Intelligence: Too Many Targets, Not Enough Robots

Archives

January 24, 2008: In Iraq, years of compiling data on terrorists, their families and the areas where they usually hang out, has led to the recent discovery of a spectacular number of bomb factories and weapons storage sites. Captured terrorists are more easily turned, and are giving up location data on dozens of such sites so far this year. Most can be safely destroyed with a smart bomb, because the intel people have carefully surveyed the areas and found no civilians nearby. The smart bomb targets can include roadside bombs set up in remote areas. The bomber pilot can use the targeting pod to make sure no one is around the target, then release the smart bomb. The explosion is usually captured to video, so intel people can confirm that there was a secondary explosion (as the explosive material in the target area goes up). You can often tell what was at the target area by the nature of the secondary explosion. When it's believed that valuable intel material (documents, computers, cell phones) may be at the target site, troops will often be sent in (along with small robots, to do the really risky snooping around). But in many cases of late, there were just too many targets, and not enough troops and droids to check every site out. Most, it was known by now, just contain the weapons and such, and can be disposed of with a smart bomb.

 

X

ad

Help Keep Us From Drying Up

We need your help! Our subscription base has slowly been dwindling.

Each month we count on your contributions. You can support us in the following ways:

  1. Make sure you spread the word about us. Two ways to do that are to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
  2. Subscribe to our daily newsletter. We’ll send the news to your email box, and you don’t have to come to the site unless you want to read columns or see photos.
  3. You can contribute to the health of StrategyPage.
Subscribe   Contribute   Close