Which type of smoke mission is utilized to mask friendly movements?

The type of smoke mission utilized to mask friendly movements is screening. Screening smoke missions are specifically designed to create a veil of obscurity to hide friendly forces from enemy observation and targeting. This is essential for safe maneuvers and repositioning of troops, equipment, or vehicles within or towards a designated area.

In screening operations, the smoke's primary purpose is to deny the enemy the ability to accurately observe or engage friendly forces, thereby enhancing operational security. The successful deployment of screening smoke can provide a tactical advantage, allowing movements to occur with minimized risk of detection.

Other types of smoke missions might serve different purposes. For instance, obscuration can refer to general efforts to obscure visibility, but it may not be as focused on masking friendly movements specifically. Identification smoke is used to mark targets or positions rather than to conceal troop movements. Suppression smoke is generally aimed at limiting enemy capabilities, often in a more direct confrontation context, rather than focusing on protecting friendly movements. Thus, screening is distinctly focused on camouflage and concealment for friendly forces, which is why it is the correct answer.