I'm struggling to wrap my head around all the different Anti-IED equipment currently being discussed on the boards here.

First up: Counter Remote Control Improvised Explosive Device (RCIED) Electronic Warfare (CREW)
The vertical pole on the rear right of this humvee would be part of the CREW system, correct?


Would the device on the mast mounted to these humvees also be a version of the CREW system? Or, could this be a CLSM antenna similar to those found on the Stryker CVs?


I know what the Rhyno system looks like thanks to the Frag 5 thread...


What about the Warlock Red/Green systems, "Duke" and "Self-Screening Vehicle Jammer (SSVJ)"? Are there others that I've missed? I'm most interested in finding out which of the systems that would be mounted on Humvees, and which would be likely to be found together on the same vehicles.

thanks,
Mike.

In this pic the Duke Antennae is the one on the left rear, it will be found there on all the Humvees that are equiped with it. The Rhino is on on every humvee, but most.

Not too many humvees use the SSVJ, nor do they use the Warlock Red/ Green too much any more. The antennae on the mast in your second pic I am not familiar with.

That is the truth as I know if from the humvees we got parked outside right now


Ric

Although no one asked about it, the orange container in the first picture is a gel blanket, used to wrap around a burned Soldier. My Brigade got a bunch of them in late 2005 and I am glad to see that they are still in use.

Ric,
Keep your head down as you start to enter the home stretch.

John

Nice to know what that orange thing was, I was confused for a minute.

Ok, as for anti-IED systems, I spent 4 months grappling with that question. The problem is that there are so many systems being introduced in such a small time frame and with little coordination - at least from public view. Also, since much of the information ranges from public info to top secret, getting the full picture is hard to say the least.

There are about 25 different CREW systems currently in use, ranging from handheld systems attached to a Soldier's body armor to jammng pods on EA-6B Prowler aircraft. Each counters a specific type of wireless signal and in a few different ways. Warlock has been a mainstay for some time, and was one of the first mass-produced CREW systems. Duke has recently been introduced and - as far as I can tell - is meant to more or less take over for Warlock and a number of other systems.

Jeff

Ok-upfront my apologies for being naive, but how exactly do any of these devices "jam", "detect", or "eliminate", IED's?

Kurt,
That question is bordering on the security line there. OPSEC is the key word here for that. In short, it is supposed to jam the signal from the IED trigger. Thats pretty much it with out going into detail and oversteping OPSEC.

You can also find a little more detailed information on the web:

http://www.military.com/soldiertech/0,14632,Soldiertech_IED,,00.html

http://www.defensetech.org/archives/001233.html

http://www.globalsecurity.org/org/news/2005/050710-ied-jammers.htm

http://www.special-operations-technology.com/article.cfm?DocID=1129

From the Washington Post website :

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/world/specials/leftofboom/index.html

HTH
Frenchy

It still amazes me how effective the most simple improvised device is. It takes tons of technology and resources to detect or deter them and they are technologically only one step up from throwing a rock.

Well what is more impressive is that it is the unit training and simple experience that has prevented IED attacks and so called 'left-of-boom' tactics such as raids, patrolling, and intel gathering. People are quick to discount the technology because of how much money is spent to develop it compared to results. But the military has from the ground up in three years created a modern Manhattan Project (their words) that combined technology with training and achieved the results they have. First efforts were stopping about 10-20% of attacks while now nearly 75% (as of fall 2007) prior to them exploding. The downside is that many IEDs are now more deadly than ever in the arms race that ensued so that even those 25% are as deadly than the 90% earlier.

Jeff

The most commonly used system on HMMVWs is the Duke, at least it was up until the end of last September when I left Baghdad. For modeling purposes it would consist of the antenna mounted on the left rear of the vehicle, a tan box about 18"x 20"x24" in the trunk on the right hand front corner, and a small switch box with two toggle switches, 2 testing cable inputs, and 3 LEDs mounted on the ceiling center support bar over the radio mounts between the TC and drivers seats facing the TCs side.