A Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18 Hornet jet fighter aircraft in flight with two JDAM-ER 500lb bombs and two Time Space Position Information pods. Source: Supplied
Posted on 03/13/2013 1:04:49 AM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
US recruits Aussies for flying bomb
AN Australian company has been picked by the US to produce wings for a flying bomb that will allow it to glide nearly 65km, effectively turning it into a medium range guided missile.
The invention turns a conventional "dumb" bomb, which simply drops from an aircraft, into a joint direct attack munition "smart" bomb that glides to its target.
The strap-on "wings", developed in large part by Australia's Defence Science and Technology Organisation and tested at the Woomera rocket range, extend the range of an existing "smart" bomb from around 28km to 80km.
As it glides away from the aircraft that drops it, the JDAM is guided to its target by a global positioning system and has proved devastatingly accurate in Iraq and Afghanistan.
With a built in laser guidance system the flying bomb can follow moving targets.
. . . The bombs will be used by the RAAF's F/A-18 Hornet and Super Hornet fighter bombers and ultimately by the promised Joint Strike Fighter.
A big advantage of the JADM bomb's long and deadly glide is that it can be dropped far from a target, increasing the element of surprise and allowing the pilot to stay out of range of anti-aircraft defences.
Minister for Defence Materiel Mike Kelly said the US Boeing Company had selected Australia's Ferra Engineering to manufacture the new extended range wing kit.
The wing kit would make the "extended range" JDAM-ER a very cost effective
(Excerpt) Read more at theaustralian.com.au ...
A Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18 Hornet jet fighter aircraft in flight with two JDAM-ER 500lb bombs and two Time Space Position Information pods. Source: Supplied
The strap-on “wings”,
I hope some of the new recruits don’t get confused.
I use to work for an outfit making those TSPI pods on the wing tips. They are used a lot for test flights including weapon drop tests (not dropping the TSPI pod, that would get expensive).
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