Posted on 09/15/2001 7:48:10 PM PDT by ThePythonicCow
AMERICA has ploughed billions of dollars into building an awesome arsenal since the end of the Cold War. And it can now back up its massive air power and traditional military might with futuristic superweapons.
GROUND ASSAULT COMMANDOS guided by the Land Warrior system will go to war with amazing two-barrelled rifles which can hit hidden targets
Elite soldiers will carry a new two-barrelled rifle called the objective individual combat weapon, which can even wipe out opponents hidden in trenches or behind vehicles.
The lower barrel fires Nato-standard 5.56mm ammunition allowing commandos to use bullets off the bodies of downed allies.
But the upper barrel can hurl 20mm shells more than half a mile to explode in the air over the target and unleash a rain of death.
The sight at the top of the rifle is an advanced laser guidance system that sets where the shells will explode for maximum damage.
The US Special Forces who carry the gun will also be equipped with the hi-tech Land Warrior system.
Their helmet visors include a sophisticated computer display that adjusts to light levels and uses infra-red for night vision, plus a targeting system which highlights friendly troops in green and enemies in red.
Satellite-enabled voice messaging in the helmet allows a commando to speak in a whisper and be heard by any other member of the attack force.
Deadly
But when even whispering is out of the question, a wrist-mounted keyboard allows the commando to type messages one-handed that scroll across the visors of other troops. ]
Another new deadly weapon is the super-cavitating torpedo which can travel under water at the speed of sound before eventually launching into the air.
Then it becomes a smart missile, flying directly to its target, allowing US warships and submarines to attack a target hundreds of miles away with minimum warning.
But by far the largest piece of new kit is the airborne laser — a killer beam fired from a modified Boeing 747 jumbo jet.
The laser carries a massive two megawatts of energy — enough to power several small towns — but is so accurate it can pick out and destroy an individual in a crowd 180 miles away without harming people around him.
A full fleet of these planes is not expected until 2008, but at least two prototypes are in working condition.
The smallest new fighters are called Robot Swarm — thousands of tiny machines concealed within an armoured vehicle that smashes its way into buildings.
Then the robots — looking similar to radio-controlled toys — swarm out like ants, each carrying explosives, stun guns or poison gas.
President George W Bush is already sending aircraft carriers and support oil tankers to the Persian Gulf and has called up 50,000 reservists, putting America on a war footing.
Weapons ranging from B52 bombers to nuclear submarines armed with Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles and rapid reaction airborne forces are available.
The aircraft carriers would provide the ideal base for attacks on the hostile terrain of northern Afghanistan.
Ship-launched and air-to-ground missiles and bombs can deliver maximum fire-power with minimum risk to American servicemen.
They include the GBU15 system, which can deliver either a 2,000lb bomb or a 2,000lb penetrating bomb with pinpoint accuracy.
Equipped with either a television imaging or infra-red heat-seeking system, it can be fired up to 18 miles from its target. Missile
US Air Force pilots also have the GBU28 missile, developed to penetrate Iraqi command centres deep underground. It has a laser-guided 4,400lb penetrating warhead.
The favoured weapon system used by the US against bin Laden in the past — the Tomahawk cruise missile — is highly accurate and can be fired from a range of 1,000 miles, but is not as powerful as the GBU weapons.
And if Britain is called to stand shoulder to shoulder with America, the RAF now has the bunker-busting Storm Shadow missile.
More than 27,000 air-to-surface missiles with more than 200 long range strike aircraft to carry them.
More than 560 cruise missiles available to use on Afghanistan. A total of 1,000 cruise missiles which can be fired from ships.
4,500 fixed wing aircraft, 2,000 helicopters and there are 3,500 transport planes to move all this equipment around.
The most secure jumping-off point would be the US military base in Diego Garcia, the British archipelago in the Indian Ocean, which played a crucial role during the Gulf War. The base is manned with B-52 heavy bombers. Secure, fully manned and within striking distance of Afghanistan, it would be the logical base from which aircraft could operate.
Another option is Incirlik, the large NATO base in southern Turkey, which for the past nine years has co-ordinated US air patrols over Iraq.
Ammerica could also assemble a strike force in the Indian Ocean, from which missiles could be trained on targets.
The USAF and Ministry of Defence both refused to discuss anything about their military strength in the area.
I am not posting this to the original thread, because that thread is also slow to load now, because someone else posted an (off-topic) add which also had many far away images. Here's a link to the the original FreeRepublic post of this.
Please, there have been articles about this here for over a year.
3,500 transport planes? Not in our military. A quick internet search shows the Air Force, including all reserve components, has around 900 cargo aircraft. Of those, over 500 are C-130s, which are ill-suited for moving large amounts of cargo and people over long distances. With 60,000 pounds of fuel (needed for puddle jumping) you have 9-10 thousand pounds of ACL (cargo capacity). Max weight can be upped another 20,000 pounds during emergency conditions, but even that isn't much and it puts a lot of strain on the aircraft. As for the civil reserve fleet, we're probably only looking a few hundred aircraft. Look how long it took us to stage equipment for DS. We can't wait that long this time. I would hate to be part of the logistics planning staff on this one! It sure would be interesting to see where this 3,500 cargo aircraft figure comes from. Maybe someone with a Jane's can give us more accurate figures. BTW, stuff like this is no big secret...it's all public domain info.
Pretty good idea, now that the govt's actions have pretty much put 'em out of business.
Shhhhh...
These inheritors of Islam's golden age still think caves are safe.
Ha ha?
The "REVEALED" is Drudge's title, as so annotated.
I was just making it easier for folks to get to something that others had already hyped.
reek - as in your dictionary reeks <grin>.
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