RFID Tags On Weapons?
BY Herschel Smith
3 years, 1 month ago
Determined to keep track of their guns, some U.S. military units have turned to a technology that could let enemies detect troops on the battlefield, The Associated Press has found.
The rollout on Army and Air Force bases continues even though the Department of Defense itself describes putting the technology in firearms as a “significant” security risk.
The Marines have rejected radio frequency identification technology in weapons for that very reason, and the Navy said this week that it was halting its own dalliance.
RFID, as the technology is known, is infused throughout daily civilian life. Thin RFID tags help drivers zip through toll booths, hospitals locate tools and supermarkets track their stock. Tags are in some identity documents, airline baggage tags and even amusement park wristbands.
When embedded in military guns, RFID tags can trim hours off time-intensive tasks, such as weapon counts and distribution. Outside the armory, however, the same silent, invisible signals that help automate inventory checks could become an unwanted tracking beacon.
The AP scrutinized how the U.S. armed services use technology to keep closer control of their firearms as part of an investigation into stolen and missing military guns — some of which have been used in street violence. The examination included new field tests that demonstrated some of the security issues RFID presents.
The field tests showed how tags inside weapons can be quickly copied, giving would-be thieves in gun rooms and armories a new advantage.
And, more crucially, that even low-tech enemies could identify U.S. troops at distances far greater than advertised by contractors who install the systems.
Which is why a spokesman for the Department of Defense said its policymakers oppose embedding tags in firearms except in limited, very specific cases, such as guns that are used only at a firing range — not in combat or to guard bases.
“It would pose a significant operations security risk in the field, allowing an adversary to easily identify DOD personnel operating locations and potentially even their identity,” Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Uriah Orland told AP.
Spokespeople at the headquarters of the Air Force and Army said they did not know how many units have converted their armories.
AP found five Air Force bases that have operated at least one RFID armory, and one more that plans a retrofit. Executives at military contracting companies said many more units have sought proposals.
A Florida-based Army Green Berets unit, the 7th Special Forces Group, confirmed it uses the technology in “a few” arms rooms. Special forces soldiers can take tagged weapons into the field, said Maj. Dan Lessard, a special forces spokesman. A separate pilot project at Fort Bragg, the sprawling Army base in North Carolina, was suspended due to COVID-19.
The Navy told AP one armory on a base up the coast from Los Angeles was using RFID for inventory. Then this week, after extended questioning, spokesman Lt. Lewis Aldridge abruptly said that the technology “didn’t meet operational requirements” and wouldn’t be used across the service.
There’s nothing like giving your enemy a rapid review of troop locations for artillery targeting.
The same people who came up with the plan to close Bagram Air Base must have thought up this genius plan.
On October 1, 2021 at 10:01 pm, craig said:
While they’re at it, why don’t they make sure each weapon type has its own distinct encoding too, so the enemy can get an accurate picture of strength and capabilities? It’ll save General Milley time on his pre-attack phone call.
On October 2, 2021 at 8:10 pm, bobdog said:
Somewhere in Sacramento, some constipated Democrat is reading a copy of this story, stroking his Wolf Blitzer stubble beard, and saying to himself, “What a TERRIFIC IDEA!! i wonder if I can get a bill drafted by Monday morning?”
We haven’t heard the last of this stupid idea. Why, if it saves only one child’s life…
On October 3, 2021 at 3:56 pm, Ned said:
So the military needs to monitor all weaponry. Until the weapons are either given or abandoned to the Taliban or some other enemy.