Communications, Radar & Electronic Warfare (201.. - Index of

Radio-Controlled Improvised Explosive Devices 137• Delayed operation, by a timing circuitThese are relatively easy to produce but arehit-or-miss affairs. The device will be unattended until it is time to explode. Withinthis timescale, the opposing force may find and disable the device or circumstancesmay change making the device counter-productive. It is also indiscriminate.• Command wire systems. This is the use of a command wire from a command orobservation post directly to the device to be detonated. Its advantages are that thevictims can be selected by the commander based on visual or other queues and thatthe device is passive in terms of emitting detectable transmissions. The drawbacksare the time to prepare the placing of the device and command wire, the relativeshortness of any command wire which leaves the operator vulnerable to counterattack,and the fact that the command wire and associated equipment is likely to befound and to provide forensic information to the opposing side.• Radio Controlled IED (RCIED). Radio controlled systems involve using an RFdevice to initiate a device. These will be discussed at length in the following sections.RCIEDs have the advantage of flexibility; there is no physical link betweencommander and device. The range between the device and commander can belonger and the commander may select an Observation Point (OP) advantageousto their detection and identification of potential targets. However, radio signals arevulnerable to detection, localisation and inhibition using radio jammers.The following sections will look in more detail at RCIEDs, how they are used andhow they can be detected and defeated.8.2 Radio Control for IEDsThe basic problem of creating an RCIED mission is illustrated in Figure 8.1. In thiscase, the intended target is a patrol. The RCIED commander has selected a locationwhere the road goes through a narrow gap between hills. The hills will prevent thepatrol from going off-road to avoid the device. However, the location is so obviousthat it is likely that the patrol will be alerted to the possibility of attack and should beon guard.The RCIED commander has selected a potential location to place an RCIED devicenear the road. The RCIED device contains a radio receiver, with the commander havinga corresponding transmitter to trigger the device. The commander has selected anobservation point where he can see the approach to the device and the device location,and where he also believes he will be able to successfully send a triggering message tothe planted device.At this point in the device commander's planning, the device team are vulnerableby having to identify and reconnoitre the proposed attack location. The team may beexposed via a number of means, such as:• detection by regular patrols;