page_title: Suppressive fire
section_title: Weapons used
hierarchical_section_title: Suppressive fire / Weapons used
caption_attribution_description: English: Ramadi, Iraq. (May 20, 2006) &#8211; Cpl. Julius Mitchell, left, and Cpl. Jeremy Rugg, center, lay down covering fire while Cpl. Adam Gokey spots insurgent positions on his right and fires a grenade, seen traveling through the air, while on patrol in the city of Ramadi. The mission was part of the continuing support by 2nd Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company (ANGLICO) to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team/28th Infantry Division (2/28th BCT). 2/28th BCT is deployed with 1st Marine Expeditionary Force (IMEF) in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in the Al Anbar province to develop the Iraqi security forces, facilitate the development of official rule of law through democratic government reforms, and continue the development of a market based economy centered on Iraqi reconstruction. U.S Navy Photo by Photographer's Mate 2nd Class Samuel C. Peterson (RELEASED)
context_page_description: In military science, suppressive fire is "fire that degrades the performance of an enemy force below the level needed to fulfill its mission". When used to protect friendly troops advancing on the battlefield, it is commonly called covering fire. Suppression is usually only effective for the duration of the fire. 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."
context_section_description: Suppressive fire can be delivered by any weapon or group of weapons capable of delivering the required intensity for the required period of suppression. Suppressive fire may be direct or indirect.  However, suppressive fire capabilities of different weapons vary, most notably in the size of the area of their suppressive effect.
caption: Two US Marines providing covering fire with a M4 carbine and a 40 mm M203 grenade launcher while a Marine from Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company spots targets in Ramadi, Iraq, 2006.
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