. Military Space News .




.
MILTECH
CREW: Helping Defeat IEDs
by J. Elise Van Pool
Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan (SPX) Nov 03, 2011

Source: US Army.

"If it's on it's going to work. So it's 100 percent effective," explained Eddi Bowers, the Regional Support Center-Kandahar site lead, about the Counter Radio Electronic Warfare system.

CREW systems are helping Soldiers to defeat deadly improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, by blocking radio signals that can be used by insurgents to detonate the devices remotely.

The jammers were developed in 2006, when insurgents in Iraq were using cell phones to remotely detonate roadside bombs. The equipment developed by military scientists is basically equivalent to a transmitter on steroids, said Bowers.

"It takes a little more than an off the shelf item to do that," he said.

CREW has been highly effective in preventing the remote detonation of IEDs by cell phones said Bowers.

"There are still radio controlled ones out there, but nowhere near as many as there used to be because they know we have it figured out," he explained.

"They [Soldiers] love it," Bowers said. "It gives them the boost of confidence to know that anything that's radio operated out there, they're going to jam it."

An average installation takes between two hours and four hours. The RSC at Kandahar averages about 10 installations per day and every field service representative there usually does about four or five maintenance calls a day as well. The team also has 9 FSRs out at various locations in Southern Afghanistan.

"The biggest challenge for us is probably the kits for different vehicles." Bowers said. "There is such a menagerie of vehicles at Kandahar (airfield). It's unbelievable. There are loads of different types of vehicles compared to Bagram (airfield) and you have to have a special kit for each one of these vehicles.

"And it's a monster logistically wise. You have to have a special kit. And four or five of them [vehicles] will come in and then you're out of kits and you have to wait to get more kits," he said.

Despite the challenges, RSC-Kandahar has the best production rate in Afghanistan. About fifty percent of all the theater provided jammers are installed here.

The team started out with 52 guys working out of single office container with two computers.

"We have come a long, long way," said Bowers.

Related Links
US Army
The latest in Military Technology for the 21st century at SpaceWar.com




.
.
Get Our Free Newsletters Via Email
...
Buy Advertising Editorial Enquiries






.

. Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle



MILTECH
GD Awarded Contract to Upgrade LAV III Vehicles
London, Canada (SPX) Nov 01, 2011
The Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for Status of Women, and the Honourable Julian Fantino, Associate Minister of National Defence, have announced that the Government of Canada has awarded a contract valued at C$1.064 billion (US$1.052 billion) to General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada to incorporate a comprehensive upgrade package into the Ca ... read more


MILTECH
Israel holds major missile defence drill

P and W Rocketdyne Selected to Test New Liquid Propulsion System

Russian foreign minister targets NATO missile shield

Israel gets ready to unveil David's Sling

MILTECH
Raytheon Airborne Processors Track Multiple Ballistic Missiles from Airborne Platform

Lockheed Martin Demonstrates JAGM Fixed-Wing Rocket Motor Maturity

Lockheed Martin Conducts Pac-3 Missile Test at White Sands Missile Range

ATK Awarded Contract for Third LRIP Lot of AARGM

MILTECH
US reins in drones over diplomatic concerns: report

AeroVironment Receives $7.3 Million Order for Puma Unmanned Aircraft System Support Services

US drone kills three in N.W. Pakistan: officials

UAV Payload Market Will Reach $2.9bn in 2011

MILTECH
AEHF-1 Satellite Arrives at Its Operational Orbit After 14-Month Journey

China suspect in US satellite interference: report

Emirates seek French military satellite

First MEADS Battle Manager Begins Integration Testing in the United States

MILTECH
CREW: Helping Defeat IEDs

DCGS-A Next-Gen ISR System Completes Baseline Software Certification Tests

Boeing, US Army Mark Delivery of First AH-64D Apache Block III Combat Helicopter

Libya's NTC pledges to destroy chemical weapons: OPCW

MILTECH
Russia blasts US 'merchant of death' verdict

Labor overhauls veterans' program

India to open rival bids for huge war plane deal

Australia moves to ratify defense treaty

MILTECH
Call for Australia, US security pact with India

War, what war? Issues to dodge in 2012 election

Commentary: New world order?

China won't save Europe: Xinhua commentary

MILTECH
LockMart Directed Energy Leader Receives Purdue's Outstanding Aerospace Engineer Award


.

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2011 - Space Media Network. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement