Transcript EFP IEDs in Iraq - NH-TEMS
AEGIS
Specialist Risk Management
EFP IEDs in South East Iraq
Basrah RROC G2 February 2006 UNCLASSIFIED / FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Introduction
• EFP stands for
E
xplosively
F
ormed
P
rojectile • EFP IEDs are specifically designed to defeat and penetrate the armour of an armoured vehicle • EFP IEDs are the most lethal per-incident insurgent weapon in use in Iraq
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Background
• Said to have first been used by Lebanese Hezbollah in the 1980s • First seen in SE Iraq in August 2004 but not seen in large numbers until May 2005 • Very different from conventional IEDs as used by the Sunni insurgency • The sum of its parts makes it successful
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EFP Components
CASING AEGIS
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HIGH EXPLOSIVE LINER
Other Typical Components
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PIR CLAYMORE DEVICE TELEMETRY
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EFP Casing
• Commonly a length of steel pipe • Plastic has also been used, and tin cans • The rear is sealed, normally with a back plate or sometimes concrete
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EFP Casing
• Commonly a length of steel pipe • Plastic has also been used, and tin cans • The rear is sealed, normally with a back plate or sometimes concrete
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EFP Liner
• A concave metal disc • Copper is best, but steel also used • High Explosive (HE) is packed behind the liner
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EFP Liner
• A concave metal disc • Copper is best, but steel also used • High Explosive (HE) is packed behind the liner
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EFP Liner
Shaped Charges
• EFPs are a type of shaped charge • The military uses shaped charge weapons: • RPG-7 and HEAT rounds • Different behaviour - forms a jet, not a slug • Other terms for an EFP: • Self-forging Fragment (SFF) • Slow Streaming Jet (SSJ)
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Shaped Charges
PLATTER CHARGE AEGIS
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EFP SHAPED CHARGE
Passive Infra-Red (PIR)
• Like a garden security light • PASSIVE NOT ACTIVE and is not a beam • An object passes in front of the sensor, completing the circuit
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Arming Telemetry
• CDP is a powerful off-the shelf UHF radio receiver module • Selectable channels operating at 434/458MHz • Built-in filter minimises interference • Arming range of 1 - 2km
EFP detonation
The explosive detonates inside the casing, and is focused behind the liner
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EFP detonation
The force of the blast fires the disc forwards, the intense pressure reshaping the metal liner
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EFP detonation
The malleable copper is being driven forwards at >1000m/s and continues to reshape
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EFP detonation
The copper disc is now a metal slug moving at very high speed towards the target
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The Triggerman
• He wants to avoid hurting civilians Arm Disarm Test Fire • He needs Line of Sight (LOS) • He is probably ~200m away • He stays at the site afterwards; someone will want to record the attack to prove it took place • He may try the direct fire option
How an EFP attack takes place
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How an EFP attack takes place
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EFP IED attack on MNFI patrol in BASRAH City at 0057hrs on 04 Oct 05 AEGIS
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EFP IED attack on MNFI patrol in BASRAH City at 0057hrs on 04 Oct 05 AEGIS
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EFP IED attack on civilian PSD in BASRAH City at 0820hrs on 07 Sep 05 AEGIS
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EFP IED attack on civilian PSD in BASRAH City at 0820hrs on 07 Sep 05 AEGIS
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EFP IED attack on civilian PSD in BASRAH City at 1330hrs on 18 Jan 06 AEGIS
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EFP IED attack on civilian PSD in BASRAH City at 1330hrs on 18 Jan 06 AEGIS
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Claymore “Self-Destruct”
• As part of the package, additional HE is used to destroy the device after the attack • This is a deliberate effort to prevent exploitation by WIS/ATO • May be a claymore type device to shred the evidence, or just HE to blow it up
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Placement
• May take something like 10-15mins to place • Beside the road, perpendicular to the target or at a shallow angle • Easily disguised under rubble, in concrete, or in a container • Slug will not be fully formed at <1m range, but will still be bad news • Optimum range in lab conditions estimated to be 1000 x diameter of weapon (>200m)
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BASRAH City EFPs
EFP attack EFP found
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Arterial routes
EFP attack EFP found
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When? Where?
• Any time of the day – sometimes at night • Arterial routes – the triggerman needs to see his target coming so he can arm the EFP • Urban streets are less suitable for attack – placement may be interrupted and higher risk of collateral • Overt military and security vehicles are the target, so known patrol routes and chokepoints are likely to be watched
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Why?
• There is hostility towards the presence of non-Iraqis inside the city and at commercial interests like the Ports • Successful attacks are a significant show of strength; the public are intimidated by the militia groups as a result • EFPs, or the ability to carry out the EFP attacks, is perhaps a commodity traded between the militia groups • The components and skills required might be being provided by outside influences
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EFPs as an effective weapon
• Hydrodynamic behaviour of metal = AP • PIR facilitates a low miss rate • ECM primarily counters an arming signal but PIR is passive and is armed in advance • Simple and portable enough for quick placement • Ideal weapon for specific target like a patrol
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The Future of the EFP
• Mitigating the threat • Route variation – don’t become a target • Lower profile – Basrah is not Baghdad • Vehicle modifications – might work for a short time • ECM – has been shown it can prevent arming • Evolving TTP • Shaped charges under road – seen Jan 06 • Secondary devices – seen Jan 06
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