| Submit your comments on this article |
| East Asia |
| General wants more JDAMs for possible use in Nork |
| 2004-01-17 |
| From East-Asia-Intel.com, subscription req’d The commander of U.S. air forces in the Pacific wants to stockpile more Joint Direct Attack Munitions, otherwise known as satellite guided bombs, to use in possible Asian conflicts. "I don’t have enough JDAM stocks to make me very comfortable," said Gen. William Begert, commander of Pacific Air Forces Command and air-component commander in that region. We definitely want the general to be comfortable. When he is, we are. The general told reporters this week that JDAMs are extremely attractive weapons in facing the North Korea’s thousands of hardened artillery tubes along the Demilitarized Zone separating North and South Korea. Especially when scores of the units can be individually programmed and dropped from one platform. The JDAM, which is guided to its target by satellite navigation, was the star in the recent Iraq war. In a conflict in Korea, JDAMs could be dropped from high attitudes, at night or in bad weather. Begert said that more combat aircraft should be equipped with JDAMs, including F-15 jets. "The more airplanes that we can get dropping JDAMs, the better I’ll like it, but my first priority is to get more JDAMs," he said. "Hopefully we’ll continue to produce the JDAMs at the accelerated rate that we surged to during Iraqi Freedom until our stocks are back up and go beyond that to try to meet that requirement." The JDAM is essentially a dumb bomb with a special Global Positioning System navigation package on its nose and a tail fin kit on its end to guide the bomb to its target. The Air Force has stockpiled some JDAMs on the Pacific island base of Guam. The base also has air-launched cruise missiles stored over the past several years. Begert said he would like to station additional fighter aircraft on Guam to keep them in easy distance of North Korea. Many strike aircraft were removed from Guam during the 1990s as a cost-saving measure. Public statements like this by a general discussing JDAMS and deployment of additional strike aircraft at Guam are obviously ratchets on the Kimmie Sweat Ray that are approved from the top. |
| Posted by:Alaska Paul |
| #5 Priority on JDAM production has gone to the smallest version, a 500 pounder. This allows a plane to carry a large number. The Small Diameter Bomb, a 250 lb bomb is rapidly being developed and will allow a spectacular number of targets to be attacked by one bomber. Those 10,000 to 15,000 artillery and rocket launchers burrowed into hillsides just north of the border are the reason for the need for large stockpiles. |
| Posted by: VRWconspiracy 2004-1-18 12:27:05 AM |
| #4 Might also be prudent to stockpile a few hundred in Australia, for "contingency purposes". Maybe 'sell' the Australians some additional F/A-18s and even a BC-130 or two and a handful of MOABs. Of course, that would get several nations squealing like a diva in a three-sizes-too-tight corset, but it'd certainly be 'entertaining'... |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2004-1-17 6:05:47 PM |
| #3 Never can tell when JDAMs might be useful in, ohh, I dunno, maybe the phillipines or indonesia. All sorts of islamofascist nutcases running around over there. |
| Posted by: 4thInfVet 2004-1-17 5:23:05 PM |
| #2 Dave D.---I think the heat and pressure are on. Since diplomatic and covert ops seem to producing good results at present, it would be best to save the ass-kicking by troops for a later day, if possible. There is still work to be done in the Iraqi Theater of Operations. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2004-1-17 5:22:39 PM |
| #1 Bit by bit, the pressure mounts... I wonder if we'll see anything happen regarding NorK, Syria, Iran, or wherever before the election? My hunch is no. |
| Posted by: Dave D. 2004-1-17 5:17:10 PM |