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In military science, suppressive fire (commonly called covering fire) is "fire that degrades the performance of an enemy force below the level needed to fulfill their mission. Suppression is usually only effective for the duration of the fire".〔(AAP-6 ''NATO Glossary of Terms and Definitions'', Edition 2014 )〕 It is one of three types of fire support, which is defined by NATO as "the application of fire, coordinated with the manoeuvre of forces, to destroy, neutralize or suppress the enemy." Before NATO defined the term, the British and Commonwealth armies generally used "neutralisation" with the same definition as suppression. NATO now defines neutralization as "fire delivered to render a target temporarily ineffective or unusable." == Usage == Suppressive fire usually achieves its effect by threatening casualties to individuals who expose themselves to it. Willingness to expose themselves varies depending on the morale, motivation and leadership of the target troops. Suppressive fire is often used as covering fire, defined by NATO as "Fire used to protect troops when they are within range of enemy small arms." This is sometimes called "winning the firefight" in an infantry only action. However, suppressive fire may be used against indirect firers, enemy air defences or other military activities such as construction work or logistic activities, or to deny an area to the enemy for a short period of time (it is unsuitable for prolonged area denial due to ammunition supply constraints). Using smoke to 'blind' enemy observation is a form of non-lethal suppression and at night illuminating may be used to suppress enemy activities by denying them the cover of darkness. Suppression can be delivered by any weapon or group of weapons capable of delivering the required intensity of fire for the required period of suppression. However, the suppressive fire capabilities vary widely because the suppressive effect area varies widely. For example, a rifle or machine gun bullet may only have a suppressive effect within about one metre of its trajectory whereas, a single artillery shell may suppress a few thousand square metres around its burst. Furthermore, sustained suppression over more than a few minutes may be difficult to achieve with small arms fire for logistic reasons, air delivered suppression is similarly affected by payload limits. In contrast, artillery can suppress an area for an extended period. The purpose of suppression is to stop or prevent the enemy from observing, shooting, moving or carrying out other military tasks that interfere (or could interfere) with the activities of friendly forces. An important feature of suppressive fire is that it is only effective while it lasts and that it has sufficient intensity. Suppressive fire requires sufficient intensity over the target area, intensity being the suppressive effect per unit of target area per unit of suppression time. Weapons vary widely in their suppressive capabilities, which are the threat signaled by the noise of projectiles in flight and their impact. Suppressive fire is a tactic to reduce casualties to friendly forces and enable them to conduct their immediate mission. For example, a suppressed target will be unable to engage vulnerable forces that are moving without cover. This enables forces to advance to new positions or to close with the enemy. For example, a US Marines article notes that "communication and suppressive fire are what enables movement on the battlefield, giving Marines the upper hand."〔3/7 rushes to perfect fire, manoeuvre tactics. 7/31/2009. By Lance Cpl. M. C. Nerl, Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms http://www.marines.mil/unit/29palms/Pages/News/2009/Jul/37rushestoperfectfire,manuevertactics.aspx Accessed on June 24, 2011〕 Suppressive fire may be used to enable a helicopter or boat to land or extract soldiers from a battle zone (the latter is called a "hot extraction"). The primary intended effect of suppressive fire is psychological. Rather than directly trying to kill enemy soldiers, it makes the enemy soldiers feel unable to safely perform any actions other than seeking cover. Colloquially, this goal is expressed as "it makes them keep their heads down" or "it keeps them pinned down". However, depending on factors including the type of ammunition and the target's protection, suppressive fire may cause casualties and/or damage to enemy equipment. Suppressive fire is typically used as covering fire against the enemy in the close combat zone. However, suppressive fire delivered by artillery and other indirect fire means can be used to suppress targets of any type, most notably as counter-battery fire against indirect fire units. NATO also defines 'suppression of enemy air defences' (SEAD), which has a broader definition and includes materiel damage. An important consideration in the application of suppressive fire from indirect fire systems (e.g. mortars, artillery and ships) and aircraft is the safety of the attacking troops. Fragmenting munitions are indiscriminate and potentially lethal in all directions around the point of burst although the pattern and extent of the lethal area depends on several variable factors, some specific to each situation. In modern warfare, overwatch is a force protection tactic: the state of one small unit or military vehicle supporting another unit, while they are executing fire and movement tactics. An ''overwatching'', or ''supporting'' unit has taken a position where it can observe the terrain ahead, especially likely enemy positions. This allows it to provide effective covering fire for advancing friendly units. An ideal overwatch position provides cover for the unit, and unobstructed lines of fire. It may be on a height of ground or at the top of a ridge, where a vehicle may be able to adopt a hull-down position. If the overwatching unit is in a position to fire over advancing friendly units, great care must be taken not to let fire fall short. The friendly units should be within tracer burnout (the range at which tracer rounds are visible). 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Suppressive fire」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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