Posted on 03/01/2006 4:35:35 PM PST by mylife
US provides Pak with missiles before Bush visit
Press Trust of India
Islamabad, March 1, 2006|19:30 IST
The US has provided Pakistan Air Force (PAF) with AGM-154 'Beyond Visual Range (BVR)' stand-off missiles, ostensibly to target terrorist hideouts.
While state-run news agency said Pakistan has attained another landmark in modern missile technology by producing a joint standoff weapon system capable of hitting "over-the-horizon" targets with accuracy, 'Pakistan Observer' newspaper said the AGM-154 system was provided by US ahead of President George W Bush's visit to the country.
According to the daily, the announcement of Pakistan acquiring the BVR missile system came at the Corps Commanders meeting presided over President Pervez Musharraf on Tuesday.
The system uses technologies called 'Integrated Global Positioning System' and Inner-shell Management System Navigation and could engage targets 70 km away.
This apparently is the first BVR missiles the PAF has acquired that could be fired from a distance without coming into visual contact with the enemy.
It could be fired from fighter jets fitted with sensors.
The missile was provided by US reportedly to stem criticism arising out of its spy planes firing similar missiles at a village in Bajore tribal agency last month to target Al-Qaeda second in command Ayaman al-Zawahiri killing upto 18 civilians.
As part of equipping Pakistan with military hardware to fight terrorists, US has granted approval to sell latest models of F-16s and supplied a fleet of helicopters, transport and sea surveillance planes.
Aw. C'mon.
Its just for fighting terrorists.
Its for bumping off Osama.
Its for...(fill in whatever).
AGM-154 is JSOW, a GPS guided glide bomb, developed by the former Texas Instruments Defense Group, now part of RatCo (aka Raytheon).
Since it can carry cluster type munitions, in the A version which is probably what they will be getting, it's ideal for hordes of slavering Jihadies. There is a hard target penetration version, good for digging out en-caved Jihadies, but I doubt the Pakis are getting that one.
Thanks for the info
AGM-154 is a gravity bomb. Not a missile, per se. They have no propulsion.
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