Guided Weapons

[Russian Heel]

Also - I view it for the developers as a paradox. The SA-15 has a published 90% pk against PGMs and has been demonstrated in tests it can be done. At the same time it is more than likely this would not be the case in combat. So they either go with the published data and have people disagree with it, or adjust it and have other people disagree with that. Not a position I'd want to be in! Hats off to you guys.

[Blu3wolf]

Id suspect the SA-15 could come pretty close to that Pk in actual combat, provided the operators were aware of a threat.

pop up surprise attacks realistically speaking are hard to stay alert for for hours on end.

EDIT:

ORIGINAL: guanotwozero

It may be possible to damage a bomb's fuse so that it doesn't explode on impact, though it'd still make a big dent in the target. Or else disrupting the guidance system so it misses. However I've no idea of the likelihood of success of any such missile.

In some cases laser-guided concrete bombs are used to knock out armour in urban areas, i.e. an explosion isn't necessary to kill the target.

well - if it uses a contact fuzing, then a detonation nearby might actually set it off. an altimeter delay fuze for penetration would likely be unaffected. if the seeker on a PAVEWAY got damaged, it would end up ballistic - which on a PAVEWAY II would definitely mean a miss, due to the design of the bomb (it uses a series of maximum pitch rate commands to correct, overcorrect, overcorrect, its flight path - it guidance stops, the control surfaces also stop altering their position - meaning they either 'stall' or nose dive immediately. the PAVEWAY III series bombs instead guide using a graduated flight path, meaning that a loss of guidance should have only a small affect on accuracy instead of guaranteeing a miss).

ORIGINAL: jdkbph

Wow. This is just weird. Just a few random thoughts on the issue...

What's a typical time of flight for an unpowered guided weapon like a GBU?

Can a SAM facility - even a modern one - detect, acquire, track, prep and launch a missile at such a small fast moving object during that short period of time? (unlike an attacking airplane, I'm guessing the bomb wouldn't appear as a discreet target until after it's been dropped)

Is the homing radar in a SAM sensitive enough to track such a small target?

Would the rods or BBs or whatever the warhead uses (keeping in mind that this is what damages the target, not the blast) be effective against such a small object?

IR should be totally ineffective here, yes?

Would a defender be shooting at the bomb at all, as opposed to the plane that dropped it? IE, even if a missile system was capable of doing this with some reasonable possibility of success, would it actually be used that way?

JD

typical time of flight depends on the altitude its dropped at, and the flight profile at the time it was dropped. for MALD (Medium Altitude Level Delivery) attack, 40 seconds is not unusual. For a HADB (High Angle Dive Bomb) delivery, you might see 5 or ten seconds if releasing below 10,000.

If the target is defended by air defenses though, neither of these flight profiles is 'typical'. You might be more likely to see loft deliveries of guided munitions, or alternative stand off munitions like the JASSM - in which case there could be minutes of flight time.

The radar on newer sets is certainly capable of tracking say a Mk 84 body - this is one big reason for internal bomb bays on stealth aircraft.

In terms of whether the munition would be a target, that would depend. For modern SHORAD systems, incoming munitions are a primary design target. If the munition is much closer and a bigger threat than the aircraft, then the munition is the better target. If the aircraft is more of a threat, then the aircraft ought to be targeted.

As for the effect of the munition on its target, it would depend a lot on the weapon in question. If it is capable of fuzing correctly to intercept a bomb diving at say 600 knots whilst it itself is travelling at say 1800 knots, then one would imagine it would be quite effective on any type of laser guided munition at least. There is actually a computer model used to determine the percentage chance of shrapnel from various US munitions hitting a target of defined surface area at a set range from the detonation. sadly, Im not able to access it, and I dont know if it would help much with working out the effects of weapons on GBUs.

I appreciate the random thoughts you had, and I hope these random thoughts are in turn helpful.

[Russian Heel]

ORIGINAL: Blu3wolf

Id suspect the SA-15 could come pretty close to that Pk in actual combat, provided the operators were aware of a threat.

pop up surprise attacks realistically speaking are hard to stay alert for for hours on end.

Having sat on many 'a screen line and many a night of endless scanning with TIS I certainly know how difficult it is to stay alert in the defense. And when it goes from sheer boredom to instantly a high intensity multiple threat engagement your brain wants to explode.

[Blu3wolf]

Hence the value of a surprise attack : D

Ive not had to experience the boredom of a sentry as yet, but I appreciate such concerns as surprise when they are modeled into games I play : )