[Tallguy]

Again, if I had to guess, I would say we are spending time tracking down those Scuds so that they can be taken out in a first strike.

Many military experts have been saying that the "Afghanistan model" can't work against Iraq. Probably so, but numerous, light SOF teams and Kurdish allies will be invaluable in any Scud-hunt in the western desert. The USAF just wasn't quite up to the job last time when it came to detecting-targeting-firing on the Scud launchers. Apparently the Iraqi missiliers were pretty good at getting a shot off before any ordnance could be delivered on their heads. Predator might change this, but I doubt that we have enough of the armed variant to make a significant difference.

Intel says that Iraq probably has only a couple dozen Scuds left. Fine. But what if he arms them with Bio/Chem/Nuke warheads? A few missiles so armed can make a powerful strategic deterrent.

[CIB-173RDABN]

Tallguy, I think you pin pointed our problem. If we miss just one SCUD,it could do a lot of damage.

Again if I was to guess, we will either locate all of the SCUDS or have a system in place to take them out when they launch.

[demlosers]

The USAF just wasn't quite up to the job last time when it came to detecting-targeting-firing on the Scud launchers. Apparently the Iraqi missiliers were pretty good at getting a shot off before any ordnance could be delivered on their heads. Predator might change this, but I doubt that we have enough of the armed variant to make a significant difference.

A possible solution for the Scud problem. We may could have a couple of laser platforms for next year? See below:

Published: Friday, May 31, 2002
747-400 with anti-missile laser ready for testing

Herald staff

The first airborne laser anti-missile aircraft is ready for ground and flight testing, the Boeing Co. announced Thursday.

the only way to repeatedly hit a "bullet" will be with a laser beam

Workers at Boeing's Wichita, Kan., modification center have completed the overhaul of the Everett-build 747-400F that will carry the laser system, the company said.

It was the largest modification project ever done by Boeing, dwarfing such modifications as Air Force One and requiring about 1.6 million hours of work, the company said.

The plane is intended to be the first of a fleet of seven jets that will use chemically generated laser beams to shoot down enemy missiles shortly after they are launched. The tightly focused photon beams wouldn't actually explode the missiles, but they would melt through their sides, causing the pressurized rocket fuel within to burst.

The work done at Wichita included modifying the front of the plane so it could handle the 1,500-pound laser turret mounted in the nose, and strengthening the floor to hold up the area in the back of the plane where chemicals will be mixed to create the energy for the laser's beam. Boeing workers also installed an airtight bulkhead to seal off the crew area from the space where chemicals will be mixed.

The first flight test is expected this summer, Boeing officials said. The plane will actually return to Everett sometime toward the end of this year to be painted, Boeing spokesman Bob Smith said.

After that, it will be flown to Edwards Air Force Base in California, where the laser will be installed.

The first live-fire test against an actual missile is scheduled for sometime in 2004. That's about a year behind the original schedule.