An Opposing Force is a military unit tasked with representing an enemy, usually for training purposes in war game scenarios. For training aircrews, aggressor squadrons are used by some militaries. In some nations the term is abbreviated to 'OPFOR'. A military unit is an organisation within an armed force. ... A war exercise is a type of military preparation that simulates combat situations and conditions. ... An aggressor squadron is an aircraft squadron that is trained to act as an opposing force in military wargames. ...

At a basic level, a unit might serve as an opposing force for a single scenario, differing from its 'opponents' only in the objectives it is given. However, major armies commonly maintain specialized groups trained to accurately emulate real-life enemies, in order to provide a more realistic experience for their training opponents. (To avoid the diplomatic ramifications of naming a real nation as a likely enemy, training scenarios often use fictionalised versions with different names but similar military characteristics to the expected real-world foes.)

Opposing forces can also coincide with Red Teaming activities. Once the Analytic Red Team develops adversary tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) it will be the opposing force that makes use of those TTPs in wargames and exercises.

Land forces

Some dedicated opposing forces may fight using the likely enemy's doctrine, weapons, and equipment. They may wear uniforms which resemble the likely enemy's, or one dissimilar to "friendly forces". Their vehicles may either be those operated by the likely enemy's, or may be modified to look like those. All these measures help to enhance training realism and provide useful lessons on how to fight this particular enemy.

Blank ammunition, smoke grenades and artillery simulators are often used by both sides in the exercise to provide the fog of war caused by the noise and smoke of battle. A hand grenade is a hand-held bomb, made to be thrown by a soldier. ... Historically, artillery (from French artillerie) refers to any engine used for the discharge of projectiles during war. ... The fog of war is the lack of knowledge that occurs during a war. ...

In addition, a simulation system such as the Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement System (MILES) may be used. This system is attached to various weapons, and are zeroed to the sights of the weapon. When a blank round is fired, the system sends out a laser beam, which score "kills" or "injuries" on any soldier or vehicle in the path of the weapon's path. These laser beams are detected by receivers on harnesses worn by the soldiers, or on the vehicle itself. MILES simulation (note the laser emitters attached to the rifles barrels) The Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement System or MILES is used in United States Armed Forces training. ...

Alternatively, paintball weapons which look and function like real weapons, or simulation rounds such as plastic bullets may be used. Usually, controllers follow the training troops to help score additional kills, such as when a simulated grenade is thrown. They may do so with the MILES system using a controller gun. All these measures help to emphasize the importance of aimed fire, and taking cover. These concepts, while obvious, are often neglected in ordinary one-sided training exercises because the soldier does not suffer the consequences. A tournament player shooting from behind an inflatable bunker. ... The plastic bullet is the name given to a type of nonlethal projectile fired from a specialised gun, used in riot control. ...

Air forces

See also: United States Navy Fighter Weapons School

See also: Aggressor squadron

Promotional patch for the movie Top Gun often confused with the actual TOPGUN patch given to graduates. ... An aggressor squadron is an aircraft squadron that is trained to act as an opposing force in military wargames. ...

Examples

One of the best-known examples of a specialist opposing force is the United States's OPFOR. During the Cold War, opposing force units employed Soviet military doctrine and simulated Soviet equipment; since the fall of the USSR, US opposing force units have become more flexible to represent a wider range of opponents. This article is about a military term. ... For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). ... Motto: Пролетарии всех стран, соединяйтесь! (Transliterated: Proletarii vsekh stran, soedinyaytes!) Translation: Workers of the world, unite!) Anthem: The Internationale (1922-1944) Hymn of the Soviet Union (1944-1991) Capital (and largest city) Moscow None; Russian de facto Government Socialist Republic/Federation of Soviet Republics  - Last President Mikhail Gorbachev  - Last Premier Ivan Silayev Establishment October...

There are three Major Training Centers for the US Army. The Army is the branch of the United States armed forces which has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ...

The National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California: OPFOR is the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment (BLACKHORSE) The entrance to the NTC. Fort Irwin Military Reservation, located in Fort Irwin, California, U.S., this military facility is used for live-fire training of brigade-sized forces. ...

The Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, Louisiana: OPFOR is the 1st Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment (GERONIMOS) Troops from the 82nd Airborne particpate in training at Fort Polk in a mock-up Iraqi village Fort Polk is a United States Army base located in Leesville, Louisiana. ...

The Combat Maneuver Training Center (now called the Joint Multinational Readiness Center) at Hohenfels, Germany: OPFOR is the 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment (Separate) (WARRIORS)

The Units at NTC and CMTC replicated a Soviet Motorized Rifle Regiment or Division. At NTC, M551 Sheridans are used to replicate Soviet T-80 tanks, and Visually Modified (VISMOD) HMMWVs are used to replicate BMPs. At CMTC, M113A2s are used to replicate Soviet BMP-2s and M60A3 tanks are used to replicate Soviet T-80s. The M551 Sheridan is a light tank and armoured reconnaissance vehicle, developed by the United States, and named after Civil War General Philip Sheridan. ... The T-80 is a Soviet/Russian/Ukrainian main battle tank. ... This article refers to the Military HMMWV, not the civilian Hummer sold by General Motors General Characteristics (Humvee) Manufacturer: AM General Length: 4. ... The BMP-1 is a Soviet infantry fighting vehicle which was first introduced in the early 1960s. ... The M113 is an armored personnel carrier family of vehicles in use with the US military and many other nations. ... The M46, M47, M48 and M60 Patton were the U.S armys principal main battle tanks of the Cold War, with models in service from the late 1940s to the 1990s. ...

During the mid-1990s, CMTC was used to train peacekeeping forces for the former Yugoslavia under Low-Intensity Conflict missions, these have since been modified for Counter-Insurgency training for Operation Iraqi Freedom. Yugoslavia (Jugoslavija in Latin, Југославија in Cyrillic, English: Land of the South Slavs) describes four political entities that existed one at a time on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe, during most of the 20th century. ... For other uses of the term, see Iraq war (disambiguation) The 2003 invasion of Iraq (also called the 2nd or 3rd Persian Gulf War) began on March 20, 2003, when forces belonging primarily to the United States and the United Kingdom invaded Iraq arguably without the explicit backing of the...

Various US military installations and/or major units have their own local versions of opposing force used for training exercises. The joint Australian/US military exercise "Crocodile '03" featured an Australian-led opposing force in which soldiers from a range of Australian units worked together with a US Marine Corps contingent.[1] United States Marine Corps Emblem The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is the second smallest of the five branches of the United States armed forces, with 170,000 active and 40,000 reserve Marines as of 2002. ...

External links

• Validating the "Enemy" (discusses the USA's OPFOR units, and post-Cold War changes to OPFOR.)