Posted on 06/19/2009 2:14:51 AM PDT by ErnstStavroBlofeld
The Air Force wants to look at arming fighter jets to shoot down ballistic missiles, according to a letter from Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz to the head of the Defense Department's Missile Defense Agency.
The June 2 letter from Schwartz, addressed to the MDA director, Army Lt. Gen. Patrick O'Reilly, called for a study of arming F-15s and F-16s, and possibly F-22s and F-35s, with specialized munitions under a concept dubbed Air Launched Hit-to-Kill.
Schwartz said a 2008 war game, based in the European theater in 2020, piqued the interest of the Air Force to study the ALHK concept.
This examination indicated several ALHK approaches may be operationally suitable for employment from Air Force fighters, Schwartz wrote.
(Excerpt) Read more at strategypage.com ...
Does this make it an "unproven weapons system"?
The F-15 was used as a test platform for launching antisatellite weapons some years ago.
This sounds like a really good idea. We could shoot the idiot’s missles right after launch. As Patton said, fixed fortifications are a monument to man’s stupidity. I know we have them on ships now but air deployment would be the ultimate.
“I know we have them on ships now but air deployment would be the ultimate.”
As long as you know when they are going to launch their missles. Either that or you have one of these aircraft up in the air and armed 24x7.
I was at AVCO at the time and worked on the ground telemetry station hardware for the target vehicle. It carried a doppler only radar on board. The idea was that you could determine the miss distance by analysis of doppler history. It was considered highly unlikely that you would actually hit the satellite itself on the first couple of tries, at least.
First test, the missile centered punched the satellite, no need for any telemetry and no possiblity of any future telemetry. The Russians were so shaken up that President Carter and the Democratic Congress shut the program down.
The political agitprop of the era was that antisat was actually forbidden ABM. (Well, duh!) On top which concerns about the debris profliferation was being voiced. I believe that the actual mission was low enough so that the ensuing debris deorbited pretty quickly.
When the U.S. shot down that failing satellite last year, all the debris deorbited in about two months. When the Chinese shot down their failed satellite at much higher altitude, they increased the amount of space debris by about 40% and some of it will not deorbit for hundreds of years.
Aw, hell, can't have the Soviets upset!
Jimmuh and the 'Rats -- someone ought to write a song about them -- morally cocksure, above-it-all, post-Watergate pr*cks most of them -- "Class of '74".
Bunch of MOW-rons! Gave away the Panama Canal (the Chinese run the ports at either end now), groveled for the mullahs, defense policy that couldn't whip my sister.
I find it incredible that nobody has suggested that we take it out on the launch pad.
It is a threat. It can be launched at any time. It needs to be blown up.
That and unless they are on a 24 hour airborne alert, they won't be able to get in the air and target quick enough.
“Jimmuh and the ‘Rats -”
I guess for Friday funnies we can make up a song. I propose to the tune of Bennie and the Jets..
Ji Ji Ji Jimmuh and the Rats..
Catching them in the boost phase may be feasible for North Korea, where we seem to have weeks of warning before each launch. But for a suprise attack or an accidental launch, it’s not likely we’ll have a platform that just happens to be in the area. Seems like a waste of money to develop anything specific to the boost phase. Of course, if the same weapon that intercepts the terminal phase just happens to be usable in the boost phase, well then that’s great. Let the pieces fall on the other guy’s property.
Yes ... the ASAT test hit and destroyed its target ... and pissed off the Soviet communists as well as the democRat Party communists.
The Air Force wants to look at arming fighter jets to shoot down ballistic missiles, according to a letter from Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz to the head of the Defense Department's Missile Defense Agency. The June 2 letter from Schwartz, addressed to the MDA director, Army Lt. Gen. Patrick O'Reilly, called for a study of arming F-15s and F-16s, and possibly F-22s and F-35s, with specialized munitions under a concept dubbed Air Launched Hit-to-Kill.
I agree
We withdrew the ABM treaty. Anyways, the Russians were always cheating from day one.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.