Firms work to stay a step ahead of EFP threat

[unhappycamper]

Firms work to stay a step ahead of EFP threat
By Kris Osborn - Staff writer
Posted : Monday May 19, 2008 12:57:01 EDT

The U.S. military and industry have thrown great resources into defeating enemy ambush tactics in Iraq and Afghanistan, targeting the armor-piercing explosively formed penetrators.

EFPs, usually made with a steel cylinder filled with explosives, are fired at U.S. and coalition vehicles in ambushes; the force of the blast turns a concave plate into a molten, copper slug able to penetrate most armor.

“The old improvised explosive devices were like an old artillery shell on the side of the road,” said an Army official who just returned from Iraq. “This thing is completely different. It is almost like a small cannon. It flies in midair and becomes a slug. It morphs because it is really hot and partially melts. It shatters the steel.”

Multislug EFPs, which fire numerous projectiles at once, are more difficult to defend against, Army officials said.

Overall, roadside bomb attacks in Iraq are down from last year, said Christine DeVries, a spokeswoman for the Pentagon’s Joint IED Defeat Organization. However, EFP attacks in January and March occurred at about the same rate as in 2007, sources said.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/05/army_beating_efp_051908w/



uhc comment: Lest we forget --> http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=259&topic_id=8714