Posted on 11/08/2009 10:39:49 PM PST by ErnstStavroBlofeld
The U.S. Air Force has successfully tested its new Paveway II Plus laser guided bomb. The existing Paveway II bomb has a range of 14 kilometers and will hit within less than half a meter of where the laser designator is reflecting off the target. Paveway is actually a guidance kit (costing about $20,000) that is fitted to a dumb bomb, turning it into a glide bomb that homes in on the reflected laser light. The Paveway II Plus is more accurate and reliable, but the exact figures are classified. Laser guided bombs have been in use since the 1960s. In the 1990s they were replaced, for a lot of missions, by GPS (satellite) guidance, which will land the bomb within 10 meters (31 feet) of the location specified. The backup inertial system will only get the bomb to within 50 meters. This was a major improvement over the older laser guided bombs. These weapons could get the bomb to within three meters of the target, but were subject to getting lost if there was a lot of rain, fog or blowing sand around the target. In those cases, the bomb would miss by a hundred or more meters. Moreover, the GPS has technology to defeat jamming. The anti-jamming features have not gotten a battlefield workout, and are not guaranteed to work in all circumstances. But, overall, the JDAM is the most effective bomb ever built. But if you need greater accuracy (for taking down a bridge, hitting a moving vehicle or destroying an underground bunker), you often need laser guidance.
(Excerpt) Read more at strategypage.com ...
These weapons have special EMP-proof chips.
..does that includes the Satellites / other platforms?
...just saying more uses for the $$$$$
not arguing...just a statement.
useful with you want to fly a bomb down Osama’s Nap Sack.
Frickn' sharks with laser beams attached to their heads!
EMP explosions only affect those in low earth orbit. GPS satellite orbit with an earth radius of 6360 km, the height of the orbits is then about 20200 km(about 12,550 miles)
Sure would love to designate just once.
bump
FR, Is a great resource. :D
*Snicker*
careful there...Zer0's SS "patrols" FR continuously...
In 1962, The United States conducted a series of high altitude tests. These man-made radiation belts eventually crippled one-third of all satellites in low orbit.Seven satellites were destroyed as radiation knocked out their solar arrays or electronics, including the first commercial relay communication satellite ever, Telstar.
Yeah,smart bombs are good for a few specific missions but dumb bombs are still the best option for bringing another nation to its knees. The over reliance on smart bombs is a reflection of the new PC mentality and the information age. We use them because we have to, not because we want to. Everyone knows what we really want to do.
Let’s make millions of them. My company makes the nose cone housings for them.
thanks didn't know that..
HA! HA! ....Thats' the Capitalist Spirit!
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