Posted on 05/02/2011 7:38:51 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
Death Pods Swarm Towards North Korea
by James Dunnigan
May 1, 2011
South Korea has received more of the several dozen AN/AAQ-33 Sniper Targeting pods it had ordered for its F-15K fighter-bombers. The growing threat of war with North Korea has led to the speeding up of orders for many critical items of military equipment. South Korea wants as many of its F-15Ks as possible equipped with the Sniper pod, and the pilots trained in its use. The U.S. Air Force buys Sniper XTP targeting pods for about $2 million each, and currently has over 500 of these pods, which are all the rage with fighter pilots. Targeting pods are used on F-15, F-16, A-10 and B-1 aircraft.
These pods contain FLIR (video quality night vision infrared radar) and TV cameras that enable pilots flying at 6,500 meters (20,000 feet) to clearly make out what is going on down there. The pods also contain laser designators for laser guided bombs, and laser range finders that enable pilots to get coordinates for JDAM (GPS guided) bombs. Safely outside the range of most anti-aircraft fire (at least five kilometers up, and up to fifty kilometers away), pilots can literally see the progress of ground fighting, and have even been acting as aerial observers for ground forces. These capabilities also enable pilots to more easily find targets themselves, and hit them with laser guided or JDAM bombs. While bombers still get target information from ground controllers for close (to friendly troops) air support, they can now go searching on their own, in areas where there are no friendly ground troops. The 200 kg (440 pound) pod hangs off a hard point, like a missile, bomb or fuel tank.
(Excerpt) Read more at strategypage.com ...
P!
This, and then Osama being “offed” may just be enough to force Chia Pet and Junior to have to change their underwear from excitement and fear. They know they can run, but they can NOT hide from Navy Seals, the CIA and JDams.
Wait, what?
Imadinnerjacket has been very, very quiet of late.
Thanks for the ping.
I rejoice at the technology that gives us an edge. One thing nags at me, however.
When he was still a Senator, I heard Evan Bayh say on TV, that electronic components for our “smart bombs” were made in and imported from China.
I hope this is not true, but since everything we use is made in China (including the iPad) I assume China has all the same technology we have. It’s just too bad that in the age of electronics we don’t make all our own.
Watched a public domain gun camera video of an A10 gun attack a while back. I estimate the angle to the ground was 60 degrees. The rotary cannon made a bit longer than one half second burst. The projectiles hit about six seconds later. At 3.000 feet per second plus, slant range was about 3.4 miles, 5.5 km, altitude about 9,000 feet above ground level. Impacts were in a zone 100 m deep and 50 m wide and very evenly dispersed.
Very exotic gun sight.
I heard that, for enemies on the ground, they don’t hear noise of the plane approaching before they are hit. An ultimate silent killer.
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