[muawiyah]

The smart bombs are still pretty basic technology, not much more high tech than my black and white PDA ~ on the other hand if the Chinese had smart bombs they would not need to have so many pilots, nor build so many jet fighters and bombers, nor construct factories to build their replacements in case of war.

This is the type of technology that seems to give your potential adversaries an advantage but the real effect may be to create structural weaknesses in the adversaries' military related industries.

[Paul Ross]

The smart bombs are still pretty basic technology, not much more high tech than my black and white PDA

Actually, they are more advanced than that, with not just GPS guidance, but micro-miniature laser-ring gyros that are backing them up, and software to manage the two. Perhaps not having a super CPU it may not be so hot...but after all, you're blowing it up, why use a Pentium P-4? In terms of the sophistication that makes them resistant to GPS-Jamming, they are our state of the art. A resistance which totally confounded the Russians...and their Iraqi clients! :-)

[Paul Ross]

The smart bombs are not 'pretty basic technology' except at the semiconductor level. What is elegant is the complete package of jam-resistance and inertial guidance backups that make it a truly devastating statement of American technical know-how...and a testament of the billions we spent on the research and development. India and China expect to be handed the production rights to this and other technologies...without ever spending a nickel of their own on R&D which I doubt they could do...even today.