Enemy Inside the Gates: Snipers in Support of Military Operations on Urbanized Terrain

摘要

As the world's urban areas continue to increase in size the possibility of U.S. forces conducting military operations in urbanized terrain also increases. However, the weapon systems the U.S. procures and employs obtain maximum effectiveness in open terrain. These weapons prove less capable in urban terrain since their standoff and precision advantages suffer degradation due to buildings and the fleeting nature of enemy personnel. U.S. weaponry also causes a large amount of collateral damage that may also result in civilian casualties, which proves politically unacceptable. Potential adversaries of the U.S. realize these limitations and present a target set that proves difficult to locate and engage. The target set the enemy uses in urban terrain consists of enemy combatants mixing with non-combatants, enemy snipers, and special purpose teams. The enemy's urban target set present significant problems for U.S. forces operating against it. U.S. weapons systems cannot effectively engage enemy combatants and ensure that non-combatant casualties do not occur.