Cellphones and other wireless communications devices are providing terrorists an effective means of control. By separating the device preparation and placement from the actual activation, IEDs can be planted in different locations and be activated by remote command, in response to the target’s behavior – such as speed of movement, specific target vulnerability, local situation (vis-à-vis nearby civilians) or when a specific VIP is being targeted in a convoy.
As improvised explosive devices proliferated throughout the world, adversary operating techniques have also evolved, utilizing advanced triggering devices, enabling perpetrators to activate these explosive devices with devastating timing and accuracy, to overmatch passive and active means of protection such as ballistic armoring and evasive maneuvers.
To counter such remote-controlled devices (RCIED), electronic countermeasures IED defeat solutions are employed, including jamming, pre-activation and neutralization techniques. Originally known as ‘bomb jammers’ these devices were utilized by EOD/ bomb disposal teams, to deny an adversary to trigger a device under inspection by the EOD technician. These jammers are also used by first responders when arriving at terror scenes, in effort to deny the activation of secondary explosive charges planted at the site, aimed against the rescue teams.
The IED jammer effectively cuts off radio communications from the triggering transmitter to the device attached to the bomb, thus temporarily preventing bomb detonation while the jammer is in effective range.
At Milipol 2009, two Israeli companies – Netline and SESP are displaying advanced high-power jammers, among them devices designed for EOD and VIP applications.
