"And everyone - there is nothing to be concerned about - If the Jooooz do hit us we have 72 vestial virgins to as a fallback."
Posted on 09/14/2008 7:34:03 AM PDT by Fennie
Despite reservations in Washington regarding a possible Israeli strike on Iran, the American administration will supply Israel with sophisticated weapons for heavily fortified targets, the U.S. administration announced.
The U.S. Department of Defense announced it would sell the Israel Air Force 1,000 new smart bombs, rumored to significantly enhance the IAF's military capabilities. The deal was approved amid public and secret messages from Washington, with the Americans expressing their reservations about a possible Israeli strike against the Islamic Republic's suspected nuclear sites.
The Pentagon's announcement, which came on Friday, said the U.S. will provide Israel with 1,000 units of Guided Bomb Unit-39 (GBU-39) - a special weapon developed for penetrating fortified facilities located deep underground. The $77 million shipment, which includes launchers and appurtenances, will allow the IAF to hit many more bunkers than currently possible. Although each bomb weighs 113 kilograms, its penetration capabilities equal those of a one ton bomb, according to professional literature.
Most U.S. Air Force aircraft are able to carry a pack of four of these bombs in place of a single one-ton bomb. The bomb's small size allows a single-strike aircraft to carry more of the munitions than is possible utilizing currently available bomb units, thus increasing firepower, or, alternatively, allowing the aircraft to fly longer distances to deliver a single bomb.
(Excerpt) Read more at haaretz.com ...
This is totally unnecessary. After all, once Obama is President he’ll settle this whole Iran misunderstanding with his “aggressive personal diplomacy.”
(or the B52 also)
Thanks, I have been trying to make people here understand that for months now. They seem to think all bombs are equal and that an F15 can sling them all the way to Iran. Even an F111 would not be up to this task at that range.
My guess is the latest ground penetrators are of a different configuration than the Big BLU including rocket assist to drive it even deeper into the ground.
The problem with older aircraft are the maintenance costs.
I know that. I continue to make statements to counter what some think can be used to destroy the Iranian nuclear program.
We have people here that think Israel can use these little laser guided bombs to destroy deep bedrock concrete reinforced facilities some 150 feet underground. Even the first generation MOABs could not accomplish what was needed in this case.
If Obama wins, they will be used before he takes office!
Yep! Like the old saying..."Nuke 'um till they glow, then shoot them in the dark."
These things are so lightweight (113kg = 249lbs), I think they might be rocket assisted to boost impact speed.
I’m mistaken on this assumption....no rocket assist.
You are thinking of the wrong target. If the bunker is 150' underground, the entrance(s) are still on the surface. HUMINT is required to find them. The SBDs can close them. MOABs can keep them closed but are unlikely to be used in a builtup area. Once they are closed in the initial attack, imagery can indicate the efforts to open them and re-attack via cruise missile or TACAir keeps them closed. AFAIK there is no PROVEN way to get to a well-built facility that deep from the air. But you don't really need to either.
I hope that is their reactor vessel....should be interesting when they fire it up!!
Well a B2 could slip in and help them out...who’s gonna see it? ;-)
Understand.
Thanks.
you can be sure Obama would never do such a thing
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//a B2 could slip in and help them out...who’s gonna see it?//
Or maybe even the B3 ;-)
Do we have a "drop ship" program for these? I have no problem billing the Israelis for the bombs and delivering them directly to the final customer...
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