Lockheed Martin, responding to Marine Corps needs, converts anti-tank missile for urban assault

Lockheed Martin ^ | May 26, 2005

[2banana]

Just don't write "FU Osama" on it as the press will have a heart attack...

[Spktyr]

I wouldn't be suprised if it says that in the traces on one of the circuit boards inside.

[xone]

Good job Lockheed!

[msf92497]

Each device needs to have a bottle of bacon bits inside.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

pork rinds.

[robomurph]

HaHa...I like how you think

[sinanju]

55 to 2000 ft range. That's a short-range weapon all right. So both Predator and Javelin have true fire-and-forget capability. No need to keep the crosshairs on all the way to the target.

[Oatka]

Renamed the Short-Range Assault Weapon-Multiple Purpose Variant (SRAW-MPV), . . ."

Couldn't they just have called it "Mk I House Buster"?

That being said, kudos to Lockheed Martin for the fast turn-around. Reminds me of the anti-sub torpedo the U.S. designed in 18 months in 1942 - after the 50% failure rate steam torpedo had been under development for years.

[Red Badger]

Necessity is the mother of invention.........

[George Smiley]

Apparently the "Skunk Works" lives on...

[Spktyr]

Not the first time this has happened in recent history - Lockheed did it in the last Gulf War, too, except they started from scratch and had an operation weapon within a month.

http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/smart/gbu-28.htm:

As you say - Kelly may be long gone, but the Skunk Works is still churning out what the country needs *right now*.

[VeniVidiVici]

bump

[FreedomPoster]

Here are some pics of the Predator anti-tank missile (not to be confused with the Hellfire anti-tank missile, which is sometimes fired from the Predator UAV).

Appears to be similar to Javelin, to my eye. A little smaller.

[AGreatPer]

This is a tough one to visualize without a picture.

[alnitak]

Assault on Uday's house. Is this a Javelin?

[FreedomPoster]

No, that's a TOW, a much larger, more deadly weapon.

A smaller version of that pic was my sig on another forum for a good while. Drove the lefties nuts.

[sinanju]

A common problem encountered in the invasion was the TOW's minimum range, the minimum distance the missile had to travel before the warhead would arm and the guidance engage.

[tang-soo]

Not the first time this has happened in recent history - Lockheed did it in the last Gulf War, too, except they started from scratch and had an operation weapon within a month.

As you say - Kelly may be long gone, but the Skunk Works is still churning out what the country needs *right now*.
You're points are well-taken but just for clarification ...

This operation appears to come from the Oralando Division which during the first gulf war, I believe was still the Martin-Marietta company (prior to the merger). I worked there in the stealth department (New Ventures) from 1985-1987.

Kelly Johnson led (and I think originated) the "Skunk Works" operation of the Lockheed Aerospace company. The Skunk Works operation is in southern California area.

BTW, an interesting story about Johnson I learned from a former co-worker. He was in the restroom with an AF general when he learned about a contract that was about to be awarded to another aerospace company. He asked to be able to submit a competing bid and the General laughed and said he had less than a week. The general did, johnson did and the result as the U2.

[Chode]

the BIG plus is being able to fire this puppy from inside without incinerating yourself, let alone not destroying your hearing in the process... outstanding!!!