Sabotage missions in modern times?
Number24
NorwayPosts: 22,427MI6 Agent
Like so many of my countrymen I have been watching the TV-series "The Heavy Water War". It got me thinking: is sabotage a thing of the past now that we have presicion bombing and drones? The only important sabotage In modern times I can think of is the use of STUXNET against the Iranian nuclear program, and that was a computer virus smugled in via an USB stick. Do you know more?
Comments
Raiding parties and sabotage ops are certainly still very much relevant as they don't just get the target neutralised, but they affect enemy morale quite badly too. You still need troops on the ground to lay the laser target designators too.
While raids are still used, I question if classic sabotage missions are still being done. I know special forces "paint" targets for bomb strikes from the air. While those missions are plenty dangerous, it's not the same as sneaking past the guards, getting to the target, placing the explosives and getting out and to safety. Those kind of missions are still being trained for by special forces (Our SF troops restage/re-enact the Vemork attack each winter, but with modern equipment and methods), but are they still done in real life? Does anyone know any examples of this?
I also found this article about SAS/SBS sabotage missions on the Argentinian mainland two years earlier:
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/471412/Secret-death-toll-of-SAS-war-in-Argentina