Posted on 12/16/2001 2:35:30 PM PST by blam
'Intelligent' missile used against bin Laden caves
By Sean Rayment
(Filed: 16/12/2001)
AMERICAN military commanders are using Israeli missiles to bring about the final destruction of Osama bin Laden's al-Qa'eda forces in the Tora Bora mountains of eastern Afghanistan.
The AGM 142 "Hav Nap" missiles are so advanced that they can be flown directly into the mouths of the caves sheltering the terrorists.
They were developed by the Israeli arms manufacturer, Rafael, in the 1980s. While the Americans possessed them during the Gulf war, it was decided not to use them against the Iraqis in operation Desert Storm because they were sensitive about killing Arabs with Israeli-made bombs.
The US air force chiefs in Afghanistan, however, are no longer worried about such niceties, or that the man who wants to bring about the destruction of the United States and Israel may be destroyed by Israeli bombs being dropped by American planes. A Pentagon spokesman said: "I hope the irony of this is not lost on bin Laden."
The missiles' targets are being identified by special forces troops sheltering in defensive positions around the Tora Bora complex. They relay the information to the B52 bombers circling above awaiting their orders. The bomber launches the missiles and they are then controlled by the plane's aircrew. A camera on the missile's nose helps the aircrew direct the device into its target.
The technique, known as "man-in-the-loop guidance", gives much greater accuracy than conventional dumb-bombs. Its operator can see real-time imagery of the target data-linked back to the aircraft by the nose-mounted camera. This allows the pilot to get the exact angle of attack required to cause maximum damage.
The missiles can be fitted with either deep-penetration or blast-fragmentation warheads. The deep-penetration type is currently being used on the Tora Bora caves. One missile weighs 3,000lb, is about 17ft in length and has a range of 50 nautical miles.
The AGM 142 was brought into service after the US Air Force began to run short of stocks of air-launched cruise missiles. After the Taliban's air-defence capability was destroyed by the Americans in the early days of the air war, US bombers and fighters were free to raid without fear of attack from the ground.
The AGM 142's range is much less than a cruise missile and therefore can only be used when the threat from anti-aircraft weapons has been destroyed.
Rafael, the Israeli state defence company with headquarters in Haifa, has a joint venture operation with the American defence company Lockheed Martin, allowing it to sell the missiles to the US. They were first used by American forces in Kosovo.
Don't mean to hijack the thread, but pulleeze? Give me a break!
It is for the very same reason that I would have used them in droves.
As for the Telegraph's attempt to impress us with their reporting, I have to say, so what? The only thing new about the AGM-142 is the fact that there is a missile attached to the bomb that gives it somewhere around a 40 mile range.
The whole world watched video from U.S. bombs and missiles ten years ago in Iraq, and we've seen a few in Afghanistan.
Don't think these would have made any difference- gotta find the launchers before you hit them with *any8 kind of ordnance.
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