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Report: Armed UAV's Fire First Missiles In Combat
aviationweek/aviationnow.com
| oct-18-2001
| By AviationNow.com Staff
Posted on 10/18/2001 9:45:12 AM PDT by green team 1999
Report: Armed UAV's Fire First Missiles In Combat
By AviationNow.com Staff
18-Oct-2001 8:10 AM U.S. EDT
Unmanned aircraft reportedly have fired on combat targets for the first time during the Afghanistan air strikes, perhaps marking a new era in modern warfare.
RQ-1 Predators -- propeller-driven, 700-pound reconnaissance drones -- have fired Hellfire anti-tank missiles on Afghani targets during the 11-day series of air strikes on Taliban and terrorist positions, the Washington Post reported Thursday morning.
Pentagon officials declined to confirm or deny the story early Thursday. "We've got nothing on that," said a Defense Dept. spokesman.
The Air Force proved the General Atomics-made Predator's ability to seek out and fire on targets was proven in tests earlier this year.
A Predator heavily damaged an unmanned, stationary Army tank using a Hellfire-C missile during tests Feb. 21 at Indian Springs Air Force Auxiliary Airfield near Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., according to an Air Force statement.
In the first launch of a missile by a Predator, the weapon "aimed and struck the tank-turret about 6 inches to the right of dead-center, spinning the turret around about 30 degrees," said Major Ray Pry, Predator program manager, shortly after the test Feb. 21. "It made a big, gray dent in the turret - just beautiful."
The Air Force had next planned to start testing the Predator's targeting ability at higher altitudes. An unmanned vehicle could fire on targets from higher altitudes than an Army helicopter, which traditionally fires the Hellfire anti-tank weapon.
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To: green team 1999
Wonder if they're using HE/Frag rounds? How about some nice thermobaric round a la the roooshins?
and we'll have fun fun fun
as our missile blows your turban away...
To: green team 1999
It is vitally important that we do not endow these with the ability to think or reproduce - a la Terminator.
3
posted on
10/18/2001 10:09:08 AM PDT
by
Wm Bach
To: Wm Bach
It is vitally important that we do not endow these with the ability to think or reproduce - a la Terminator.Too late.
They're called "Marines".
4
posted on
10/18/2001 10:12:39 AM PDT
by
Lazamataz
To: green team 1999
The darn thing is flying upside down. :-)
To: green team 1999
It's really going to piss off the puffy chested Taliban drooling over the prospect of ground troop casualties if they aren't even given a chance to shoot......LOL
6
posted on
10/18/2001 10:33:10 AM PDT
by
1Old Pro
To: 1Old Pro
I'm proud to have performed a lot of the R&D work on the gimbal, the lenses, and the image stabilization on this program.
Hey Osama, consider this a gift from FREEREPUBLIC !!
7
posted on
10/18/2001 10:45:12 AM PDT
by
SENTINEL
To: fourdeuce82d
Wonder if they're using HE/Frag rounds? The AGM-114 Hellfire is a laser-guided antiarmor missile with a shaped charge penetrator warhead. I don't think there is any other warhead available.
8
posted on
10/18/2001 10:58:13 AM PDT
by
wysiwyg
To: SENTINEL
Great! Thanks for your contribution - I will look for your comments in the future.
9
posted on
10/18/2001 11:05:58 AM PDT
by
Ben Hecks
To: wysiwyg
There is a HE variant-
"In 1984, Swedish Defence Materiel Administration placed a contract to adapt Hellfire for the coastal defence anti-ship role...The anti-ship missile with its special to type blast/fragmentation, delayed action warhead is also used in the air-to-surface role..."
but I haven't heard of the US using it. I would think we might want to think about it- seems like a HE/Frag would do more good than a shaped charge in this application.
For that matter, what about a "cannister" style round- a warhead with a couple of thousand tungsten "BB" size pellets with it's own internal proximity fuse- kind of like a flying, precisely aimed, coming-down-from-overhead claymore?
Now that's entertainment!
To: green team 1999
The picture of the UAV at bottom of your post looks like Airforce One after Clinton and Hillary got through stripping it at the end of their last free ride paid for by relieved tax paying patsys.
It's not really a stretch if you look at the front part of the fuselage,cockpit area, which was about all that was left after the lying. stealing, sold out to the ChiComs Clintons unloaded it.
11
posted on
10/18/2001 11:14:30 AM PDT
by
VOYAGER
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