Posted on 09/15/2011 8:52:09 PM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
Raytheon Aims to Integrate Griffin® on AT-6 Light Attack Aircraft
Small precision weapon is ideally suited for counterinsurgency mission
Published Wednesday, Sep. 14, 2011
LONDON, Sept. 14, 2011 -- /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) is seeking to integrate the combat-proven Griffin missile onto the Hawker AT-6 light attack aircraft.
Griffin weighs 44 pounds with its launch tube, is 43 inches long and is an air- and ground-launched, precision-guided missile designed for rapid integration onto rotary- and fixed-wing aircraft and ground-launch applications.
"Integrating Griffin on the AT-6 aircraft gives the warfighter a cost-effective solution to provide persistent surveillance and low-collateral damage in counterinsurgency and irregular warfare operations," said Harry Schulte, vice president of Raytheon Missile Systems' Air Warfare Systems. "The integration of precision weapons onto versatile light-attack, reconnaissance platforms enables customers to take off-the-shelf capabilities and rapidly field a solution that meets their needs."
Griffin enables the warfighter to engage targets via a user-friendly graphic interface and guide the weapon to the target using GPS coordinates or laser designation. To maximize lethality, the user can choose to engage the target with height of burst, point detonation or fuze delay.
The Griffin missile is in production and integrated on the C-130 Harvest Hawk. Griffin A is an aft-eject missile designed for employment from .
(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...
Griffin
Think long and hard about the operating platforms for this kind of weapon being touted.
Our military does not fly single or tandem mounted turboprop fighters.
What is code for Irregular Warfare Operations?
The AT-6 looks like a good plane to use against unarmed civilians or under equipped insurgents.
But against a squared away fighting force or insurgency it’s probably just a nice ripe target.
Hanging 1,200lb of ordinance on a plane making only 1,600bhp sounds like it’s can be a real pig.
Now if you're talking prop driven kick ass COIN aircraft...
The A-1 Skyraider is the ticket.
That was one tank of a plane. I couldn’t believe the size of the plane when I finally first saw one up close.
Put away the tinfoil hat. The spec warfare community has been trying to get a COIN aircraft for the low threat environment in Afghanistan. They were ready to deploy with the Super Tacano until the congressional contingent from Kansas blocked it so Beechcraft could put together an AT-6. AT-6 is already planned for use by Iraq.
Personally I think the AT6 would be the perfect patrol craft for our southern border armed with whatever frickin' missiles they could mount on 'em.
Yep, the skyraider was a real ground attack craft. Personally, I don’t see why they don’t build more A10s, the most versatile ground attack aircraft we have ever fielded.
You’re right. My thinking is, precision attack is great, up to a point. At some point though, you have to be able to afford to put ordnance on target. Does it make sense to fire a 100K missile at a 1K vehicle on the border? How about merely clever ordnance instead of smart weapons. What was it a Russian general said, “quantity has a quality all its own” ???
Spot on. The Kansas delegation wrapped themselves in the flag though Hawker Beech is 50% Canadian owned, the AT-6 is a Swiss design, and the company is moving all their manufacturing to Mexico.
Obviously, the worst part is that our guys in Afghanistan are waiting for an aircraft because a congressman wants some votes. Super T with with the crews that are already trained, in theater, and do it now.
This a/c is mostly intended for poor Turd World countries that have to deal with narcos or muzzie terrorists, and can’t afford super snazzy gear and legions of computer wizards to maintain them.
I would recommend black-boxing the fire-control and optics, maybe, though, and include some US servicing folks with any contract, just so we can keep an eye on how the a/c are used, sure.
Evidently some of our senior military leadership must still be smarting from the wire-brushing they received last year.
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