Article

2004-12-07 Home Front: Tech

Archived material is restricted to Rantburg regulars and members. If you need access email fred.pruitt=at=gmail.com with your nick to be added to the members list. There is no charge to join Rantburg as a member.

Posted by Steve 2004-12-07 3:06:45 PM|| || Front Page|| [11128 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 Naw, this looks like a definite nod to the N. Koreans. Well you could also make the argument that Iran may be on the list for receiving some of these.

Posted by Jimbo19 2004-12-07 3:27:20 PM|| 2004-12-07 3:27:20 PM|| Front Page Top

#2 China is it. Only they have the air defenses that would make operations difficult.

Posted by buwaya 2004-12-07 3:31:26 PM|| 2004-12-07 3:31:26 PM|| Front Page Top

#3 Yes, and China has exactly 288 such AD sites. :-)

Posted by Dar 2004-12-07 3:49:04 PM|| 2004-12-07 3:49:04 PM|| Front Page Top

#4 Don't need no stinkin stealth.

Posted by Shipman 2004-12-07 3:57:08 PM|| 2004-12-07 3:57:08 PM|| Front Page Top

#5 Nice. Stand-off JDAM for 350km. Do JDAMs show up on Radar?

Posted by Brett_the_Quarkian 2004-12-07 4:08:16 PM|| 2004-12-07 4:08:16 PM|| Front Page Top

#6 probably too small - like a cruise missile

Posted by Frank G 2004-12-07 4:12:15 PM|| 2004-12-07 4:12:15 PM|| Front Page Top

#7 JASSMs also have a terminal seeker that the JDAM lacks. If you need 1 meter vs 10 meter accuracy... Yes radars can see bombs. The airplane guys hope that the SAM guys shoot expensive missiles at their cheap bombs.

Posted by Peter V 2004-12-07 4:18:25 PM|| 2004-12-07 4:18:25 PM|| Front Page Top

#8 Heh. "TERMINAL" seeker. Heh.

Posted by Brett_the_Quarkian 2004-12-07 4:22:52 PM|| 2004-12-07 4:22:52 PM|| Front Page Top

#9 At $400K per pop, I wouldn't call these cheap.

Posted by Mrs. Davis 2004-12-07 4:48:36 PM|| 2004-12-07 4:48:36 PM|| Front Page Top

#10 much less than a jet and the pilot

Posted by Frank G 2004-12-07 5:00:39 PM|| 2004-12-07 5:00:39 PM|| Front Page Top

#11 Agreed. Do you know the cost of the next gen cruise missiles? I recall the last gen was $1million. Are they getting cheaper or more expensive?

Posted by Mrs. Davis 2004-12-07 5:02:49 PM|| 2004-12-07 5:02:49 PM|| Front Page Top

#12 no idea, bet they didn't drop in price ....

Posted by Frank G 2004-12-07 5:05:47 PM|| 2004-12-07 5:05:47 PM|| Front Page Top

#13 I expect they're like computers, the computer you want always costs $3,000, but it's way better than the last $3,000 computer you bought. In this case cruise missles always cost 1 MILLION DOLLARS! LOL. But digital maping is out, GPS is standard and loitering is around the corner. When they are not armed they also can crank out SETI@Home Workunits in less than 3 hours.

Posted by Shipman 2004-12-07 5:25:56 PM|| 2004-12-07 5:25:56 PM|| Front Page Top

#14 $400K is cheap compared to a $3 million Patriot missile. Tomahawks are around $550K (production cost) and wonder once JASSM R&D is figured in if it isn't just as cheap to buy Tomahawks.

Posted by ed 2004-12-07 5:28:54 PM|| 2004-12-07 5:28:54 PM|| Front Page Top

#15 Ed,

These sound like they go faster and are less vulnerable to interception than Tomahawks.

Posted by buwaya 2004-12-07 6:10:43 PM|| 2004-12-07 6:10:43 PM|| Front Page Top

#16 Sounds like somebody glued a GPS onto an old SRAM (Short Range Attack Missle).

Posted by mojo 2004-12-07 6:16:56 PM|| 2004-12-07 6:16:56 PM|| Front Page Top

#17 Okay, let's talk delivery systems, here. I gather a B-52 can drop 51-500 pounders. Can it drop 11 of these (2300 pounders), or would it be more practical to use a C-130 or other enormous platform? And practically speaking, at 350km max strike zone, I would think that you would have to be at tremendous altitude, which could be a problem for lower-altitude designed aircraft.

Posted by Anonymoose 2004-12-07 6:28:55 PM|| 2004-12-07 6:28:55 PM|| Front Page Top

#18 I was actually thinking a high altitude drop, but stand corrected on radar signature...How much length would a motor add? The JDAM kits are negligible, just GPS nose gear/brains and workable fins at the rear

Posted by Frank G 2004-12-07 6:37:26 PM|| 2004-12-07 6:37:26 PM|| Front Page Top

#19 S300 batteries are toast. Each launcher costs $25m. Even if you drop 10 JASSM's on each launcher, you're looking at 4m in cost vs $25m in destructive effect.

From Asia Times: For instance, last August Russia clinched a deal to export to Vietnam two S300 PMU1 air defense batteries (or 12 launchers) for a reported nearly $300 million. The S300 PMU is an advanced version of the SA-10C Grumble air defense missile.

Posted by Zhang Fei 2004-12-07 7:42:56 PM|| [http://timurileng.blogspot.com] 2004-12-07 7:42:56 PM|| Front Page Top

#20 These 2,300 pound weapons cost $389,000 each

The USAF - when you care enough to send the very best!

Posted by Raj 2004-12-07 7:47:47 PM|| 2004-12-07 7:47:47 PM|| Front Page Top

#21 mojo - Yeah, but the SRAM don't need a GPS, just needs to get within a mile or so.

Posted by Laurence of the Rats 2004-12-07 8:42:10 PM|| [http://www.punictreachery.com/] 2004-12-07 8:42:10 PM|| Front Page Top

#22 Yeah, if it was an SRAM. But if it's a rocket with an plain old HE warhead, pinpoint is good....

Posted by mojo 2004-12-07 9:10:29 PM|| 2004-12-07 9:10:29 PM|| Front Page Top

00:04 Sherry
23:53 True German Ally
23:44 Frank G
23:44 Glomosing Crong
23:41 Dcreeper
23:33 Alaska Paul
23:33 Mike Kozlowski
23:26 Alaska Paul
23:18 Alaska Paul
23:13 Wo
23:11 Lone Ranger
23:10 someone
23:07 Alaska Paul
22:59 Alaska Paul
22:56 Sock Puppet of Doom
22:52 Matt
22:51 Alaska Paul
22:47 Glomosing Crong
22:43 Zenster
22:36 Zenster
22:33 SC88
22:29 Sobiesky
22:24 Sobiesky
22:21 Uninese Unineger1573