F-22 RAPTOR SCORES DIRECT HIT IN TESTING OF SUPERSONIC, HIGH-ALTITUDE JDAM DROP(50,000ft.drop)

lockheedmartin.com ^

[MARKUSPRIME]

A U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor air dominance fighter, flying at a speed of Mach 1.5 and an altitude of 50,000 feet, released a GPS-aided Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) from a range of 24 nautical miles, destroying a small ground target in the F-22's fastest and highest JDAM delivery yet.This was another milestone testing event for the Combined Test Force of Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT], The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] and U.S. Air Force pilots who conducted the joint developmental and operational test in early May at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., using a 1,000-pound Mk-83 JDAM with live warhead supplied by Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. The ability to release a munition at supersonic speeds and standoff ranges greatly enhances the aircrew's survivability against heavily defended targets.“We've already demonstrated the airplane's ability to operate with virtual impunity in the air-to-air realm and have had many successful JDAM deliveries previously, but successfully attacking a ground target at this speed, altitude and standoff range with a live weapon shows that to be true in the air-to-ground mission as well,” said pilot Lt. Col. Raymond “Buzz” Toth following the test. “The Raptor is ready to fight and is uniquely capable of supporting Air Force and Joint Command objectives against any enemy.”

[Obadiah]

Nailed it!

[JRios1968]

It's called "Reach out and touch someone."

[Red Badger]

You can edit it, if you want.........

[Straight Vermonter]

So they can drop bombs from 24 miles away from a stealthy platform.

This pretty much means that no target is defensible by SAMs any longer. No matter how many SAMs you fire to intercept the bombs there will always be more bombs available than SAMs.

[Red Badger]

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[BJClinton]

That's pretty much untouchable for AAA or SAMs.

[chuckles]

...."give us some new capabilities"....

Yeah, like flying sideways to shoot the other bastid down while he's blacking out from pulling G's. Love the vectored thrust. So does the Mrs's....LOL

[Tannerone]

Right, if you consider $0.01 of every dollar getting to the children a good deal. But one cent is better than nothing or is it?

[ArrogantBustard]

What's the explosive potential of the JDAM? Is that equivalent to what al-Zarqawi received via air-mail?

JDAM is a GPS guidance kit which can be affixed to a variety of otherwise 'dumb' bombs. Zarky-boy was treated to a pair of 500lb bombs courtesy of the JDAM. It can also be fitted to 1000lb (as in this test), 2000lb, and likely bigger bombs, as needed.

[thinkthenpost]

Tomahawks are great, but they only move at ~600mph, lets say the launching platform (DDG,CG,SSN) is 800 miles away, that's an hour, hour and twenty minutes, plus you don't just right up CIC and say launch TLAM to these coordinates now. The Raptor is doing lazy eights at mach 1.5 basically get tasking, acquires, and drops/launches the JDAM from 20+ miles away. Twenty miles at 1,500 miles per hour doesn't take long.

The F-15 has twenty years left IMO, nothing is around to replace it. 200 Raptors cannot do what 2500 Eagles can.

[azhenfud]

50,000ft! I can't imagine any fused bomb being dropped from that high detonating post-impact unless you're trying to damage the Earth's core.

[chuckles]

I agree, but what do I know,...I still like the A10 Wart Hog. It still has a purpose. If nothing else just to give me a chubby watching the 20mm cannon fart and take out a tank with depleted U rounds. Just goes to show, there's somebody for everybody.

[GreatOne]

I read in another thread about the F-22 that a weakness is the excessive amount of support that the plane needs in order to be effective, which makes it difficult to send out a large number on missions (not that a large number is needed with this plane's capabilities), particularly for longer ranges.

Anyone AF-knowledgeable people out there have an answer for this?

[MARKUSPRIME]

It takes less mantainers to keep the F-22 flying than the F-15.

[StJacques]

"The JDAM can be re-targeted, but so can a cruise missile. The 1k lbs is easily beaten by a missile, but most individual targets can be handled by a drone sized weapon. I love the Raptor, I'm just pointing out tax savings and pilot safety issues in war planning. Using a Raptor to deliver munitions from 50k ft at Mach 1.5 is kinda mute."

All true, but the Tomahawk cruise missile is still subsonic, we now have evidence that the JDAM can be launched from supersonic speeds. And there is more. A piloted aircraft can open up a wider range of retargeting options than are possible with the cruise missile -- enhanced by the fact that the pilot of an F-22 can do his own reconnaisance, the JDAM also comes in "bunker buster" configuration which requires a more vertical drop than the cruise missile can accomplish effectively -- given that it comes in at such low altitude, and on the issue of tax savings, I'm fairly sure that a JDAM is much cheaper than a cruise missile.

[SlowBoat407]

You simply take a video camera to the site of the JDAMings until you find some collateral damage (the uglier the better).

Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, John Murtha and Sean Penn survey the carnage of whales caused by a test of a JDAM dropped from an F-22 Raptor at a height of 50,000 feet.

[Navy Patriot]

trying to damage the Earth's core.

Well, how 'bout a bunker penetrator, we may be needing a few in the immediate future. Raptor launch ballistics are ideal, speed and altitude.

[Moonman62]

DO you think this makes the mullahs nervous?

They are waiting for the Democrats to be back in charge, then it's a return to bombing camels and empty tents.

[Rummyfan]

A U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor air dominance fighter, flying at a speed of Mach 1.5 and an altitude of 50,000 feet, released a GPS-aided Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) from a range of 24 nautical miles, destroying a small ground target in the F-22's fastest and highest JDAM delivery yet.

That's impressive, I don't care who ya are!

[Aquinasfan]

Why isn't this classified info?