The Pentagon is preparing to take the next step in developing directed infrared countermeasures systerns for its aircraft, but many of those initiatives won't be available in time to deal with the increasingly sophisticated tactics U.S. forces face in Iraq. Speaking of threats in Iraq from insurgents using man-portable surface-to-air missiles, Marine Corps Lt. Gen. James Cartwright, the Joint Staff's director for force structure, told a House panel that "they've gotten considerably smarter" in their use of systems. "They've taken to their own net-centric approach" to lay traps for U.S. pilots.
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