US hits ballistic missile system in southern Iraq

Jerusalem Post ^ | 2-11-03 | AP via jpost

[Cuttnhorse]

Jihad Joe!! LOL!

[Dan(9698)]

>>>..." I'm not sure anything else the Iraqis have in their arsenal would be considered "ballistic missles."

Scuds are ballistic missiles.

They are a particular type, but we had just as well call them that as anything else. They have variations of these that are called by different names.

[knak]

US, UK Jets Attack Iraqi Battlefield Missile Site
34 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Aircraft taking part in U.S.-British patrols attacked an Iraqi battlefield missile system in southern Iraq on Tuesday in an unusual response to Iraqi threats against the air patrols, the U.S. military said.

A spokesman for the U.S. military's Central Command in Tampa, Florida, told Reuters he did not know whether the mobile missile, located in a southern "no-fly" zone near Basra, was an Iraqi Scud. But he said it was a surface-to-surface missile.

U.S. and British jets have been increasingly attacking Iraqi air defense missiles, radars and communications for months. But strikes against ground attack tactical missiles are rare and Marine Corps Maj. Brad Lowell, a Central Command spokesman, noted that aircraft last attacked a surface-to-ship missile system near Basra on Sept. 6 of last year.

The Central Command announcement said that the jets used precision guided weapons "to target an Iraqi military surface-to-surface missile system" near Basra, about 245 miles southeast of the capital, Baghdad. Lowell said all aircraft departed the area safely and target damage was being studied.

[rs79bm]

I call this loosening up the infrastructure before we send in the heavy hitters.

[eastforker]

Ballistic missles have guidence systems,do the scuds have these?I thought scuds were more like point and shoot,using elevation and deflction guidance,somewhat like artillery,only rocket powered.

[eastforker]

OK,I am the dummy,scuds are ballistic just like artillery,Had to go find webster,should do that next time before spouting off.Never mind.

[NonValueAdded]

So what were we supposed to do, wait until they were launched? That is Vietnam thinking. Let the Soviets unload their ships, the NVA store the SAMs in the open, and only when actually launched at a plane could our pilots strike the site that launched. Ha. If we see it, kill it!

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

I want to obtain that book. Thanks for the tip/info.

[Britton J Wingfield]

He's allowed to have scuds with a range of 150 miles or less. How you tell the range by looking at it, I don't know. Bombs away!

[uncbuck]

Lets get this done and overwith, and get on to Iran or NK.

[Mr. Lucky]

If you can assume that the launcher was mobile and was not giving any sort of radar signature at the time, what kind of "precision guided" munition would have been involved?

Is this our way of letting the bad guys know we have people on the ground?

[El Gato]

The statement said the Iraqis had moved the missile system into the southern no-fly zone.

Was Saddam trying for a little preemption himself? Look for signs of chem/bio casualties among the local Shiites in the area.

[ffusco]

Iraq has not succeeded in downing a piloted plane over either no-fly zone.

Desert Storm 2 will be the shortest war in history.

[El Gato]

Ballistic missles have guidence systems,do the scuds have these?

Even the old Nazi V-2s had guidance. The Scuds are really only slightly upgraded V-2s anyway, so they probably have similar guidance. Actually Guided missles have guidance, ballistic missles may, or may not, but if they do, it's only during the powered portion of the flight, from there on they are ballistic. (ICBMs and SLBMs give lie to this if they have a "post boost" vehicle, which sends the warhead(s) on their way, but adjusts their trajectory somewhat after the main engines cut off). The SCUDs have nothing like that, their warheads don't even separate from the body of the missle. You get hit by the whole thing, if you get hit at all, they are notoriously inaccurate. When Saddam was shooting them at Israel, some of them missed and hit Jordan, the wrong *country*, and that from not very far away, as ballistic missle ranges go.

[El Gato]

"precision guided" munition would have been involved? A laser guided one, or a TV guided one, most likely. However, they aren't all that mobil, so once their location is determined, a quick change to the target coordinates of the GPS "guided" JDAM, and it would be "no more ballistic missle". Ballistic missles have no RF "signature", although they might have associated systems, communications for instance, that might have one, but intermittently.

[paul51]

The statement said the Iraqis had moved the missile system into the southern no-fly zone

Or close enough. He He

[paul51]

the north and south no-fly zones will already have been taken out

I have a feeling there are probably a very significant number of troops there also

[semaj]

"He's allowed to have scuds with a range of 150 miles or less.

It's actually 150 kilometers or about 90 statute miles.

[Mr. Lucky]

I was kinda hoping for a Green Beret or maybe a Marine scout-sniper pointing a laser at it; there will probably be ample opportunity shortly.

[Chad Fairbanks]

I guess it's better than 'Dud Scud' ;0)