman radio transport mechanism. The new design weighed less than 3 lb (1.4 kg) and participated in the NIE 12.1 assessment in November 2011. Nett Warrior is based on an “end user device,” essentially an Android or iPhone -like smartphone tied to the Rifleman handheld radio, to link into command-and-control networks and use applications to call in fire support, plan and coordinate operations, and track friendly forces. The iteration used during
1638-484: A high percentage of total casualties are bound to be the result of friendly fire, blunting the effectiveness of the shock and awe tactic. It is probably the fact that friendly fire has proven to be the only fundamental weakness of the tactics that has caused the American military to take significant steps to overturn a blasé attitude to friendly fire and assess ways to eliminate it. During Operation Husky , codename for
1729-655: A human has a greater chance of achieving success than any other method of attack. In addition, there is the psychological impact of child soldiers prepared to deliberately sacrifice themselves for their cause. In May 2012 American counter-terrorism officials leaked their acquisition of documents describing the preparation and use of surgically implanted improvised explosive devices. The devices were designed to evade detection. The devices were described as containing no metal, so they could not be detected by X-rays. Security officials referred to bombs being surgically implanted into suicide bombers' " love handles ". According to
1820-414: A larger population. A device making use of exothermic chemical reactions designed to result in the rapid spread of fire for the purpose of creating a primary patho-physiological effect (morbidity and mortality), or secondary psychological effect (causing fear and behavior modification) on a larger population or it may be used with the intent of gaining a tactical advantage. Such devices may be fabricated in
1911-421: A larger population. Such devices may be fabricated in a completely improvised manner or may be an improvised modification to an existing nuclear weapon. Also called a Radiological Dispersion Device (RDD) or " dirty bomb ". Improvised nuclear device of most likely gun-type or implosion-type . A vehicle may be laden with explosives, set to explode by remote control or by a passenger/driver, commonly known as
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#17327988333422002-440: A larger population. Such devices may be fabricated in a completely improvised manner or may be an improvised modification to an existing weapon. A device incorporating biological materials designed to result in the dispersal of vector borne biological material for the purpose of creating a primary patho-physiological toxic effect (morbidity and mortality), or secondary psychological effect (causing fear and behavior modification) on
2093-418: A longstanding history of such bias, Krakauer claims "the scale and sophistication of these recent propaganda efforts, and the unabashedness of their executors" in Iraq and Afghanistan is new. Friendly fire can arise from the " fog of war " – the confusion inherent in warfare. Friendly fire that is the result of apparent recklessness or incompetence may be improperly lumped into this category. The concept of
2184-695: A multitude of radio beacons. Correct navigation is vital to ensuring units know where they are in relation to their own force and the enemy. Efforts to provide accurate compasses inside metal boxes in tanks and trucks has proven difficult, with GPS a major breakthrough. Other technological changes include hand-held navigational devices that use satellite signals, giving ground forces the exact location of enemy forces as well as their own. The use of infrared lights and thermal tape that are invisible to observers without night-goggles, or fibres and dyes that reflect only specific wavelengths are developing into key identifiers for friendly infantry units at night. There
2275-620: A navigation system to track the subordinate leaders' positions which appeared as icons on a digital map, and had a digital voice and text radio to send e-mails and talk to others wearing the system. Originally named the Ground Soldier System, its name was changed to Nett Warrior on 14 June 2010 (also the Army's 235th birthday) after then-lieutenant Robert B. Nett who was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1944 during World War II . The name
2366-510: A new smartphone will need to be acquired once the Note II production stops. Nett Warrior is currently fielded by the U.S. Army Rangers and members of the 10th Mountain Division . On 14 October 2014, the U.S. Army Geospatial Center recommended AFRL 's Android Tactical Assault Kit (ATAK) , over the world-leader Esri's Commercial Joint Mapping Tool Kit (CJMTK) , NASA 's World Wind , and
2457-547: A person's being in this vehicle and detonating it is known as an SVBIED suicide . Of increasing popularity among insurgent forces in Iraq is the house-borne IED, or HBIED, from the common military practice of clearing houses; insurgents rig an entire house to detonate and collapse shortly after a clearing squad has entered. The Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms (JCS Pub 1-02) includes two definitions for improvised devices: improvised explosive devices (IED) and improvised nuclear device (IND). These definitions address
2548-406: A platter charge, serving a similar role as an EFP with reduced effect but easier construction. A device incorporating the toxic attributes of chemical materials designed to result in the dispersal of toxic chemical materials for the purpose of creating a primary patho-physiological toxic effect (morbidity and mortality), or secondary psychological effect (causing fear and behavior modification ) on
2639-464: A victim. VOIED switches are often well hidden from the victim or disguised as innocuous everyday objects. They are operated by means of movement. Switching methods include tripwire, pressure mats, spring-loaded release, push, pull or tilt. Common forms of VOIED include the under-vehicle IED (UVIED), improvised landmines , and mail bombs . The British accused Iran and Hezbollah of teaching Iraqi fighters to use infrared light beams to trigger IEDs. As
2730-448: Is a military term for a car bomb or truck bomb but can be any type of transportation such as a bicycle, motorcycle, donkey ( DBIED ), etc. They are typically employed by insurgents , in particular ISIS , and can carry a relatively large payload. They can also be detonated from a remote location. VBIEDs can create additional shrapnel through the destruction of the vehicle itself and use vehicle fuel as an incendiary weapon . The act of
2821-554: Is also some development of remote sensors to detect enemy vehicles – the Remotely Monitored Battlefield Sensor System (REMBASS) uses a combination of acoustic , seismic vibration, and infrared to not just detect, but identify vehicles. Some tactics make friendly fire virtually inevitable, such as the practice of dropping barrages of mortars on enemy machine gun posts in the final moments before capture. This practice continued throughout
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2912-419: Is an untoward but inevitable aspect of warfare, so, too, is the tendency by military commanders to sweep such tragedies under the rug. It's part of a larger pattern: the temptation among generals and politicians to control how the press portrays their military campaigns, which all too often leads them to misrepresent the truth in order to bolster public support for the war of the moment. Although there may well be
3003-452: Is normally devised from non-military components. IEDs have been deployed in the form of explosively formed projectiles (EFP), a special type of shaped charge that is effective at long standoffs from the target (50 meters or more), however they are not accurate at long distances. This is because of how they are produced. The large "slug" projected from the explosion has no stabilization because it has no tail fins and it does not spin like
3094-457: Is now commonplace for soldiers worldwide. Avoiding friendly fire can be as straightforward as ensuring fire discipline is instilled in troops, so that they fire and cease firing when they are told to. Firing ranges now also include "don't fire" targets . The increasing sophistication of weaponry, and the tactics employed against American forces to deliberately confuse them has meant that while overall casualties have fallen for American soldiers in
3185-479: Is provided via interoperability with the Army’s Rifleman Radio capability. NW employs a system-of-systems approach, optimizing and integrating capabilities while reducing the soldier’s combat load and logistical footprint. By mid-2017, Nett Warrior was being upgraded and tested to receive full-motion video streams from small unmanned ground vehicles and unmanned aerial vehicles . Nett Warrior followed
3276-479: The Daily Mirror UK security officials at MI-6 asserted that female bombers could travel undetected carrying the explosive chemicals in otherwise standard breast implants . The bomber would blow up the implanted explosives by injecting a chemical trigger. Robots could also be used to carry explosives. First such documented case was during the aftermath of 2016 shooting of Dallas police officers when
3367-451: The Allied invasion of Sicily , on the night of 11 July 1943, American C-47 transport planes were mistakenly fired upon by American ground and naval forces and 23 planes were shot down and 37 damaged, resulting in 318 casualties, with 60 airmen and 81 paratroopers killed. This led to the use of Invasion stripes that were used during D-Day as a visible way to prevent friendly fire. During
3458-609: The Iraqi insurgency . IEDs strapped to the necks of farmers have been used on at least three occasions by guerrillas in Colombia, as a way of extortion. American pizza delivery man Brian Douglas Wells was killed in 2003 by an explosive fastened to his neck, purportedly under duress from the maker of the bomb. In 2011 a schoolgirl in Sydney, Australia had a suspected collar bomb attached to her by an attacker in her home. The device
3549-480: The Land Warrior system, which was deployed to Iraq in the spring of 2007 and then later to Afghanistan after the program had been cut in Army budgets. Land Warrior allowed combat leaders to track the locations of their men and view maps and other tactical information through a small helmet-mounted computer screen, featured a microcomputer processor for storing maps, mission-specific imagery, and graphics, used
3640-662: The Napoleonic Wars , Admiral Nelson ordered that ships under his command adopt a common paint scheme to reduce friendly fire incidents; this pattern became known as the Nelson Chequer . Invasion stripes served a similar function during the Allied invasion of Normandy in World War II. When radar was developed during World War II, IFF (" Identification friend or foe ") systems to identify aircraft developed into
3731-720: The Nuclear and Explosive in CBRNe . That leaves chemical, biological and radiological undefined. Four definitions have been created to build on the structure of the JCS definition. Terms have been created to standardize the language of first responders and members of the military and to correlate the operational picture. A device placed or fabricated in an improvised manner incorporating destructive, lethal, noxious, pyrotechnic, or incendiary chemicals and designed to destroy, incapacitate, harass, or distract. It may incorporate military stores, but
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3822-525: The Russian invasion of Ukraine the Z (military symbol) has been used on Russian vehicles as a form of marking. There are various explanations as to its meaning, however, one is that both sides are using the same equipment. Ukrainian forces have responded by using visible Ukrainian flags on their vehicles. The picture has become more confused as both sides are using captured or abandoned equipment with Ukraine using captured Russian tanks. Incidents include:
3913-672: The Sri Lankan Civil War , and by Ambazonian separatists in the ongoing Anglophone Crisis . An IED is a bomb fabricated in an improvised manner incorporating destructive, lethal, noxious, pyrotechnic , or incendiary chemicals and designed to destroy or incapacitate personnel or vehicles. In some cases, IEDs are used to distract, disrupt, or delay an opposing force, facilitating another type of attack. IEDs may incorporate military or commercially sourced explosives, and often combine both types, or they may otherwise be made with homemade explosives (HME). An HME lab refers to
4004-561: The Sri Lankan Civil War . WBIEDs have been used in the Red Sea. Monkeys and war pigs were used as incendiaries around 1000 AD. More famously the " anti-tank dog " and " bat bomb " were developed during World War II. In recent times, a two-year-old child and seven other people were killed by explosives strapped to a horse in the town of Chita in Colombia . The carcasses of certain animals were also used to conceal explosive devices by
4095-603: The USSR on 27 December 1979, the Afghan Mujahideen were supplied by the CIA, among others, with large quantities of military supplies. Among those supplies were many types of anti-tank mines . The insurgents often removed the explosives from several foreign anti-tank mines, and combined the explosives in tin cooking-oil cans for a more powerful blast. By combining the explosives from several mines and placing them in tin cans,
4186-564: The 20th and 21st centuries, friendly-fire casualties have likely become a significant percentage of combat injuries and fatalities. Jon Krakauer provides an overview of American casualties during and since the Second World War : While acknowledging that the "statistical dimensions of the friendly fire problem have yet to be defined; reliable data are simply not available in most cases," The Oxford Companion to American Military History estimates that between 2 percent and 25 percent of
4277-556: The 20th century since machine guns were first used in World War I. The high friendly fire risk has generally been accepted by troops since machine gun emplacements are tactically so valuable, and at the same time so dangerous that the attackers wanted them to be shelled, considering the shells far less deadly than the machine guns. Tactical adjustments include the use of "kill boxes", or zones that are placed off-limits to ground forces while allied aircraft attack targets, which goes back to
4368-568: The Army's Globe Engine (AGE) for map engine driving the Nett Warrior End User Device. ATAK was selected due to similar capabilities with CJMTK, similar risk, and less than one-third the total cost. The Army's FY 2016 budget includes funding to field Nett Warrior in three brigade combat teams, increasing information and situational awareness for dismounted platoon, squad, and team leaders. While the hardware has reached an acceptable level of robustness and readiness for fielding,
4459-671: The EOD operator provides the area commander with an assessment of the situation and of support needed to complete the mission. Military and law enforcement personnel from around the world have developed a number of render-safe procedures (RSPs) to deal with IEDs. RSPs may be developed as a result of direct experience with devices or by applied research designed to counter the threat. The supposed effectiveness of IED jamming systems, including vehicle- and personally-mounted systems, has caused IED technology to essentially regress to command-wire detonation methods. These are physical connections between
4550-677: The UHF PMR446 , FRS , and GMRS services. A radio-controlled IED (RCIED) incorporating a mobile phone that is modified and connected to an electrical firing circuit. Mobile phones operate in the UHF band in line of sight with base transceiver station (BTS) antennae sites. In the common scenario, receipt of a paging signal by phone is sufficient to initiate the IED firing circuit. Victim-operated improvised explosive devices (VOIED), also known as booby traps , are designed to function upon contact with
4641-450: The bandwidth was so restricted that they had to wait minutes before apps would start working. Some soldiers commented that it was so flawed that it might get people wounded or killed in the field. The criticism was expected and used to progress Nett Warrior, as NIEs are used to identify flaws in systems before they are fielded. One source of the complaints was attributed to soldiers having high expectations that weren't met because they compared
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#17327988333424732-418: The beginning of military aircraft in World War I. The shock and awe battle tactics adopted by the American military – overwhelming power, battlefield awareness, dominant maneuvers, and spectacular displays of force – are employed because they are believed to be the best way to win a war quickly and decisively, reducing casualties on both sides. However, if the only people doing the shooting are American, then
4823-525: The casualties in America's wars are attributable to friendly fire. In the annals of warfare, deaths at the hand of the enemy are often valorized, while those at the hand of friendly forces may be cast in shame. Moreover, because public relations and morale are important, especially in modern warfare, the military may be inclined to under-report incidents of friendly-fire, especially when in charge of both investigations and press releases : If fratricide
4914-459: The civil war in Syria and Boko Haram insurgency. IRA used improvised mortars called barrack busters . Improvised artillery including hell cannons are used by rebel forces during Syrian Civil War. Command-wire improvised, explosive devices (CWIED) use an electrical firing cable that affords the user complete control over the device right up until the moment of initiation. The trigger for
5005-481: The conflicts of the 21st century, anti-personnel improvised explosive devices (IED) have partially replaced conventional or military landmines as the source of injury to dismounted (pedestrian) soldiers and civilians. These injuries were reported in BMJ Open to be far worse with IEDs than with landmines resulting in multiple limb amputations and lower body mutilation. This combination of injuries has been given
5096-462: The confusion, especially if fire is exchanged. Accurate navigation and fire discipline are vital. In high-risk situations, leaders need to ensure units are properly informed of the location of friendly units and must issue clear, unambiguous orders, but they must also react correctly to responses from soldiers who are capable of using their own judgement. Miscommunication can be deadly. Radios, field telephones, and signalling systems can be used to address
5187-409: The construction) are very similar to EFPs, with the main difference being that the top plate is usually flat and not concave. It also is not made with machined copper but much cheaper cast or cut metal. When made for fragmentation, the contents of the charge are usually nuts, bolts, ball bearings and other similar shrapnel products and explosive. If it only consists of the flat metal plate, it is known as
5278-483: The detonator and explosive device and cannot be jammed. However, these types of IEDs are more difficult to emplace quickly, and are more readily detected. Military forces and law enforcement from India, Canada, United Kingdom, Israel, Spain, and the United States are at the forefront of counter-IED efforts, as all have direct experience in dealing with IEDs used against them in conflict or terrorist attacks. From
5369-478: The direct effect, but to deliberately target IEDD operators and cordon personnel, the IEDD operator needs to have a deep understanding of tactics to ensure they are neither setting up any of their team or the cordon troops for an attack, nor walking into one themselves. The presence of chemical , biological , radiological , or nuclear ( CBRN ) material in an IED requires additional precautions. As with other missions,
5460-718: The eight-hour firefight between British units during the Cyprus Emergency ; the sinking of the German destroyers Leberecht Maass and Max Schultz by the Luftwaffe in the North Sea during World War II; the downing of a British Army Gazelle helicopter by a British warship during the Falklands War ; the downing of two U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopters by USAF fighters in 1994 during the Iraqi no-fly zones ;
5551-581: The enemy. In addition, tank gunners must watch for "friendly" robotic tanks that pop out on training courses in California's Mojave Desert. They also study video footage to help them recognize American forces in battle more quickly. Improved technology to assist in identifying friendly forces is also an ongoing response to friendly fire problems. From the earliest days of warfare, identification systems were visual and developed into extremely elaborate suits of armour with distinctive heraldic patterns. During
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#17327988333425642-400: The exercise performed poorly, with the tracking system to locate friendly forces giving the wrong location (sometimes troops next to each other were shown kilometers apart) and the digital interpreter not recognizing specific foreign dialects and slang words. Connection to the Army network dropped out repeatedly, leaving soldiers out of contact with other parts of the unit, and when it was online
5733-630: The field, like enemy positions, biometrics, and weapons caches. Problems with using the Atrix smartphone included low-resolution and glaring screens and a low battery life of 3–4 hours. In July 2013, the Army installed the Samsung Galaxy Note II into Nett Warrior as the system's end user device. Each Galaxy is bought at the commercial price of $ 700 per phone, substantially lower than if the Army had to procure devices from contractors who would develop their own original devices. Once acquired,
5824-404: The first Canadian casualties of the war in Afghanistan. [REDACTED] Media related to Friendly fire at Wikimedia Commons Improvised explosive device An improvised explosive device ( IED ) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached to
5915-488: The incident through training, tactics and technology. Most militaries use extensive training to ensure troop safety as part of normal coordination and planning, but are not always exposed to possible friendly-fire situations to ensure they are aware of situations where the risk is high. Difficult terrain and bad weather cannot be controlled, but soldiers must be trained to operate effectively in these conditions, as well as being trained to fight at night. Such simulated training
6006-740: The killing of Royalist commander, the Earl of Kingston , by Royalist cannon fire during the English Civil War ; the bombing of American troops by Eighth Air Force bombers during Operation Cobra in World War II ; the attack on the Royal Navy 1st Minesweeping Flotilla off Cap d'Antifer , Le Havre by 263 Squadron and 266 Squadron RAF on 27 August 1944, sinking HMS Britomart and Hussar , and irreparably damaging HMS Salamander , killing 117 sailors and wounding 153 more;
6097-508: The late 20th and 21st centuries, the overall percentage of deaths due to friendly fire in American actions has risen dramatically. In the 1991 Gulf War, most of the Americans killed by their own forces were crew members of armored vehicles hit by anti-tank rounds. The response in training includes recognition training for Apache helicopter crews to help them distinguish American tanks and armored vehicles at night and in bad weather from those of
6188-411: The maker or the placer of the device. Some groups, however, have been known to produce sophisticated devices constructed with components scavenged from conventional munitions and standard consumer electronics components, such as mobile phones, consumer-grade two-way radios , washing machine timers, pagers, or garage door openers. The sophistication of an IED depends on the training of the designer and
6279-492: The military, came to be employed in numbers against U.S. forces in Iraq. They have been described as propane tanks packed with explosives and powered by 107 mm rockets . They are similar to some Provisional IRA barrack buster mortars. New types of IRAMs including Volcano IRAM and Elephant Rockets, are used during the Syrian Civil War. Improvised mortars have been used by many insurgent groups including during
6370-528: The name "Dismounted Complex Blast Injury" and is thought to be the worst survivable injury ever seen in war. IEDs are triggered by various methods, including remote control, infrared or magnetic triggers, pressure-sensitive bars or trip wires (victim-operated). In some cases, multiple IEDs are wired together in a daisy chain to attack a convoy of vehicles spread out along a roadway. IEDs made by inexperienced designers or with substandard materials may fail to detonate , and in some cases, they detonate on either
6461-484: The occupation forces became more sophisticated in interrupting radio signals around their convoys, the insurgents adapted their triggering methods. In some cases, when a more advanced method was disrupted, the insurgents regressed to using uninterruptible means, such as hard wires from the IED to detonator; however, this method is much harder to effectively conceal. It later emerged however, that these "advanced" IEDs were actually old IRA technology. The infrared beam method
6552-444: The outcome of a battle. The effects of friendly fire, however, are not just material. Troops expect to be targeted by the enemy, but being hit by their own forces has a huge negative impact on morale. Forces doubt the competence of their command, and its prevalence makes commanders more cautious in the field. Attempts to reduce this effect by military leaders involve identifying the causes of friendly fire and overcoming repetition of
6643-550: The phones have their commercial features including cellular antennas, Wi-Fi , and Bluetooth wiped out by Army engineers, and the Nett Warrior software is installed on the National Security Agency -approved Android operating system. The smartphones communicate through a USB connection with the hip-mounted, data-capable Rifleman radio for network connectivity. Because commercial products are being bought,
6734-429: The problem, but when these systems are used to co-ordinate multiple forces such as ground troops and aircraft, their breakdown can dramatically increase the risk of friendly fire. When allied troops are operating, the situation is even more complex, especially with language barriers to overcome. Some analyses dismiss the material impact of friendly fire, by concluding friendly-fire casualties are usually too few to affect
6825-400: The research and development side, programs such as the new Canadian Unmanned Systems Challenge will bring student groups together to invent an unmanned device to both locate IEDs and pinpoint the insurgents. The fougasse was improvised for centuries, eventually inspiring factory-made land mines . Ernst Jünger mentions in his war memoir the systematic use of IEDs and booby traps to cover
6916-591: The retreat of German troops at the Somme region during World War I . Another early example of coordinated large-scale use of IEDs was the Belarusian Rail War launched by Belarusian guerrillas against the Germans during World War II . Both command-detonated and delayed-fuse IEDs were used to derail thousands of German trains during 1943–1944. Starting six months before the invasion of Afghanistan by
7007-625: The shooting down and killing of Italo Balbo , the Italian governor of Libya over Tobruk by Italian anti aircraft fire in 1940; the accidental shooting of Stonewall Jackson during the American Civil War; the killing of a Royal Military Policeman by a British sniper during the war in Afghanistan ; and the Tarnak Farm incident when US Air National Guard pilots in 2002 bombed 12 Canadian soldiers, four of whom were killed; these were
7098-517: The shooting down of a British aircraft by a U.S. Patriot battery during the 2003 invasion of Iraq . In the Tarnak Farm incident , four Canadian soldiers were killed and eight others injured when a U.S. Air National Guard major dropped a 500 lb (230 kg) bomb from his F-16 onto the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry regiment which was conducting a night firing exercise near Kandahar. Another case of such an accident
7189-493: The software and apps will continue to be improved. [REDACTED] This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Army . Friendly fire In military terminology , friendly fire or fratricide is an attack by belligerent or neutral forces on friendly troops while attempting to attack enemy or hostile targets. Examples include misidentifying
7280-642: The system to the performance of their own smartphone devices. By mid-2012, Nett Warrior had recovered from the 10-pound Ground Soldier System's requirement overreach and cost spiraling to survive with the use of smartphones mounted inside the chest of a soldier's vest and connected to Rifleman radios on their backs. Having the phones on their chests was more comfortable and preferred to previous versions that were connected to their wrists with wires running down their arms. The phones can't make calls, but are used to see other soldiers’ positions, mark IED and enemy troop positions, and even text each other. The smartphone used
7371-507: The target as hostile, cross-fire while engaging an enemy, long range ranging errors or inaccuracy. Accidental fire not intended to attack enemy or hostile targets, and deliberate firing on one's own troops for disciplinary reasons is not called friendly fire, and neither is unintentional harm to civilian or neutral targets, which is sometimes referred to as collateral damage . Training accidents and bloodless incidents also do not qualify as friendly fire in terms of casualty reporting. Use of
7462-828: The term friendly in a military context for allied personnel started during the First World War , often when shells fell short of the targeted enemy. The term friendly fire was originally adopted by the United States military ; S.L.A. Marshall used the term in Men Against Fire in 1947. Many North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) militaries refer to these incidents as blue on blue , which derives from military exercises where NATO forces were identified by blue pennants and units representing Warsaw Pact forces by red pennants. In classical forms of warfare where hand-to-hand combat dominated, death from
7553-550: The tools and materials available. IEDs may use artillery shells or conventional high-explosive charges as their explosive load as well as homemade explosives. However, the threat exists that toxic chemical , biological , or radioactive ( dirty bomb ) material may be added to a device, thereby creating other life-threatening effects beyond the shrapnel, concussive blasts and fire normally associated with bombs. Chlorine liquid has been added to IEDs in Iraq , producing clouds of chlorine gas. A vehicle-borne IED , or VBIED ,
7644-466: The transmitter and receiver operate on a matched coding system that prevents the RCIED from being initiated by spurious radio frequency signals or jamming . An RCIED can be triggered from any number of different radio-frequency based mechanisms including handheld remote control transmitters , car alarms, wireless door bells, cell phones, pagers and portable two-way radios , including those designed for
7735-716: Was chosen because the system is designed to connect soldiers with the Army's tactical network, and program officials wanted it to be named after a maneuver leader. The first increment of Nett Warrior was introduced at the Network Integration Evaluation 11.2 assessment in spring 2011. The system was essentially the Land Warrior ensemble with enhanced software, sharing its weight disadvantage of about 10 lb (4.5 kg). After NIE 11.2, efforts were redirected to using simpler and lighter commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hand-held solutions that integrated
7826-850: Was perfected by the IRA in the early 1990s after it acquired the technology from a botched undercover British Army operation. Many of the IEDs being used against the invading coalition forces in Iraq were originally developed by the British Army who unintentionally passed the information on to the IRA. The IRA taught their techniques to the Palestine Liberation Organisation and the knowledge spread to Iraq. Counter-IED efforts are done primarily by military, law enforcement, diplomatic, financial, and intelligence communities and involve
7917-415: Was relatively inaccurate. As the accuracy of weapons improved, this class of incident has become less common but still occurs. Errors of identification happen when friendly troops are mistakenly attacked in the belief that they are the enemy. Highly mobile battles, and battles involving troops from many nations are more likely to cause this kind of incident as evidenced by incidents in the 1991 Gulf War , or
8008-432: Was removed by police after a ten-hour operation and proved to be a hoax . Suicide bombing usually refers to an individual wearing explosives and detonating them to kill others including themselves, the bomber will conceal explosives on and around their person, commonly using a vest , and will use a timer or some other trigger to detonate the explosives. The logic behind such attacks is the belief that an IED delivered by
8099-662: Was the Motorola Atrix , which helped users due to their familiarity with commercial devices. Army leaders exclusively run the phones on the Android operating system because of its open architecture . The Army plans to field 600 Nett Warrior systems in each Infantry Brigade Combat Team to be worn by squad leaders. This will give squads access to Blue Force Tracking and connect them to the Tactical Ground Reporting (TIGR) system to report what they see in
8190-555: Was the Japanese Shinyo suicide boats during World War II . The boats were filled with explosives and attempted to ram Allied ships, sometimes successfully, having sunk or severely damaged several American ships by war's end. Suicide bombers used a boat-borne IED to attack the USS Cole ; US and UK troops have also been killed by boat-borne IEDs in Iraq. The Tamil Tigers Sea Tigers have also been known to use SWBIEDs during
8281-489: Was the death of Pat Tillman in Afghanistan, although the exact circumstances of that incident are yet to be definitively determined. During World War II , " invasion stripes " were painted on Allied aircraft to assist identification in preparation for the invasion of Normandy . Similar markings had been used when the Hawker Typhoon was first introduced into use as it was otherwise very similar in profile to
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