US to drop bombs that think and kill

[IAmAMoron]

Two of the world's deadliest bombs will be used to "smoke" Osama bin Laden out of his underground bunker, reports The Sun.

The JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Munition), with its own on-board satellite, and the laser-guided GBU28 (Guided Bomb Unit) are believed to be perfect for destroying the Afghan mountain lairs of Laden?s al-Qa?ida terrorist group.

The JDAM and the GBU28 bombs are carried by virtually every US fighter and bomber, The Sun says.

JDAM can be launched in all weather conditions, day or night. With fins at the front and back, it can steer itself directly into the entrance of a cave, burrow into rock and detonate after a delay to cause maximum damage. Its warhead is packed with 2,000lb of explosives.

The JDAM was first used in July 1997. But in Afghanistan, they will be used with their special fuse, capable of detonating several minutes after they first burrow through concrete, earth or rock at their targets.

According to the Sun, one technique will be to send a string of JDAMs into the same cave or crater to tunnel their way into bin Laden?s heavily-fortified hideouts.

The 19ft GBU28 can be dropped by a plane 18 miles from the target. It relies on lasers from troops on the ground to guide it to its destination.

Again, it digs into rock and once its massive 5,000lb warhead detonates, it acts like a mini nuclear blast ? sucking the air out of a building or bunker. The heat generated melts anything inside.

 

[kami]

Sweet



<< Again, it digs into rock and once its massive 5,000lb warhead detonates, it acts like a mini nuclear blast ? sucking the air out of a building or bunker. The heat generated melts anything inside.
>>

 

[Phunktion]

<< US to drop bombs that think and kill >>


Soon we'll be dropping bombs that might work in your office building or try to marry your daughter..

 

[crackersjacks]

So basically, the JDAM comes flying in, hits some wall of the cave and sticks there. Then a minute later people gather around it to see what the hell happened and it explodes after a certain time. That's hilarious. I can just picture that.

 

[Pliablemoose]

My thanks to the soldiers who "paint" the target with a laser

 

[jjones]

great, just hope this is not gonna be the 2 million dollar bomb blowing up the ten dollar tent.

 

[Tates]

<< Soon we'll be dropping bombs that might work in your office building or try to marry your daughter.. >>



That is soooo evil.....

 

[ToBeMe]

<< great, just hope this is not gonna be the 2 million dollar bomb blowing up the ten dollar tent. >>


Well....I believe that's the whole idea behind this technology! As in Iraq, they knew the corordinates of the bunkers, but conventional "iron bombs" were basicly futile..........These actually have the ability to go deep into a buker and then detonate!

 

[Spudd]

The whole point in using the JDAM is to save money. A Tomahawk Cruise missile costs somewhere around $1.5 million, whereas the JDAM is around $15,000. Much cheaper, and just as deadly, but it does require that our pilots be put in harms way. In anycase, the US and Brits are now attacking targets during the daytime because they are confident they've taken out the Afghani's ability to defend the air.

 

[Pliablemoose]

For all the Taliban's jeering, what did they have, maybe 20 fighters in poor repair & few spare parts?

Now the hard work starts, the shoulder fired SAM's are too damn portable, and the mountainous terrain's going to be a bitch.

 

[Bigdude]

"Now the hard work starts, the shoulder fired SAM's are too damn portable, and the mountainous terrain's going to be a bitch."

They are not effective against high alltittude aircraft, but they can be against helicopters.

 

[dman]

Just did a google search came up with Bargain basement bomb. Interesting.

Also from Here


<< The makeover
What about the bomb? What?s so special about it? It looks much like most bombs, except for the added fins. It starts as a 1,000-pound or 2,000-pound dumb bomb. The $18,000 JDAM conversion kit gives it a higher IQ.

A tail section, bolted onto the bomb, makes up most of the kit. Inside is a guidance control unit with inertial navigation and global positioning systems. A connection runs to a small electric motor that controls the tail?s three movable fins.

Strapped to the bomb are strakes, like fins. They help give it lift. From the guidance unit, an ?umbilical? cord of wires plugs the bomb into the Buff?s computers.

The whole kit weighs less than 100 pounds. It?s easy to lift and install. And a four-member bomb-building crew can master the upgrade in less than a day.

?It takes about 10 minutes to build a JDAM,? said Airman 1st Class Brandi Coleman, an ?ammo? troop with the 5th Munitions Squadron. ?It?s not a hard job.?

That?s a plus in a crisis, she said. ?You won?t get much time to turn a bomber for its next mission. JDAM gives you more time.?

Once built, it takes a four-member crew to load the bombs on the plane?s wing-mounted pylon. Each Buff carries 12, six on each wing.

Though they weigh more than 2,000 pounds each with the added tail, loading them isn?t such a tough job, said Tech. Sgt. Craig Brown. A bomb loader and weapons team chief with the 23rd Bomb Squadron, he said it takes about 10 minutes to load each bomb.

At Minot the toughest part of the job is loading bombs in frigid winters, Brown said. Other than that, he said his troops strive to do the best, fastest and safest load possible.

?We just want to load them right, so they?ll drop when they?re supposed to,? he said.

Harysch said JDAM is a force multiplier. A bomb the Air Force needs. Its accuracy will cut the collateral damage dumb bombs cause. And it?ll extend the life of the B-52 he loves to fly.

?One day we?ll put these tail kits on just about every bomb we drop,? he said. ?You can bet on it.? >>

 

[veryape]

<< "Now the hard work starts, the shoulder fired SAM's are too damn portable, and the mountainous terrain's going to be a bitch."

They are not effective against high alltittude aircraft, but they can be against helicopters >>



Not to mention that they are very easy to use. An infant could use one if shown once or twice.

 

[Helznicht]

"They are not effective against high alltittude aircraft, but they can be against helicopters."

Thats why you run sorties over ground areas and drop our troops away from resistance, that way we always have air power within 15 min. Troops get in skirmish, fight on ground and paint targets wait 10 minutes, boom, they advance.

 

[SonicFlux]

A couple of years ago, I watched a de-classified video tape of an Air Force bomb testing facility in the States, and it was amazing to see how far these laser guided bombs can penetrate! The test bombs rode on a 1/4 mile rail track system propelled by rockets that shot it from 0 to a few hundred mph in seconds. At the end of the track, the bomb is released from the railcar and goes right through 30 feet of triple reinforced concrete like butter! But get this, when the bomb exits the concrete wall, it's angle has changed slightly (pointing about 10degrees up). It travels another 30 feet or so (horizontal of course) like the first wall didn't even slow it down and proceeds to slam through ANOTHER 10-15ft section of triple reinforced concrete!!! Then it exits the second wall and goes BOOM!!!!

So if our military knew that Osama was hanging out on the third floor of some building, they could rig a smart bomb to explode NOT when it hit the building but rather when it reaches the third floor of the building...

Amazing display of American weaponry, and that was a few years ago.

 

[azazyel]

Man, I always that I was da bomb

 

[IAmAMoron]

<< Amazing display of American weaponry, and that was a few years ago. >>

I wonder what the "latest" bomb can do.