Thanks to Doug for sending me this article. I posted the Long War Journal article about the ‘flying IED’ a couple of weeks ago and it sounds like it’s use is not a fluke. So I decided to delve further into the history of these improvised munitions, and it looks like the IRA used to call these things a ‘barrack buster’. But like the Post article mentions, this weapon is rocket assisted, and not explosively launched like the barrack buster. I am sure that the IRA and the FARC have fooled around with rockets on these things before.
Now the question I have is where are these 107 mm rocket motors coming from? Some say from Iran, and some say these engines were taken out of old ammo supply depots littered throughout Iraq. A lot of these depots were vulnerable to looting back in 2003 after the invasion. And we also bombed a lot of these depots, which made getting through fences and bunkers a little easier for the locals. Luckily we have been working hard over the years to secure these sites and clean them up, but it is a massive and ongoing effort. Or the other idea is that they are making homemade engines out of the tubes of fired 107 mm rockets .
I posted a video of Hezbollah in Gaza building a rocket and it’s engine from scratch. I do not doubt that technologies and techniques are being passed freely via the internet or otherwise. Our enemies are very good at building ‘snow mobiles’ , to use a Colonel John Boyd phrase, when it comes to making munitions.
So how do you defeat this? I have to say that the limiting factor of this system is range. So patrols should be focusing on the area around bases up to the maximum range. It looks like they also want to put these things on trucks with open truck beds. And I say if propane tanks are a common theme in these weapons, then they must be controlled. Like with a weapon, maybe licenses should be distributed coupled with biometrics ID to track the movement and sales of propane tanks. If this continues to be a problem, then all and any solutions must be considered.
As for defenses, roofs definitely need to be reinforced. This is a top down weapon, with IED power. But it is also very inaccurate. If you look at it’s deployment, they like using clusters of this weapon. So another thing that they are trying to achieve is blanketing an area with these things. So markets or places where a lot of soldiers gather would be the easiest and best targets for these weapons. So patrols should be focused on IRAMs that are within range of these types of areas. I have no doubt that the Coalition is formulating a plan for these things, and so are the Private Security Companies tasked with static security at the various bases. The IRAM is just one more thing to consider. –Matt
An IRA’s ASU (Active Service Unit) displaying a Mark-10 mortar in a propaganda video (1994).
U.S. troops in Iraq face a powerful new weapon
Use of rocket-propelled bombs spreads; at least 21 killed in IRAM attacks
By Ernesto Londoño
July 10, 2008
Suspected Shiite militiamen have begun using powerful rocket-propelled bombs to attack U.S. military outposts in recent months, broadening the array of weapons used against American troops.
U.S. military officials call the devices Improvised Rocket Assisted Munitions, or IRAMs. They are propane tanks packed with hundreds of pounds of explosives and powered by 107mm rockets. They are often fired by remote control from the backs of trucks, sometimes in close succession. Rocket-propelled bombs have killed at least 21 people, including at least three U.S. soldiers, this year.
The latest reported rocket-propelled bomb attack occurred Tuesday at Joint Security Station Ur, a base in northeastern Baghdad shared by U.S. and Iraqi soldiers. One U.S. soldier and an interpreter were wounded in the attack.
U.S. military officials say IRAM attacks, unlike roadside bombings and conventional mortar or rocket attacks, have the potential to kill scores of soldiers at once. IRAMs are fired at close range, unlike most rockets, and create much larger explosions. Most such attacks have occurred in the capital, Baghdad.
‘Flying IEDs’
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