Board-Ansicht
Mix-Ansicht- Iraqis Outsmarted the US-UK Smart Bombs... - golden-bear, 28.02.2001, 17:08
Iraqis Outsmarted the US-UK Smart Bombs...
Iraqis Outsmarted the US-UK Smart Bombs
By Ian Bruce
http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/archive/28-2-19101-0-24-33.html
2-27-1
Iraq managed to decoy 20 of the 25 special standoff weapons dropped in the joint US-UK raids near Baghdad two weeks ago by fooling their guidance systems into exploding hundreds of yards short of their targets.
Nato intelligence sources say only one of the five radar sites and command centres attacked was destroyed, two others sustained damage, and two were unscathed and remain operational.
It is believed that the Iraqis used a combination of jamming and false signals to confuse the new Raytheon joint standoff weapons' global positioning system. The 40-mile range smart bombs depend on a last-second satellite fix to guarantee a direct hit.
The US carried out a dress rehearsal to test the weapons a few days before the actual raids on Iraq. The 66 bombs launched by US navy aircraft achieved 100% success. In action, they chalked up an 80% failure rate.
A source told The Herald:"The standoff weapons have only been available since 1999. They were developed to minimise the risk of civilian casualties in the new era of global scrutiny and damaging propaganda.
"The Americans first thought that there might be a software problem, but the dry run bomb strikes have ruled that out. With global positioning, the weapons should be spot on target.
"But if you can emit a powerful enough signal to alter the satellite information being received by the bomb on its final approach, accuracy goes out of the window. Against hardened military sites, you need a direct hit to be sure of a kill.
"An aim point error of just a couple of hundred yards spells the difference between total destruction and a light peppering with shrapnel and minimum blast damage.
"Fortunately in the circumstances, the joint attack weapons were not the only hardware used on February 16. At least one key site was taken out completely and there was damage and disruption at two others."
The attack on the five key air defence targets was planned with information received from Yugoslav military sources. Until the fall of Slobodan Milosevic last year, the Serbs had been sharing technical data and intelligence with the Iraqis.
The latest Iraqi trick of targeting allied aircraft with long-range radars and then launching missiles at them from unrelated positions was pioneered by the Serbs during UN intervention in Bosnia and Nato's aerial assault during the Kosovo conflict.
They downed one British Harrier, an American F16 and a Nighthawk F117, the first stealth aircraft ever shot down in combat.
US sources say privately that it is"only a matter of time" before the technique brings results for Saddam Hussein.
<center>
<HR>
</center>
Thread gesperrtgesamter Thread:
