Pentagon deploys spyplanes and anti-explosives unit
January 9, 2004 - 10:21AM
In the face of sophisticated attacks on US forces, the Pentagon is sending
flocks of unmanned spyplanes and a new unit formed to deal with deadly
explosive devices to Iraq in the biggest rotation of its forces since World War
II, a senior Army official said today.
"It has started," the official said in a briefing for reporters on the new-year
rotation in which a US force of more than 120,000 in Iraq and another 11,000 in
Afghanistan will be replaced by fresh soldiers by the end of May.
The official, who asked not to be identified, said troops from the 82nd
Airborne Division began flying to Iraq from North Carolina yesterday and some
equipment from other Army units began flowing on ships as early as last week.
"This is the biggest move we've done ... since World War II," the official said
of the massive flow of soldiers and Marines. "We're moving 240,000-plus" back
and forth.
Emphasis in the new Iraq force will be put on troop mobility, aerial
reconnaissance and more effectively dealing with remote-controlled "improvised
explosive devices" (IEDs) that are being used against US troops by supporters
of the deposed Iraqi regime.
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"We are deploying a lot of UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) with this
formation," the official said, telling reporters that the Iraq force will
include Army "Predator," "Shadow" and tiny "Raven" unmanned, remotely-guided
drones to spy on guerrillas day and night.
Dozens of American troops have been killed by home-made explosive devices
attached to roadside posts and buildings in Iraq.
A small advance contingent of what the Army calls "Task Force IED" has already
been sent to Iraq and will grow to 200 or 300 troops in the coming months, the
official told reporters.
"We are flowing with this next force that is going in a lot of IED technology"
to help detect, neutralise and disarm explosive devices and deal with car and
truck bombs, another weapon favoured by guerrillas in Iraq, the official said.
He declined to say whether or not the equipment included technology designed to
jam explosion-triggering radio signals, but said promising defences will be
quickly tested in Iraq and put into the military acquisition pipeline if they
are effective.
"I can't talk much more about it, quite frankly, because we want to stay ahead
and keep ahead of the enemy ... We are leveraging an awful lot of technology as
well as studying the forensics of all of these attacks and developing tactics,
techniques and procedures," the official said.
Pentagon officials have refused to provide details of how troops will be
protected in a more-vulnerable transition phase of operations in a country
where helicopters have been shot down by missiles and a big Air Force cargo
plane with 63 military crew and passengers was forced to land in Baghdad on
Thursday after its engine was hit by ground fire.
"We've got to do this thing right. It is still a dangerous place," the Army
official said.
Reuters
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