Suppressive fire
Suppressive fire is a term that's defined by NATO as “fire that degrades the performance of a target below the level needed to fulfill its mission. Suppression is usually only effective for the duration of the fire.”[1] It is one of three types of fire support which is defined by NATO as “the application of fire, coordinated with the maneuver of forces, to destroy, neutralize or suppress the enemy.”
Before NATO defined the term the British and Commonwealth armies generally used ‘neutralization’ with the same definition as suppression. NATO now defines neutralization as “Fire delivered to render a target temporarily ineffective or unusable.”
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Usage
Suppressive fire is typically used as covering fire against targets 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.
The effect of suppressive fire is psychological. Therefore it is targeting soldiers not their equipment. However, depending on the type of ammunition and the target’s protection it can cause some casualties and damage and therefore some neutralization.
Simply put, the purpose of suppression is to stop a target observing, shooting or moving.
NATO also defines '’’suppression of enemy air defenses’’’ (SEAD) - this has a wider meaning and includes materiel damage.
History
Suppressive fire became possible with the advent of firearms or projectile weapons capable of rapid fire, particularly of automatic weapons. However, its significance did not fully emerge until tactics evolved to combine fire power and maneuver between forces prepared to use cover instead of standing in the open.
World War I marked a step change because of the development of indirect fire techniques and the protection provided by trenches. By late 1915 the British Expeditionary Force realized that the destructive effects of artillery fire could not smash an opening in German trench lines. They therefore developed artillery techniques to suppress the enemy in trenches to allow their infantry to approach them.[2] After that, suppression became the defining British artillery tactic, a barrage could suppress a line of front several miles wide.
Infantry tactics also evolved and suppression became a key element in ‘winning the fire fight’. However, suppression by infantry direct fire weapons is generally only tactically useful against targets that do not have mutual support from adjacent positions and ammunition stocks may only be available for several minutes of firing.
Weapons used
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.
Small arms rounds have a very limited effect distance around their trajectory and point of impact, explosive munitions suppress substantially larger areas with their detonation.
