Posted on 03/24/2006 9:28:26 PM PST by SandRat
The bomb’s small size increases the number of weapons an aircraft can carry, |
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By Staff Sgt. Ryan Hansen / Air Armament Center Public Affairs | ||||||||||||
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WOOOOOOOO-EEEEEEEEEEE! That's some blast!!
Sounds impressive, had no idea a 60 mile stand off range would be possible with a bomb.
I can't remember when but I know someone posted a video of this test here on FR.
Looks like the wing kit makes a real difference on the glide path, from the picture it looks they pop out once the bomb is released.
It looks like this could give a whole new meaning to air defense systems. Couple this system with stealth and it's a very nasty combination.
High altitude supersonic cruise combined with a winged glide bomb gives a really long stand off range.
The Russian SA-10/12 class air defense missiles complexes were just made obsolete.
The radars for these complexes are good, but if they cannot localize and target an American stealth aircraft at ranges less than this bomb can reach, they are dead the moment they radiate.
-ccm
Whole lotta folks need to be told to 'get bent' these days...
BTTT
Thanks, appreciate the links and the info.
Can you imagine B-52s, B-1s or B-2s loaded to gills with these things, all releasing at once? Their biggest problem will be finding precise targets for that many bombs.
I was thinking the same thing. A B-2 ought to be able to carry dozens of these things. The payload is 40,000 lbs, so that would be about 140 of these 285-lb bombs.
A B-52 can carry 70,000 pounds, or 245 bombs, and presumably there is a better chance of being able to physically stuff them in the bomb bay and close the doors than on the B-2.
With a hardened nose cone and delayed fuze, perhaps they could be used for bunker busting. Drop them sequentially, ten seconds apart, a hundred at a time on one site. I'm thinking they would be able to get through many feet of concrete or yards of dirt.
-ccm
PS It is an honor to be addressed by the famous giant-killer Buckhead. Your great-great-great grandchildren will brag to their friends about the ancestor who poked his thumb in the eye of the media Cyclops.
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