B-52 Strike on LST (B-52 Test of JDAM on Ships!)

Strategy Page.com ^ | 16 Jan 05 | Strategy Page.com

[sukhoi-30mki]

Hmm,actually the JDAM cannot technically be called a new weapon & is a smart bomb in all respects.It's more of a upgrade package(with GPS/INS guidance & fins) which can be integrated to a general purpose bomb(of various sizes) .

The fact is that the US is not the only nation which is working on GPS guided stand-off munitions.Russia,France,Israel & South Africa all have produced such systems or are actively working on them.

[Chode]

it's been awhile, but damn if it doesn't look like a mine-layer in a couple frames... long prow sticking up from the front or is that from bomb damage???

[donozark]

Those not comprising reefs off Keys and Louisiana, the new home to so many M113s...etc.

[snowman1]

Take a good look at the ship, whoever said it was an LST better restate ir the outline is wrong and LST have bow doors not in the rear. Also the elongated structure on the bow denotes it as something wlse.

[sukhoi-30mki]

Sorry,well I didn't post the thread ,so I think your post should be directed to someone else.Besides,Im not an expert on LSTs!!

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

amazing after all that ordinance the ship didn't sink.

However, its status was changed from "ship" to "hazard to navigation". Without heroic efforts to repair the hull, I'm pretty sure her sinking is just a matter of time.

When they filed evironmental impact statement they didn't laugh 'cause to type it up it took the whole staff and when they got through the thing weighed sixty pounds.

[Tenega]

JDAMs cost about one fifth the cost of a $100k smart bomb. They are basically older-designed iron bombs adapted with a tail kit with steerable fins and GPS guidance. Proved effective in Afghanistan war.

[Fruitbat]

What's a "LST" ?

Landing Ship, Tank

It's "Landing Ship Transport", isn't it?

Either way, impressive. I wonder what the armor characteristics differences are between that ship and more modern attack ships.

[ROCKLOBSTER]

Rock Lobster?

You rang?

[fallujah-nuker]

It is of the LST-1179 Newport class, see the link. They do not have the traditional bow door, the front structure is to support the bow ramp. It has this configuration due it speed of 20 knots.

http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/lst-1179.htm

[fallujah-nuker]

It is of the LST-1179 Newport class, see the link. They do not have the traditional bow door, the front structure is to support the bow ramp. It has this configuration due it speed of 20 knots.

http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/lst-1179.htm

[ProudVet77]

The fact is that the US is not the only nation which is working on GPS guided stand-off munitions.Russia,France,Israel & South Africa all have produced such systems or are actively working on them.

Fortunately we are the only ones that own the GPS satellites. If I were a foe, I would not rely on an American GPS, far too easy for us to adjust the timing ever so slightly to make the weapon think it's in the wrong place.

[spetznaz]

Which is why the Russians have Glossnass (and have been recently upgrading it and adding more satellites) and the Europeans (and Chinese) are working on Galileo. Using GPS against the US in open conflict would be silly.

[ProudVet77]

Do you know if exported Russian systems use their GPS?

[spetznaz]

Most of them can use either GPS or Glassnoss (with a couple able to switch between the two on the fly, in case one is jammed) ....but for export they are normally set for GPS. The big threat though is Galileo. This is the European GPS version, and the reason why it stands out is because the Chinese have been pouring money in that direction. The Chinese would never trust our GPS because we own it, and they would never trust Glossnass because the Russians own it (and the Ruskies have more to fear from China sincee there is still great belief among the Chinese that Russia stole Siberia from them while they, the Chinese, were tied down in the Opium wars). Thus they would prefer to have a system independent from Glassnoss as well.

Thus Gallileo.

[ProudVet77]

Yeah, I've heard that about Galileo. Our friends in the EU who also want to sell arms to the ChiComs. One good thing about GPS though is that there are a lot of ways to defeat it and many ways to protect it, and both efforts play well to our strengths.

[spetznaz]

That's true.

[solitas]

To: All

Somebody please 'splain to me again why so many squawkers think it's wrong to do that to our ENEMIES?

Excellent video!

[Polybius]

Long Slow Target

Yeah, that nickname started at least as long ago as WWII, according to the printed sources I've seen (not being old enough to have been there).

Well, at least it was not as bad as the nickname for the CVE escort carriers: "Combustible, Vulnerable, Expendable" .

[wildcatf4f3]

Think it was a second bomb. They generally strip target ships so that they can assass the damage afterward. If she had been loaded there would have been nothing left after those hits.