Yolame ?

Issue 74

Pnblished by
Orbis Publishing Ltd
@Aerospace Publishing Ltd 1985
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War Machine
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l{odernAir
to-Ground
lftbaponru
By far the largest proportion of the strength of modetn air Tlpical of modern combat aircraft, the Dassault Mirage 2000 is capable of
forces is dedicated to what Amertcan plannets have called carrying awide range of weapons, including bombs, cluster bombs,
unguided roc kets and air-to- surface and air- to-armjssjles.
the'Air-Land Battle', providing assistance to allied groand
forces and interdicting the enemy. To be effective, air arms
number of modern precision-gn:ided weapons wrth stand-off capability
have to he able accurately to deliver sophisticated weaponry.
are needed today just to reduce the anticipated losses of strike aircraft
Air-to-surface weaponry encompasses a wide variety of types ranging committed agarnst such sophisticated air deiences as the Sovlets cur-
irom the simple, relatively inaccurate mass-produced cheap 'iron' rently have available. If the present Minlstry of Defence planning in this
bomb, through unguided alr{o-surface rockets to the hiqhly sophisti- fleid for the Royal Air Force remairis unaltered, the service will not be
cated, very accurate and extremely expensive precrsion-guided muni- able to meet all its conventional NATO target commitments and would
iions such as the air-to-surface missile and the guided bomb, It also almost certainly lose srgnificant numbers of its aircraft during overflights
rncludes such weapons as the various types of cluster bombs designed to deliver fairly outmoded weapons, The Falkl4nds war was a severe
io carry large numbers of small bomblets or mines for use against area lesson in this respect, as all the BAe Harrier and Sea Harner combat
iargets, and the new dispenser weapons to be carried under the fuse- losses were to Argentine arr defences that are mlnimal tn comparison
lage of the Panavra Tornado strike aircraft, wrth those that must be antrcrpated in attacks on a Warsaw Pact arrfield,
In assessing the capabrlities of the world's atr forces and thetr inven- or even a target just behind the marn battle zone,
tories of these weapons, it rapidly becomes apparent that only relatively Israel has vast combat experience derived from her Middle East wars
lew nations have available the complete spectrum of air-to-surface and has realized that a wide variety of weaponry is required to meet the
weapons, and that even some of the larger nations, such as Communist requirements of specific occasions, especrally as she considers that the
China, seem to be fairty backward in the types they have have rn lives and experience of her pilots are of paramount impodance.
service, Both the USA and the USSR are very well equipped, whrlst the
Royal Air Force is poorly equipped, the more so when one considers An American Boeing B-52H is seen dispensrngr retarded bombs at low fievel.
that a weapon such as a cluster bomb is fairly cheap to design and butld, Such flying is essential in the face of modern air defences, and the weaponry
or even to buy 'offthe shelf from another natron, Moreover, an increasing must be slowed to enable the aircraft to escape the blast.

4:;;:!i: :. 1 .::. .' : .. .. : ...

fi nerorpatiale 45.30 andAS.30 Laser
:ssentrally a scaled up AS,2O, the The A5.30 has been operational for
Aerospatiale AS.30 started life in 1958 nearly 25 years, and in that time has
.: ihe Nord 540I, In 1960 the basic seen a continual enhancement ofits
-iS 30 was fielded aboard the Dassault capability. With its M ach J.5 spee4
[Link] III fighter-bomber to meet a the AS .30 has a range of some
: lench air force requirement for an 11.25 km(7 miles).
:-r-to-surface mrssile (ASM) that could
:e launched wrrhout the carrier com-
r:rg wlthin 3 km (1,86 miles) of the
:arget, With a rangte of over lO km (6,2
niles) and a terminal CEP of less than
- ) m (32.8 ft), the onginal versron re-
quired the operator to keep the misslle
aliqmed on the tarQtet with a joystick
and tracking flares on the rear of the
missile s body; a radio link was used to
iransmit correctrve guidance com-
mands to the onboard autopilot for ,r111-1:,:,r:},1it1@[Link]::
course corrections,In 1964 an im-
proved variant with a TCA semi-
automatrc gnldance system and new
flip-out fins entered production and
sewice only for the French arr force,
Thrs 45.30 TCA employs a SAT tracker
u:rit for the continuous monitoring of an
IR flare on the missile's rear, the pilot
having only to keep the target centred
in his attack sight. Over 3,870 AS.30s
were built for a number of nations,
operators being France, India, Israel
(now out of service), Peru, South Afri-
ca, Sr,vitzerland UK (now out of ser-
vrce) and West Germany. Of these
South Africa has used the missile
ulder operational conditrons to attack
and damage the abandoned and drift-
ing oil tanker Wafra off her coastline,
the launch aircraft in this case being deliveries of production 45.30 Laser (AS,30 Laser) 3,65 m (1 1 ft I 1,7 in); rs seen mounted or a
An A5.30 Laser
the BAe Buccaneer [Link] 50. rounds were made to the French air span 1.0 m (3 ft 3.4 in); diameter 0.34 m SEPECAT Jaguar during the first
To enhance the weapon's capabih- force for use on its SEPECAT lawar (13,4 in) homing trials for the [Link]
ties into the 1990s, Thomson-CSF and flghter-bombers, and several other as Launchweight: 520 kg (1,146,4 lb) Iaser guidance the latest A5.30 is
A6rospatrale began work in 1974 on a yet unidentifled counrries have since Propulsion: solid-propellant rocket accuratetowithin2 m(6 ft6 in),as
laser-gmrded version. The target de- adopted the type. motor compared to the earlierversion's
signation pod is the Automatic Track- Performance: speed Mach I 5; range accuracy ot I 0 m (32 ft I in) .
ing Laser Illuminator System (or Atlis), Specification I 1.25 km (7 miles); CEP (AS.30 and
whilst the laser seeker head is called 45.30 series AS,30 TCA) less than l0 m (32,8 ft) or
Ariel By l9B0 the first homrng trials Type: airto-surface missile (AS.30 Laser) about 2.0 m (6.6 ft) AS,30 Laser laser-homing
wtth pre-production rounds were Dimensions: lenqrth (AS.30) 3.839 or Guidance:AS,30 manual, AS,30 TCA Warhead: 240-ks (529-lb) HE with
under way, and in late 1983 the first [Link] m ( 12 ft 7. I in or 12 ft 9 in), or semi-automatic to line-of-sigtht, and impact or delay-action fusingr

ffi niroroatialeAsMP
The A6rospatiale ASMP (Air-So1 Right: The large ASMP (medium-
Moyenne Port6e, or medium-range range air-to-surface missile) weighs
air-to-surface missile) is due to be- I 000 kg (2,205 Ib) at launch and can
come France's main air-delivered travel atspeeds ofup toMach4.
nuclear weapon, It rs powered by a
Iiquid-fuel ramjet system and will be
used mainly against tactical tarqets
such as road and railway bndges,
transport depots, and command, con-
trol and communications facilrties. It
will also have a semr-strategic role
against hardened targets, and for this a
total of 16 Dassault-Bregnret Mrrage
IVA bombers of the Force de Frappe
are being convefied to the Mirage IVP
coniguration to carry one round under
the fuselage in place of the current
AN22 60/70-kiloton yield free-fall nuc-
lear bomb, The first of two squadrons
to operate the Mirage IVP will com-
mission in 1987,
For the tactical role with the ASMP
the French air force is procurrng BS
Dassault-Bregmet Mirage 2000N two- Missile gnridance is of the preprog- Specification Scheduled to replace most free-fall
seat low-altitude strike fighters, which rammed inertral type with several ASMP nuclear bombs in French service, the
from l9BB onwards will initially supple- flight profiles available. In general Type: tactical and/or semr-strategic ASMP missile will be mainly
ment and then replace the SEPECAT terms these profiles are believed to be alr-to-surface missile delivered by the strike version of the
Jagmars at present assiened to this mis- similar to those available to the Amer- Dimensions: length 5.38 m (17 ft 7,8 in); DassaultMirage 2000, and by
sion with single AN52 lS-kiloton yield ican AGM-69 SRAM, A total of 100 span not known; diameter 096 m (3 ft remaining Mirage IV bombers.
free-fall bombs. The French nary rs operational rounds is to be procured LB in) Super Etendards will also be fitted to
also convertlng approximately 50 of its for the two services, and these will re- Launchweiqht: 1000 kg (2,205 lb) operateASMP.
carrier based Dassault-Bregnret Super place the majority of the free-fall nuc- Propr:lsion: liqurd-fu el ramj et
Etendard fighters as launch plat- lear bombs now held in stock. Performance: speed Mach 4; range Guidance: inertial
forms, 300 kn ( 186 mrles); CEP not known Warhead: iS0-kiloton yield nuclear

r462
 Modern Air:to-Ground Weaponry
Saab-Bofors Rb05A
The Saab-Bofors Rb05A is a simple, Right: Armed with an HE blast
manually-controlled radio-command Iragmentation warhead, the Mach
weapon for carriage on a wide variety 1 + Rb05A missile may be used in a
of launch platforms, It is intended Iimited air-to-air role as well as in its
mainly for use against land and sea primary function as a tactical air-to-
targets, but it may also in certain cir- groundweapon.
cumstances be used in an air-to-air
role against such targets as a hovering
helicopter, The airftame consists of a
pointed cylindncal body wrth long-
chord cruciform wings and aft-
mounted cruciform control surfaces. A
[quid-propellant rocket motor is cen-
trally located, and the electrical pre-
heating of the round rs undertaken by
the carrier platform,
Once the mrssile has been launched
ftom a height of20-50 m (65-165 ft), the
aircraft c[mbs to around 300-4OO m
(985-l,3t0ft) and the pilot manually
etLudes the weapon by llning it up on
the target with the visual ard of rear-
mounted trackinq flares, Any control
signals required are passed to the
Rb05A via the radio link to the missile's
onboard receiver, Once the mrssile is
in the target's vicinity, a proximity fuse
detonates the HE blast-fraqmentation
warhead.
The Rb05A is used by the Swedish
air force's Saab AJ37 Viggen attack
and Saab 105 light stdke and trainer
aucra-ft. Production started in the early
1970s and ceased in 1977, A more
sophisticated version, the Rb05B with
electro-optical TV homing, was to
have been built, but this was cancelled
when the Swedes bought the Hughes
AGM-65A Maverick in its place,

Specification
RbOSA
Type: air-to-surface missile
Dimensions: lencrth3.60 m (1 I ft 9,7 in);
span0.B0 m (2 ft 7.5 in); diameter
0.30m(11,Bin) I kn (5,6miIes); CEPlessthan iO m Arming the Saab AJ 37 attack aircraft, tracks the missilevisually after
Launch weight:305 kg (672,4 lb) (32.8 ft) the Rb05A k a relatively simple release, gruidance being made easier
Propulsion: liquid-propellant rocket Guidance: manual radio command rnr'ssile, sleered manually by radio by flares in the missile tail. The
Performance: speed Mach I *; range Warhead: HE blast fraQrmentation command. The pilot of the aircraft w ar he ad has a proximity fuse.

il Houi"t tactical air-to-surface missiles

It is notoriously difficult to obtain any
reliable data on Sovret weapons ofany
description unless they have been
captured, However, in the area of tac-
tical arr{o-ground weapons it is knovrn
that the Soviets have paralleled many
of the Western equrpment types, and
in some specific areas such as fuel-air
explosive munitions have gained a real
lead in development,
The early Soviet tactical ASMs nev-
er received NATO reporting names,
but from American sources it has been
discovered that they were physically
based on air-to-air missiles. The first
real ASM to be seen by NATO was
griven the designation AS-7 'Kerry', bers and stnke aircraft in penetrating dence has shown it under the wings of The AS- I 4 is one of the most
This entered service rn the late 1970s air defences, The more recent AS-ll a Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-27'Flogger- advanced tacticalmlssijes in service
with both the Soviet air force and navy, and AS-12 are said to be improved J' fighter-bomber, with the Soviets for which any
and is a single-staqe radar beam- versions of this missile wlth dtflerent The Soviets also have laser-gruuded information is available in thewest.
riding solid-propellant missile equiva- homrnq heads and tncreased perform- versions of their standard FAB-500, Carried by the MiG-27'Flogger-J', it
lent to the much earlier American Bull- ance. The inteweningweapon, the AS- FAB-750 and FAB-1000 GP low-drag is thought to have an electro-optical
pup series, Thrs was followed by the 10, is a Mach-1 solid-propellant missile iron bombs, together with versions of Widance system with mid-course
AS-8, which is a fire-and-forget anti with electro-optical homing, a range of the 210-mm (8.27-in) S-21 and 325-mm correction.
tank weapon for the Soviet attack heh- I l. I kn (6.9 miles) and a 100-kq (220- (12,8-in) S-32 air-to-surface ungrLuded
copters such as the Mil Mt-24 'Hind', lb) warhead, The last missile for which rockets that have been fitted with ]i- Dimensions:notknown
and perhaps the Sukhoi Su-25 'Frog- details are available is the AS-14 mited visual-guidance systems, These Launchweight: 1200 kg (2,646 lb)
foot' battlefield support aircraft. The (formerly known to NATO as the Adv- supplement the vast array of conven- Propulsion: solid-propellant rocket
AS-9 was the next in the sequence, and anced Tactical ASM), This is a larger tional weapon types deployed by the motor
this rs reported to be a comparatlvely version of the AS-I0 wrth mid-course Soviets. Performance: speed Mach 1; rangte
large turbojet-powered supersonic grr"udance and the electro-optical hom- I L i krn (6,9 miles); CEP not knou"ryt
anti-radiation missile (ARM) with a ing system used for the terminal phase Specification Guidance: radar beam-riding
range of i00 hn (62 miles) and a war- of its maximum 40-kn (2S-mile) flight AS-7'Kerry' Warhead: 100-ks (220. Slb) HE blast
head of 150 ks (331 lb) for use by bom- trajectory. Recent photognaphic evi- Type: au{o-surface missile fragmentation
 doui"t strategic air-to-surface missiles : :.aa::.Zt.t \"

-r-: p:=eli ihe strateg[c elements of Right: The AS-5'Kelt' bears a tamilY
:: :-: a:rnies of the Soviet Union use resemblance to the AS- I 'Kennel' ,
::i:si3 valants of the AS-3 'Kangar- with the major change being from iet &
qI
co'. A,94 'Kitchen' and A.5-6'Kingfish' [Link] l, tr
-li:],'. Ine Souets also use versions lntake eAS-S fi as tfi e nose (and
fft
:: :-= last two mrssiles wrth passive probably guidance sys tem ) of the
:r::r-:roming systems to destroy 'Styx'shipborneSSM.
:=:-s assessed as being of prtme Lm-
:,:::11ce in the defence of targets like-
-r' :: be attacked by Sovret strategic
a: the thee hsted systems only the
-li-3 '+;as developed solely for the
mission, the others also being
=a:egac
:-,-.''able rn antt-shipping variants for
'-r= i:;'fie Sofiet naval air force. The
Il-:garoo' was based on an alrcraft
:-:laEe wrth lurbojet propulsion. The
;::-ia::ce rs handled by an autoPilot
'r.--: rir:d-course command-correction
::-:es: no ierminal homtng system ts
=::ed. and thrs lack of terminal accura-
-r Cctates the use of an BOo-kiloton
i--:ld ihermonuclear warhead, The
:=ge is 650 hr (404 mrles) usrng a
:.Ji-alttude supersonic flight profile
:eicre a terminal dive at the target
.::ation, Carried only by the T'upolev
l::-95 Bear-B and'Bear-C' four-engtne
i:rg-rangre bombers, the AS-3 is srra-
d;ally being replaced by the AS-4
l:arried by the 'Bear-G' conversion)
by the AS-X-IS, This latter is car-
=d by the new-production
::ed 'Bear-H',
-,';ilch can launch a number of the low-
ahtude AS-X-15 cruse missiles, which
each have a range of 3000 lcn (1,865
mles) and a 20O-kiloton yield war-
head.
Both the Mach-3,S AS-4 and the
Mach-3,O A5-6 are single-stage solid-
propellant missiles. The AS-4 is in-
ertialiy qnrided to its target, whereas
rae A5-6 has an autopilot guidance sys-
lem. In the normal high-altitude flight
profile the AS-4 has a range of 460 km
(286 miles) and the A'5-6 of 560 km (348
miles) with very steep terminal dives.
In both case the missiles can be used Performance: speed Mach LB; range Above: Carried in pairs by the Below: Most potent aircraft in the
on a low-altitude profile, which re- 650 hn (404 miles); CEP not known Tupolev Tu- I 6'B adger', the AS -5 has Soviet inventory, the Tupolev Tu-22M
duces their ranges to 300km (186 Guidance: autopilot with mid-course been supplied tovarious Soviet 'Backfire' is mainly armed with the
miles) and 250 kn (155 miles) respec- correction clients operating the aircraft. The supersonic AS-4 'Kitchen' both for
tivel,v. The nuclear warhead carrted Warhead: 2300-kq (5, 07 1 -1b) nuclear 8.59 m (28 ft 2 in) missile has a 1000- the strategic and the anti-shipping
by both rs of 35O-kiloton yield, althougth wrth a yield of 800 hlotons kg (2,205-1b) high explosive roles.
this may be exchanged for a 1000-kg warhead.
(2,205-1b) HE warhead if required,
The strategic forces also use the AS-
5 'Kelt'on occasion with their medium
bomber units, Thought to be used in
thls context wrth a passive radar-
hominq seeker for defence-
suppression tasks, the 'Kelt' carries
only a conventional 1000-kg (2,205-lb)
HE warhead, It is a Mach-l,2 liquid-
propellant rocket-powered winged
missile with high- and low-altitude
flight profile ranges of 230kn (143
miles) and 180 lcn (112 miles) respec-
tively, According to Israeli sources,
the terminal dive angie is very shallow
and the weapon can easily be en-
gaged by air-defence systems,
Further strategic air-launched
strategic missiles of higher perform-
ance are known to be in development,
Ofthe current weapons the USSR uses
all, while the conventionally-armed
AS-4 is used by Iraq, and the AS-5 bY
Egypt and Iraq,

Specification
AS-3'Kangaroo'
Type: af -to-su-rface strategic missile
Dimensions: lenqth i4,90 m (48 ft
10,6 in); span 9, i4 m (30 ft 0 in);
diameter LBS m (6 ft0,8 in)
Launchweight: 11000 kg (24,250 lb)
Propulsion: one turbolet

r464
lYlodern Free- Fall Bombs
The startling development of precision guided missiles since the end of World Although the Cluster Bomb Unrt (CBU) =-'::--
tion was in sewice as early as World War,- -:-:
W ar I I migit have led many to suppose that the day of the old fashioned' iron bomb'
US Navy generally neglected its develcp=e:-:
was [Link] truthisverydiiferentis areflectionof themultitudeof different during the first post-war decade. In sha5 :::--
types of targetconfronting an attacking aircraftin modernwarfate. trast the US Air Force moved into th:s:e-i -: a
big way as it concluded that such -,,teap,:-s
As most nations not in the Soviet bloc tend to ment of weapons for use in the periodic were particularly useful in enablirrg r:i.-,--i:='
use American-designed and American-built 'brushfire' wars in the world, the US Naval aircraft to make multiple kills oi sca:.erei
'iron' bombs their development wili be re- Weapons Center at China Lake began de- targets on a single pass through urteise I:'-:-l
viewed first. velopment of a series of ungnrided conventional fire. Thus the US Naw desrgmed orL:.i a:e-r' ::
In the immediate post-war period a proposai weapons that had'eye' series codenames. One these weapons, of which the Mk 20 Rc:<e-'-e --
was received by the then Bureau of Aeronau- of these was the Snakeye fin retarder for Mk 81 anti-armour cluster bomb rs perhaps -ie :-:s.
tics to revise the US Navy's existing bomb in- and Mk 82 bombs; this permitted the bombs to familiar as it has been used by Israel tr: [Link]
ventory to give a serles of streamlined iow- be carried by alrcraft at high speed and then durrnq the 1973'Yom Kippw War a:rd'ne -?:Z
drag b6mbs that would be suitable for carriage dropped at very low altitudes without des- invasion of Lebanon; the type entered seii:a
by future generations of supersonic aircraft en- troyinq the plane in the subsequent blast. It with the US Navy in 1968.
vrsaged at the time, As the subsequent BuAer achieves this effect by depioying several air- The US Air Force has assignred at ,eas:' :2
design concept was too long, the proposing brake swfaces to slow the bomb's downward CBU numbers to munitions, although noi : ::
company (Douglas) chose an Aero 1A shape motion to a significant degree, However, even these have entered service. The latest cc:',-=:--
with a length:diameter ratio of 8.3: 1 and ap- after years of use with the US forces, the tional CBU with instantaneous effect su-b='-:--
plied it to glve the familiar Mk 80 series of Snakeye system is consldered to be unreliable, tions to have entered production is the CE--'a -
general-purpose (GP) bombs, namely the For the longer term an Advanced General- B C,ombined Eiiects Munltion which cc::a,::
1 13 4-kg (250-lb) Mk 8 I, the 227 -kq (500-1b) Mk Purpose bomb is under study for use by the US 202 bomblets in a SUU-64iB dtsperser -a::-
82, the 454-ks (1,000-lb) Mk 83 and the 907-kqr Navy ln three sizes: 226 kq (500 1b), 454 kg bomblet has shaped charge, a fragrme::a:::-
a
(2,000-lb) Mk 84. (1,000lb) and 907kq (2000lb) The smallest section and an incendiary device, A cc-rj=:-
Meanwhile the US Air Force took its existing bomb size has been discarded as it is consi- able number of the CBUs destened and c'--:
bomb and modified it with a
340 Z-kq (750-1b) dered too light for a modern battiefield and its found use in the Vietnam War (such as -:-:
new streamlined taii to give the Ml17 Demoli- targets, The US Alr Force may well use these CBU-194/B and CBU-3O/A which used CS -e-
tion Bomb. Dwing the same period the Air bombs (as it did eventually the Mk 80 series) gas bomblets, and the CBU-S2/B wrth :at-
Force produced the similar 1360 8-kg (3 000- but instead seems to be veering towards the mentation bomblets) in the atr-defence s*!-
]b) M118. These two bombs had thinner cas- continued use of its old iron bombs (at least pression role by literally smothering a srle -"---:-
rngs than the US Navy models and thus pro- until current stocks are exhausted) but upgrad- the bomblets.
duced their effects by blast rather than frag- ing them lnto precision-guided munitlons and In Europe the UK generally followed ie -S
mentation, supplementing them with new-build glide- Air Force's lead after World War 1I by :s;-;--
In the late 1950s and as part ofthe develop- bomb systems, slightly modified versions of its World \,\ ar

The external carriage of stores can produce

significant aerodynamic drag, consider ably
degrading aircraft performance. The modem
free-fallbomb is muchmore streamlined than is
predecessors, assisting aircraft such as the
Grumman A-6 Intruder.

The old-style heavy bomber still exists n tle sia =e

[Link] bomb load. up ic
p erhaps the greatest change to have occurredin General Dynamics F_' I 1. I , although having a small 24500 kg (54,000 Ib), was used to devastating
,iiili"iifi.t bien theiirtualdisappearanceof weapols b2r,was designed to carrymassive effect in theVietnamWar, enormous tonnages
ae ioinf nay tom tacticat aircraft. Ev6n the loads of ordnance on underwing hard points. being dropped on the North.
 Modern Free-Fall Bombs
bomb stocks. The adr,'en: of iast ;es requ[ed Pakistan War, when bombs of a srmrlar type
new weapons, however, resr-:Jtrng rn the cur- wrth the Sovtet designations BETAB-250 and
rent 244 9-ks (540-lc) and 454-ks (1 000-1b) BETAB-500 were dropped by Indian Air Force
medlum-capaciiy bombs which eventually Mikoyan-Gwevich MiG-2ls and Sukhoi Su-7s.
garned tail retarding devices desigrned for the Dwing the numerous conflicts that the Soviet
same function as the Snakeye, All these client states have fought, and in the current
weapons are in widespread Brrtrsh use and Soviet operatrons in A-fghanistan, a compre-
have been exported, as is testified by the hensive array of free-fall bombs and cluster
Argentine use of the 454-kq (l 0001b) model munitions has been used. The Soviets' latest
against the Royal Navy during the 1982 Falk- narrow-body free-fall low-drag GP bombs are
lands war. However, unlike the Amerlcans and deslgnated FAB-100 FAB-250 FAB-500, FAB-
their prodigious development of CBUs, British 750 and FAB-1000 (the number indicating the
interest since the late 1960s has centred on only weapon's notional weight in kilograms), and
one weapon in thrs category, the BL-755 or the Eg'yptians have revealed that the Soviets
Cluster Bomb Mk l, which entered servlce use tail-mounted retarding devices for the
with the Royal Alr Force inthe early I970s as an FAB-250 and FAB-500 models that are similar
anti-armour weapon, Used in the Falklands war in deslgn to the American Snakeye. Frag- One of the most important types of bomb in the
as an area weapon against airfield facilities, mentation versions of these two bombs also current inventory is the cluster bomb. Consisting
troop concentrations and supply dumps, it exist wlth the designations OFAB-250 and of numerous sub-munitions in a single casing, the
proved relatively successfui a]though a greater OFAB-500 There rs also a series of incendiary BL 755 was used extensively by Britain in the
cholce of submunition types would have been F alklands against so{t and widely dispersed
bombs (but not napalm tanks) that corresponds
welcome, An improved version, wrth capabil- targets.
in size to the FABs but allocated the prefix ZAB,
rty against the latest Soviet armour, ls now Cluster munition designations are more dlf-
being procured. In drrect comparison with ficult to discover, although it is known that ZAP-
what is avarlable to American forces and the air 200, PTK-250, RPK-180, RPK-250 and RRAK all
forces of some other nations, such as France refer to such weapons. The cluster weapon has
and Israel, the Royal Air Force's current capa- been extensively used in Afghanistan, espe-
briities in rhe free-fall bomb field are at besr cially with a parachute retarding device in
questionable, order to achieve safe low-altitude delivery and
France, with its manufacturers Thomson- dispensing, It is also known that various fuel-air
Brandt and Matra and their range ol weapons explosive boosted napalm bombs are avaii-
from CBUs to cratering bombs, seems to have a able, together wlth SOV-AB persistent toxic
better grasp than MoD planners of the munition chemlcal agent and NOV-AB non-persistent
types required for use in the modern bat- toxic chemical agent bombs. The precise de-
tlefield, In fact it was Israel, with France's help, signations (and hence weights) of these
that developed and subsequently used the weapons are not known,
'concrete-dibber' type of rocket-powered
bombs: in the 1967 Srx-Day War agalnst the
Egyptians the Israelis closed a number of the Below: An A-7 Corsair of theUS AirNationalGuard
displays its load oI six 250-kg (550Jb) Snakeye Mk Above: The five Belouga BLG 66 dr'spensers
enemy's airfields by causing severe crater 82 bombs. These are streamlined to preventdrag carried by the Mirage 200A each contain 151
damage beneath the runway surlace as a result grrenadeS with either fragmentation, armour-
while being carried, but are fitted with high-drag
of the bombs'tunnelling effects, The next use of retarding devices on the tail,which deploywhen piercing or high-explosive (concussion) effects,
such a weapon was during the l97l Indo- dropped. depending upon the target to be attacked.

I 4bf'
 Ivtrodern Air-to-Ground Weap onry

-ffiy
,rir:+rr*.' l'l?en d tted to aircra{t sucil a's d?e A!: cv e : A iec&niryue rn ucir pra {:tEed ir V ie tn am Eelaw:A US Naev A-7 Corsair being bambei :.::
,l-i rit:n:narL A-Ehrfruief, i.'Iiodern 2Z 5-lzg ( 5A0' ibi av ;+,as fie use efJead slips equ;p peC w'ith blind or irTustrafes,tlotJr the triple ordnance ejectar rac..::
.i 5 () - t:t:t { l,0AA -}ls} e-1ts ([Link]:ose) bornbs are precision bambing: equtpmenl o Jead' iorrna#oris
f and the high [Link] taitr attachments fitted ta
lfie:: mounled on lrlple ejeciorrec'ks, someflrn*s cfiess weJf-egu ipped aircrait. The practice stendard Jorar draEbombs" A n we apon r e lsas e :.- =
.r.;i.'ii iwrs::aeks tr: an underating &arJpoind. r:onllnues. with" typicaily, an F-J -l J griviin.g reJease iarge fins deploy outwards, acting as airbtak-':
rnsiruelion"s f a: f '-4s. and slawing the bemll

.t:.

'i*ifi,
:'!1]s

-W4S;.,
,:r:::.i5
:r'

;a

_4*t -
-_*
- i:..'.1t{ -Ktta,
:r:j.:;;airrr,
a,$ q':,"'!
'ir:::-":ks-

.._...,.: . €'i;**&si;
.:€tii!:
':i.'

.r., . - -?rr*r,#
E USA

quided bombs
US
l:-e of the major technologies de-
;=.:ped for the Vietnam War was laser
3-::dance for iron bombs. Although this
r= rnrtrally a US Air Force project,
-.exas Instuments helped in the de-
;eLcpment and ultlmately produced
-:e kits for the Paveway laser-quided
r'.:=b family, This programme has
;:ked more than 30 different systems
s:cl as airborne naviqation, target
::arkrng and identification, and all-
r=a'*rer and nlght-vision guidance
:r:: a single weapon type. The first
laser-guided bomb was dropped in
:-als during 1965, and by 1971 the
Paveway I family had gnown to elght
::-e:ent guidance hts for addition to
-:e rcse and and tail of standard free-
=-r Teapons. The grurdance and con-
:::.':nis were identical for all the kits
::: te szes of the canard steering
s-[Link]s and tail assemblies varied
:rxrding to the size of the bomb to be
r:eC The nose-mounted laser seeker
; EJiiEted on a two-axrs grimbal which
:=s a ring iocated at its rear. After
r;=ipon release, air flowtng over the
:::g causes the seeker to weathercock
:-:: Lhe local airstream and hence
!:irt approximately towards the Above: The use of precision
:-gefs location. The target itself is illu-
::]ated by an alrborne or Errould- guidance as applied to unpowered
La-<ed laser desigmator, and the seek- ordnancehas led to the distinction
:: cn the bomb picks up the laser be tween's m ar t' we apons and' ir on'
e-ergy reflected from it, and via the or unguided bombs. Paveway,
::ioard computer commands the guided by laser, is one of the oldest
::irol surfaces to gnide the bomb to- and most effective s/stems.
;rards the reflected enerqy's source,
The Paveway I family consisted of
KIV{U-34?./B ht for the M]17 340-kg A third qeneration family, the Pave-
=e way III, designed specrfically for
lrl-lb) demolition bomb, the KMU-
3514./8 ht for hiqh- and low-draq ver- launch at very low altitudes and sigm-
of the Mk 84 907 ks (2,000-1b) GP ficant stand-off ranges, has been de-
=:m
:cmb, the KVIU-37088 for the i36l-kg veloped and is to gto into production
::100-lb) MllBEi demolition bomb, shortly.
KMU-388A8 for the high- and 1ow- At the same time that the original
=e
jras versiors of the Mk BZ 227 -kg (500- Paveway proqramme was under way,
-cl GP bomb, the KMU-420/B for the US Rockwell Internatronal was designingt
Navys Rockeye Mk 20 Mod 2 227-kg the Homing Bornb System (or HOBOS)
.-0C-Ib) cluster munltion which carried for the US Air Force as a series ofadd- T he G BU - 1 5, unlike the P aveway aircraft attack speeds, release range
:.58 0.5-kg (1, I-lb) anti-tank fragmenta- on modules to the larqer standard sfsfem, makes useof anelectro- jssomeS /an (5 miles)evenatlow
:on bomblets, and the KMU42I/B for bombs, but usrng initially an electro- optical guidance system, with either altitude. When the bomb is lobbed
re US Air Force's Pave Storm I907-kg optrcal TV image-contrast tracker ard W or infra-red seekers. At ctrrent upwards, range k greater.
:2 100-1b) cluster mumtron based on then improved TV and IR gurdance
SUU-54 dspenser carrying around seekers for use at night and in poor A powered version of the GBU-15, to depending on launch altihrde; CEP
=e300 0.5-kq (1,]-lb) anti-tank fragt- weather. The kit designations are the be desigmated AGM-130, is currently about 9. I m (30 ft)
-
::entatron bomblets. The family was KMU-3534/ts and KMU-3908 TV tm- under development by the firm. This Warhead: HE blast fraqmentation
si:sequently modi-f,ed to exclude the age-contrast systems and the KMU- wili utilize a rocket booster to triple the
l}{U 342 and KMU 420 kits, whilst the 359,E IR system, All three can be fltted maximum low-altitude release range Paveway I (Mk 84 bomb with KMU-
KrlU-4zIlB was switched to the US to either the Mk 84 GP bomb or the to about 24 km (15 mlles) to provide 351A,/Bpackage)
Na."1rs and US Marine Corps' Mk 83 MllBEl demolition bomb, and com- grreater aircraft and crew suwivability. Type: gnrided glide bomb
454-kq (1,000-]b) GP bomb, Used ex- prise a gn-udance section mounted over A capability to carry and dispense launchweight:952.6 kg(2 100 lb)
:ensrvely in the Vietnam War, the fami- the bomb's nose, a control module with boosted kinetic-energy penetrator Performance: rangte behveen I.5 and
L-,' is considered to be of the partral fins on its rear and four strakes along submunitions is also to be incorpo- 18.3 krn (0.93 and I I.4 miles)
-aunch-andleave weapon type as a the body to connect the tvvo assemb- rated, depending on launch altihrde; CEP
d-rigmator Is required, but this is more lies, The US Navy is to procure the AGM- about 8.2 m (27 ft)
--:ran offset by their night capability To enhance the HOBOS series' l23A Skipper, which rs a Mk 83 bomb Warhead: HE blast fragrmentation
r:ren used in conjunction with a desig- capabilities yet further Rockwell equipped with a Paveway II IR seeker
:nior f,tted with a night sight; thrs capa- looked at a Modular Glide Weapon and guidance and a Shrike ASM solid- HOBOS (Mk 84 bomb with KMU-3534/
bi-ity extends to poor weather as longr System. This evolved rnto the GBU-15, propellant rocket motor. Like the Bpackage)
the cloud baSe is not below 760m
- 500 which is now in service with the US AGM-I30, the Skrpper is to be used Type: gurdedglide bomb
:2 ft), The carrying aircraft re- forces and Israel. The GBU-15 uses a against heavily defended targets to rn- Launchweight:952.6 kg (2, 100 lb)
qlres no modification or elbctrical cruciform wing module, a control mod- prove the launch platform's safety. Performance: rangte between 1.5 and
:cnnection and the bombs are treated ule, a data-link module, a gnldance Operators of the Paveway series are 24.4 lcn (0,93 and 15.2 miles)
arrd loaded as normal rounds of package and one of two warhead op- Australia, Canada, Greece, the depending on launch altitude; CEP
arnmunition. tions, The actual configuration chosen Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, South about 6. I m (20 ft)
In 1978 the Paveway II
famrly was depends on the tlpe of target to be Korea, Taiwan, T\rkey, the UK, US Air Warhead: HE blast fragmentation
rEoduced into service wlth a new set attacked, the specific weather condi- Force, US Navy and US Marine Corps,
l: components and a folding wing tions and whether the pilot wlshes to ph:s others including (it rs believed) GBU-15
lerofoil group which grreatly improves attack the tarqret directly or indirectly Israei. Type:gmided glide bomb
naloeuwabrlity. The weapons in this using the data-link pod. The gmidance Launchweight: I i I I kg (2,450 ]b)
senes are the GBU-I2DE or GBU-I2F/ seeker can either be of the electro- Specification Performance: rangte behveen 1.5 and
B (Mk 82 GP bomb), GBU-I6BE or optical TV type or of the imaging IR Paveway I (Mk 82 bomb wrth KMU- 82,3 kn (0.93 and 51. I miles)
GU-16C/B (Mk 83 GP bomb), GBU- varlety, The warhead is either the Mk 3BBA,/Bpackage) dependinq on launch altitude and
l0E/B or GBU-I0F/B (Mk 84 GP bomb) 84 low-drag GP bomb or the SUU-54 Type: Wided glide bomb whether or not a data{ink pod is used;
i:rthe American sewices and the Mk dispenser with I,800 BLU-63 and/or Launchweight: 272.2 kq (600 lb) CEP less than 6. I m (20 ft)
l&18IIK (454-kq/I,000-lb Mk 13/18 GP BI:U-BO anti-tank fragmentation bomb- Performance: range between [Link] Warhead: HE blast fraqrmentation
mmb) for the Royal Air Force. lets. iB,3 krn (0.93 and I 1.4 mrles)
Guided Bombs in Aetr&wm
The tr e mendou s technological
advances of the I 950s and I 960s in the
fields of electronics, computerization
and lasers had an enormous e{fectupon
w arf are, with w eap on guidance
e sp ecially tr an sf ormed.

The introductlon of the Laser-Guided Bomb

(LGB) into the US Au Force weapon inventory
during 1968 for use in the Vietnam War brought
a new dimension to warfare. It was the first time
that the service had available a precision-
en:ided munition (of sufficient weight and with-
night and poor weather capability) capable of
destroying in single hits enemy targets that
previoirsly needed large numbers of alrcrafi
wrth sigrnificant payioads of standard iron
bombs. During the 'Commando Hunt VIl'op-
erations in the Steel Tiger area of Laos in late
1971 and early 1972, the LGBs proved of im-
mense use in the second phase of the aerial
interdiction programme, in which they were
used at key points to cut roads along which
North Vletnamese supply convoys ol tmcks
used to travel. Once the roads were cut, the
surrounding area was seeded with ground sen-
sors and air-dropped land mines to form a
'biocking belt': when any of the sensors picked
up sounds of the mines being cleared or the
belt itself being bypassed, more strike aircraft such aircraft as the Phantom (supported by a The ability of lasers to pinpoint targets could nol
forward air controller in a Roclcwell OV-10 be better demonstrated than in the steering of a
were vectored in with LGBs or other munitions g1}-kg (2,0A0-b) bomb through the driver's
to attack the enemy force, Bronco observatton plane wlth a 'Pave Nail' windaw af amoving [Link] about,
In March 1972, when the North Vietnamese laser designator) proved devastating to Ncrth nobady can afford to relax.
regulars operaiing in support ofthe Pathet Lao Vietnamese tanks in the area north of Hue,
moved against General Van Pao's Meo gmerril- where the open terrain afforded little conceai-
]a headquarters at T,ong Thien southof the Plain ment, On one occasion, for example, a FAC . 'q:-1.,==j
of Jars, they used a number of the long range operating at twiiight just north ol the South Viet-
M-46 130-mm (5. 12-in) artiilery pieces to bom- namese marine positions on the My Chanh riv-
bard the site. The US Air Force, flying alr sup- er ]ine found two armoured vehtcles near
port for the Meos, found that the gn:ns were Route I: a PT-76 light amphibious tank was
difficult to spot and even more drfficult to des- tryrng lo extricate a T-53 main battle iank irom a
troy with conventional munitrons. Finally sever- dried-up stream bed, Alr support was sun-
al LGBs were used io score direct hits. moned and two Phantoms from Ubon arrived,
The grreatest test of the LGBs, especially the one with a laser designator system and the
Mk 84 907-kq (2,000-1b) variant, came shortly other with LGBs, In the space of three miautes
afterwards during the North Vietnamese's Eas- the tanks had been illuminated ln turn by the
ter 1972 invasion of South Vietnam. This promp- designator-carrying aircraft and dispatched
ted the US government to order its air units to rmth single bombs from ihe other aircrafi,
resume the bombing of North Vietnam, One . On 25 April at Fire Base'Charlie', which had
particular target in that country whlch had on the previous day been overrun by the North The laser targetting can be carried out either {ror,
been high on the target list since April 1966 Vietnamese on the way to Kontum, FACs con- ar'rhoi'nepods, sometimes carried by the attacking
(and which had been attacked on a number of trolled a fliQtht of the Ubon Phantoms to attack aivcraft, ar by ground troops acting as forward
enemy troops and vehicies which were tryinE atssewers with portable laser equipment.
occasions by both US Air Force and US Navy
aircraft during the various bombing campaigns to take away undamaged South Vietnamese
with hundreds ol iron bombs, as well as Bull- i05-mm (4 l3-in) Ml0I howitzers, Only three rolied in and releaseci a Mk 84 LGB. The 907-k;
pup and Walleye guided weapons) was the Mk 84 LGBs were required to take out three ol (2 000-1b) weapon impacted right bestde lt:e
heavily defended Thanh Hoa rarl bridge. Thts the gnrns and five of the trucks ihat were to be tank, the force of the explosion picking the ia:-<
target had cost the Americans a number of used to move them. Perhaps one of the most up aird blowrng rt back into the camp's per--
aircraft shot down together with aircrew kiiled, telllng uses of ihe LGB occurred in May, after meler wire. There was then a long silence frc:-
wounded or caphrred for a relatively poor re- 'Pave Nail'-equipped Broncos arrived in the the :rooper until hrs votce came on again -':-:
turn in damage inflicted on the structure. Highlands to hetp defend Kontum and its sard 'What did you call that?' 'Pave Nail,' car::=
However, a single strike by the LcB-equipped covering fire bases and camps. A Special the reply, to be answered by'l need about ti,':
McDonneil Dougias F-4 Phantoms of the 8th Forces camp came under lntensive North Viet- more,'
Tacticai Figthter Wingflying from Ubon in Thal- namese tank and rnfantry attack, and re- Laser-guided bombs proved themselves irr=
Iand destroyed the bridge, whose spans were quested help from an FAC aircralt orbitlng most accurate of the atr-delivered anti-armc r:
overhead; this FAC calledup a'Pave Nail'OV- ./r/eapons, but most of the North Vietnames=
dropped during the 6 April-30 lune blltz on
bridges that saw another 105 bridges also l0 and both arranqed to get LGB-egutppeci tanks destroyed by aircraft were actually hii L ,'
attacked. F-4D Phantoms lrom Ubon. The ground contact standard 227'kg (500'1b) Mk 82 GP bombs de--
in the meantime came on to ihe air and re- vered mainly by South Vietnamese propelle:-
Close support ported that a tank was trying to crush the driven Douglas A-l Skyraiders and je--
Although extremely usefu1 in such attacks on camp's main command bunker and, overhear- powered Cessna A-37 liqht attack aircrafi. E'.-
North Vietnam, the LGB also proved itself in ing the FAC's conversatton, innocently asked although these weapon/aircraft combinatlc:,:
.South Vietnam in the tank-busting and close- what a 'Pave Nail' was. Both FACs told the scored the most tank kills, they were not :.
support roles, where friendly !oop,s-!9d Special Forces trooper to stand by and they accurate as LGBs and proved highly vulne:-
attackers within their positions. The 907-kg wor;id show him, The OV-10 then illuminated able to ground fire compared wlth the hti:-
(2,000-lb) and 136l-ks (3 000-1b) weapons the tank in question wlth hls laser designator flying I GB-equipped F-4 Phantoms on :::
equipped with iaser seekers and carried on and one of the F-4s, which had lust arrived' same mlsslon.
GuidedBombs inAction
The next recorded combat use ofthe LGB by
a Western nation occurred during the Falk-
lands war of 1982 when the Royal Arr Force's
BAe Harrier GR Mk 3s of No, 1 Sguadron were
:aken south ior use in the ground-attack role.
Standard 454-kq (i 000-1b) medium-capacity
HE bcrnbs were converted to the I,GB con-
ngn:ration by kits parachuted to the task lorce :' :'
lrom long-ranEe Lockheed C-130 Hercules
iransports on 27 May. The bombs were re-
ieased singly in a climb from a pre-computed
putl-up point to aliow the aircraft to remain
clear cf any air-defence systems. Only after the
bomb had passed the highest point oiits trajec-
tcry and begnrn its downward path was the
target illumlnated by a ground-based Ferranti
iaser designator, From the Tbio Sisters position
on 13 lune, desigJnators were used during lndi-
vidual attacks by two aircraft in the course of
the day. In each case the first bomb released
apparently missed as a result of the target The ardnance to he guided are usually standard cantrol module, and moveable fins which controi
beinq ill'dminated too soon, but in each case the weapons, to which have been fitted a seeker head, theflight.
follow-up attack with the second weapon wlrrclr senses fft e laser reflection fram a target, a
scored direct hits, Squadron-Leader Pooks'
attack destroying a 105-mm (4 13-in) M56 pack
hov,ritzer posrtion.
More recently the Soviets have begun to use
ihe LGB in Afghanlstan as part of an eflort to
ieduce fixed-wrng alrcraft losses and lo assist
their ground troops when they are in close-
range fire fights with the gnrerrrllas, There is
reason io believe that on severai recent occa-
sions conventional bombing attacks hat'e
caused more losses to the Sovret and govern-
ment troops than the mujahadeen guerrillas,
As more countries obtain the LGB, their com-
bat use will become more widespread, and
aithough not yet mentloned ln the context of the
continuing Iran-iraq Gulf War, it cannot be long
before LGBs are used, ifindeed they have not
already been employed.
The combination of the sophisticated all-weathet
capability of the General Dynamics F - j I I with the
precisian of laser-guided weapons proved deadly
in the latter staEes of the war [Link].

ciuciform control fins

battenes

main fuse

oneumatically driven control

power units

ccntrol module {orCata link

module in command€uided
models)

movable control seryices

umbilical connectlon to aircraf't

hrgh erplosive

autopilot

I 470
 fuioderm &ir-to-Gr*u,nd &V*aFe nrv

@ffi-ffi;{e
"*

Laser guidance was extremeiy usefuJ not a:.'.' ::

eliminatingdifficult tatgets inNarth l'tetr :* -. - .-
providing the closesf of c,[Link] support in [Link] s: - :_ .

AsJongas a designatar cauld be held on a i.::.:

then an air strike could be called ln; [Link] acc:,-.-. --
o! such a strike:s sftowrn J:ere againsi a .'as:..: : : . - -:
truck. Such pinpoml targeftin g allowei a:': ...'. :
be madewithout fear of hitting frieneiJy fcrces

Left:'fhe HABCS, or horning bamb systei:r. :r'=;

developed. in paraliel with the [Link]
pr agr arnfi e. U su a liy ftt te d tc s a n d a r d !,ri r,: I
t

900 kq t lQQ6-16; or Mk I I B J360-kg rt.',6' -''

bombs and usir ally carried by McDonnell Dc:;.::
F-,t Phantams in5oufjr fasf "4sia . the [Link]- ::
(Electro-Optica.t) guided weapan reg::'re : '..- -
W'SA (Weapon^Sysferns eff ce.',r rc ioc!: rne :: ::: - .-
precisely anta target by centring it jn the
crossftar'rs on the rnonitar screen r:r i,he coci:: :
S ecur e Iy loc ked on, the weapon ll/as r eie r.c,: I j.:'.
the aircraft then turr2ed away tose€kcri a,re ;i'
tar-get.

r:rtro wire conduil contrcl yr'i["s qu cl!-c,: [Link], vr f;dow

.1r 84 900-kg ( 1 ,9B4lb) bomb boresight and clectro'optica i cal see!ief

bias se ecior p ugs i4)
gurdance sectiof module
::.--l strake bands rnrage-co.tfis1 ttacket

gyro sraot zecplaticrm

Dqring the Drcgon's lcrw
One of the hardest nuts to crack during the whole of the was to lay a chaff corridor from the initial point to the target so that the eight
bombladen F4s could operate in a relatively sterilized radar environment. Bad
conflict in S ou th E as t Asia, the Th anh H o a bridge w as well weather in the target area had been the cause of several last-minute postpone'
named the 'Dragon's I aw' . I ts fall was essen tral, although many ments of the mission, but on 27 April 1972 reports indicated the weather had
previous attempts had only succeeded in costing valuable cleared sufficiently over Thanh Hoa to permit the strike.
lives and aircraft. By 1972, however, thefamilies of 'smart' On that day, the 1 2 Phantoms took off from Ubon, and the three flights of four
aircraft each headed for an air refuelling area'where SAC KC-135 tankers were
weapons in senice promised more success. orbiting, waiting to off load extra f uelto the fighters. This f uel might be necessary
When the North Vietnamese invaded South Vietnam on 30 March 1972' it should enemy fighters appear or should the RESCAP of a downed aircrew
became painfully obvious that Hanoi had no desire to accept any- -[Link] become a reality. Having some extra JP4 fuel might mean the difference
other thah one dictated by a smashing military victory. On 6 April 1972, Amer-. between making one last turn to destroy an enemy MiG or being able to orbita
ican aircraft once again were sent north of the DMZ to carry out a co-ordrnated downed crewm6n and provide suppressive fire against ground forces until SAR
interdiction campa-rln against the North Vietnamese [Link]. Two of aircraft arrived.
the taroets werd th6 ThEnh Hoa and Paul Doumer bridges. Since the bombing With several thousand kilograms of fuel obtained from the tankers, the
halt in T968 they had been repaired, and the rail lines crossing the bridges were f ighters headed for the bridge. The chaff delivery aircraft had, gone out in f [Link]
being fully utilized. form the protective corridol in advance of the strike aircraft. However, as the
It ilras blear to the targeteers, mission planners, and strike pilots that des- strike airciaft approached the lP, a glance in the direction ofthe targel revealed
trovinq the Thanh Hoa and Doumer bridges would not be a simple task. They had heavy cloud cov6r which could hamper the use of the guided bombs. The heavy
takbn"their toll of US aircraft and pilots during the early years of the war, and clouci iover and poor visibility preciuded the use of LGB illuminators to desig-
there was no reason to suspect that the defences around them had been nate the target continuously, making it a day for the EOGB weapons. The aircraft
soitened. There was, howevei, a glimmer of hope echoing along the halls and in carrying the EOGBs then positioned themselves for the strike, and let loose their
the briefing rooms of the fighter squadrons because some new weapons were weapons. The extremely heaw anti-aircraft f ire filled the skies with hundreds of
now available for such a mrssion. white, grey and black puffs of smoke from exp]gding MA shells. A number of
A new family of 'smart bombs' had been introduced in South East Asia since SA-2 SAMs were fired at the aircraft, but SAM effectiveness was reduced by the
the bombinq f''att in t gOB. These weapons consisted of Electro-Optical guided chaff - so much so that the Phantoms escaped without a scratch. Post-mission
Bombs (EOGBs) and Laser Guided bombs (LGBs) in the 907-kg (2,0001b) and photo reconnaissance showed the damage to the bridge to be extensive
1 361 -kg (3,000-lb) class. The EOGB was a contrastweapon, :imilar in concept to
enough to render it unusable to vehicle traffic. The EOGBs had severely shaken
the Walleye first used in 1967 by the US Navy. The EOGB, however, was.a the structure, but stubborn to the end, the Dragon's Jaw would need one more
907-kg bohb with a smallTV camera attached to the nose which transmitted a punch.
pictur6 of what it was viewing to a scope in the attack aircraft. The pilotwould 'Linebackerl'
boint the aircraft and weapon-at the taiget area, thereby allowing the Weapon
Systems Operator (WSO) in the rear cockpit of the [Link] F-4 On 1 0 May, Operation 'Linebacker l', the start of the increased interdiction effort
Phantom to find the target on the scope, rdfine the contrast aiming point and in the norih was inltiated. Heavy air strikes were flown against targets in thg
desiqnate the tarqet to the weapon. Once this was accomplished, the-pilot Hanoi-Haiphong area and reduced to rubble many key obiectives prevrously 'otf
wouid release the-bomb and quickly depart the target area, leaving the EOGB to limits'.
guide itself toward the designated aini point. Target weather and cloud cover After three days of 'Linebacker' activity, the Thanh Hoa bridge was once again
iras a factor when deliverinq EOGBs, but if the weapon could see the target highlighted on the daily mission orders, which was to be similar to that flown on
when it was released from [he aircraft it would usually impact the aim point. ZI Aprtt except that the weather was forecast to be better and two additional
The LGB was somewhat diff erent. A laser sensor was mated to the nose ot a aircrdft were icheduled, making a total of 14 strike aircraft. Guided bombs were
907-kg or 1 361-kg bomb which enabled it to guide itself toward a target illumin- on the agenda again; however, this time, nine 1361-kg LGBs would be used in
ated #ith low poiver laser energy. The prob-lem of illuminating the target with conjunction with-15 907-kg LGBs and48227-kg (5001b) conventional bombs.
this laser enerjy was solved by attaching a pod beneath the fighter [Link] On the morning of 13 May, the attacking {orce members annotated their
pod contained''an optical viewing system and laser emitting capability, both maps with updated SAM plots and received final briefings on enemy ${
bperated bv the WSb in the back seil ot the fighter. With this system, the pilot def ences, air ief uelling tracks, positions of supporting ECM forces and the SAR
cbuld poini his aircraft toward the target while his WSO optically loc€ted the procedures. The targel weathdr was briefed as good. The strike group took off
precisb target aim point and illuminated it with his laser equipment. The pilot bn schedule and rdndezvoused with the KC-135 tankers for the pre-strike
would then" release his bombs and depart the target area, leaving the LGB. to ref uelling.
guide itself to the target, which was kept under [Link] illumination by a swivelling The pilots then set an easterly course across southern North Vietnam to the
Tonkin. and from there north
Gulf of Tonkin, tarqet area. Approaching the target,
nbrth to the target
6od or by another aiicraft with a lasertarget designator. An advantag,e of this
bystem was that more than one aircraft at-a time cbuld drop LGBs on the same
a\/an/^na nnr
everyone rld qeo
could see that thA
the weather Jorecaster had been correct. No tr
weether forecaster trouble -
tirqet, with all weapons using the same illumination point to guide on. [Link] some clouds were evident and the flights positioned for the attack.
EO-GB and the LGB resulted in less aircrew exposure and greater accuracy than With the target in sight, the lead aircraft rolled in for the kill, unleashing his
conventional weapons. A disadvantage was that the t-qrget had. to be con- LGBs at the br-idge. Plane aJter plane followed, with each pilot hoping that the
tinuously illuminaied by the laser Jor-the LGB to be effective. lf clouds ob- anti-aircraft flash6s on rhe ground did not signal a shot destined for his aircraft.
structed'the view of th6 illumlnating pod the LGB would become an unguided As they dropped more bombs on the target, the last few pilots saw large clo-uds
bomb and probably miss the target. of dusi and belches of fire as the bombs exploded on the bridge. After the final
ihe new'f OCBsand LGBs weie given to the Bth Tactical FighterWing (TFW)
operatinq F-4 Phantoms f rom Ubonhoyal Thai Air Base, Thailand. The Bth TFW
was kno"wn as the 'Wolf pack MiG Killeis'- a name acquired for their effectrve: Known to theVietnamese asHam
ness in destroying more MiG aircraft during Rolling Thunder than any other US Rung, or the Dragon's J aw, the I 65-m
tactical fiohter'wiio ooeratinq in North Vietnam. The wing, commanded at this (540-ft) long Thanh Hoa bridge was a
time by C"olonel ino-"w brigadi6r General) Carl S. Miller, was soon to earn the title massive reinforced concrete and
steejstruclure, l 7 m (56 tt) wide. I.
of 'Bririge Busters' as a ionsequence of the wing's use of the new weapons
aqainst"the North Vietnamese supply system Between 6 April 1972 and 30 Apartfrom its innate strength, itwas
Jitne 1972. th€ Bth TFW F-4 airciaft were to destroy a lotal of 106 bridges, prctected byamurderous
including the Paul Doumer and the Thanh Hoa, with the new guided lqtQt concenkation of light and medium g!::.
ln add"ition to the guided bombs, US air power had increased its capabilities by anti-aircraft gruns.
*,::/
improving its elecironic countermeasures (ECM) through the use of 'chaff'
dropped from F-4 aircraft.
Operation'Freedom Dawn'
With the authorization to re-tnitiate the bombing of North Vietnam, several air
operations plans were drawn up to satisfy -the interdictiorr requirements
directed by ihe upper echelon planners. One of these plans, 'Freedom Dawn',
included, among bther targets, ihe Thanh Hoa bridge. The plan called {or a small
tactical strike fo-rce to destroy the Dragon's Jaw with the new iamily of guided
bombs.
The operation was to be carrled out by 12 F-4 Phantoms from the 8th TFW,
eight of them loaded with 907-kg guided weapons. A flight of four Phantoms

TheThanhHoabridge, 112 Im(70 miles) southof

Hanoi,was a maior targetforUS air attack,Iocatedas
itwas on the main road and rail route from theNorth
into Laos and to SouthVietnam. Its destructionwould
seriously hamper the movement of men, equi.
and suppfies to the battlefields of the South.

1472
,, :::i,:+,i;#
:::iir'jil:g:
.:.:;:]+g
 Modern Airto-Ground V,/e an oi'' r-."

'- -aii had pulled away from the target. the strike pilots knew the Early strikes against the bridge had shown that bambs of less ifiar {,.,' .::
bridge was
.. -; and headed for home
',: -misson accomplished. ( 1,400 b) did litUe more then ficJcJe tlre massjvely cans truc te d b r :
d ; t, .: :
..
=
arrcraft haci been damaged, even though the AAA and SAM fire had been I 972 strikes, the guiCed bombs were all in the gb1 to I 560 kg ( [Link]-:c : . . . .
..'se. Post-strike photography by RF-4Cs confirmed the strike pilots' assess- cJass. Ihe af facks of 27 April and I 3 M ay were ta be the knoi ka ul p ;,: :.- : * r.- -
' - - r. Thewestern span of the bridge had been knocked completely off its 1 2-m Dragon'sJaw.
- 'tl thick concrete abutmeni and the bridge superstructure was so criticaily
.'gured and twisted that rail traffic would come to a standstill {or at least
, . .:ral months.
-'re nterdiction campaign against North Vietnam grew in intensity during May
--';
{
.
:"2, and the enemy LOCs showed signs of crumbling under the [Link]
..-lrlt by Ainerican air power. Guided bombs were used with increasing
-..I riarity and success.
I
i:i
3'l the end of Mav 1972, there were 13 important rail br"idges down along the lti
. .: rnajor rail lines running north east and north west from Hanoi. There were / ,,'i
.^:rher four rail bridges down between Hanoi and Haiphong, and sevei-al more
-:: been dropped on the rail line running south from Hanoi.
l.j
/l
The Dragonisdown
- t:ough the bridge had been severely damaged on the 13 May strike, the
:-b irous North Vieinamese immediately began to repair its structure so that
': lr-affic could again cross the Song Ma River. As a result, itwas necessaryto
.:redulestrikesperiodicallytohinderthei'[Link] more
-^ ssions against the Thanh Hoa bridge and the US Air Force two more missions
,::cre 23 Oatober 1 972, the day President Nixon stopped ail bombing o{ North
:tnam. With this bomblng halt, the saga of the 'Dragon's Jaw' came to a close
- :nouqh bombinq would be seen over North Vietnam again
nough bombing durinq 'Linebacke
aqain during'Linebacker
in
n December 1 972, the Thanh Hoa bndge br was not on the target list during the
;'r-rpaign, for it was stili in a state of disrepair

I he McDonnel! Douglas F-4 Phantom

.as tlie mosf yers atile tactical
e;:craft used by the USAF in South
last Asia. Il equipped the 8th TFW,
casecf rn Thailand. ,Knawnas
casecf al Ubon ln Knawn ,

:t e'Walfpack MiG K illers', their

.rcssessjon of tft e F-4 together with
::e new guided bombswas togive
:nem a new nickname inthe spring of
. 72:they had become the'Bridge
i !sters'.

't:.
 UKWEST GERI\,4ANY

Hunting Enginee ring JP233 and

rrc Raketen-Technik GmbH (RTG) Mehrzweckwaffe-I (MW-l)
dispenserweapons
-: arm their Panavra Tornado strike sed armoured units on the move. The
::ij lnterdiction aircraft, the Bntish submunitrons carried are thus divtded
West Germans independently de- into two main{arget qroups that can be
=
:-;-ed and built large container dis- preset lust before flring to be scattered
:::.ser weapons for installation be- over an area about 500m (1,640ft)
:-:a;h ihe fuselaqre. The Hunting JP233, wide and up to 4000 m (13, 125 ft) long
.--:cugh originally a joint venture with depending upon the target's nature
:-e Americans will be primarily used and concentration. For the anti-armour
:r' ;e Royal Air Force In counler-at.r mission the MW-i carries GrouP L

:!3ratlons to close Warsaw Pact which comprises 672 M1FF anti-

=-lelds whilst retarning the capability armour mines (each with two backlo-
: be used aqainst other types of back HEAT warheads), or 4,500 KB44
:-ge s where large-scale disruption of anti-armour/anti-personnel shaped-
:,-:-:ary movements is required, To charge fragmentation bomblets, or a
::::r'rplish these oblectives two types combination ol the two. Thrs version
-^: s-;bmunrtions are dispensed: that has already entered Luftwaffe sewice,
r:s-gnated SG357 is designed to dam- whereas Group 2 for anti-airfield use
:;: and render inoperative such facili- will not be in sewice until 1987. This
::s as concrete runways, taxiways and qroup comprtses either a single load of
;:a:s operating strips, whilst the 224 STABO braked dual-warhead
::3?6 area-denial submunition is de- cratering munrtions or various com-
s-1eci as a continuous threat to vehi- binations of 672 MIFF mines, MUSA
::s cr personnel trying to repair the deiayed-act ron fragmentation
::::er damaqe caused by the SG357. minelets and MUSPA acoustically-
- : ensure an effective cbverage of the activated area-denial mines. This
::rjet area, both types are dispensed means that to close- a runway effective-
:::-iltaneously in a co-ordinated sequ- ly several Luftwaffe Tornados will have
::-:e of 30 SG357s and 215 HBB76s to overfly the runway to cut it with STA-
=r:r-i Royal Arr Force Tornado will car- BO-filled MW-ls whilst others sow the
:.' :io of the JP233 pods, and the dis- surroundinq areas wrth the mixed
::-er can also be conflgured for car- loads of area-denial submunitions, The ATomado dkgorges a shower of be filled; the 30 5G357 bomblets in the
:--;e by aircraft such as the General Italian air force has also ordered the submunitions from itsJP233 JP233 penetrate andfracture ahuge
- ;-amrcs F-16 Frghting Falcon anti-runway MW-L 1n a modified form dkpensers. C onventional bombs can area of the ancrete surtace.
:- contrast wrth the British approach carrying only a STABO payload. crater arunway, but holescan quickly
::-: vVest Germans have developed
,,: RTG MW-I multi-purpose dispen-
.=: .f,r use aqainst airfieids and mas

Left: As with most of the modern Above: The J P233 is more specifically
family of dispenser weapons, the desigmed for the airfield denial role,
MW- I can carry a wide variety of with its cratering submunitions
submunitions, including anti- arrnour beingseconded by anti-vehicle and
mines Ior dealingwith tank anti-personnel weapons desigmed to
formations or crateringweapons to hamper any iunway repair efforts.
render enemy airfields unusable.

British Aerospace Dynamics Group/Marconi Space and

Defence Systems Air-Launched Anti-Radar Missile
(ATARM)
Left: Similar to Sky Flash in size, the
ALARM missile has been chosen to
provide the Royal Air Force with
s ta te -of- the - art defence
suppressron-

l:-= BAe/MSDS ALARM was de- 2,000 rounds In july 1983 it was enouqh for several to be carried on a BAe Hawk as well as to larger
-=-:;:i o meet the early l980s re- announced that the ALARM was the strike arrcraft rn addition to its normal machines such as the Panavia Torna-
j--,:::-::: cf Air Staff Tarqet (AST) chosen mrssrle wrth the first produc- interdiction payload. The weight is do; the missile can also be installed on
.--: ,-: ,'.as rn oirect competltion tion rounds to enter service in 1987. thought to be around 175 kg (385 1b), hehcopters.
'--.:- .:-: -:-:rerrcan AGM-BB HARM for The desrqn rationale of ALARM is that and the weapon can be fltted to fixed-
= = L:-.'al Air Force buy of around it is an autonomous system light wtnq aircraft down to the size of the
 BAe Dynamics Group/Marconi Space and Defence Systems ALARM (continued) Modern Air{o-Ground Weaponry
No reliable specifications of the mis- The sophisticated electronics and
srle have yet been released, but the guidance planned Ior ALARM
config,uration appears to follow that of promise an extremely capable
the Sky Flash AAM though with a lar- missile that can deal with a wide
ger body allied to smaller wings and range of [Link], it is
control surfaces. TWo modes ofopera- still in the early stages of
f,on will apparently be used: the self- development.
Cefence mode, whereby the sophrsti-
cated Marconi broad-band seeker
locks onto an emlttlng radar whilst the seeker then begdns a search for radar
missile rs still on the carrier; and the emitters. from which the most impor-
defence-suppression parachute tant sigmal rs identified, and then com-
mode, whereby the misslle is fued as mands the missile to drscard the para-
the arrcraft approaches the target, The chute and relight the rocket motor so
ALARM then zooms up under pow- the missile can attack the chosen
ered flight to a height of around source. At present the Royal Air Force
i2i90m (40,000f1), where it cuts its uses limited stocks of the American
motor and pitches over to point down- AGM-45 Shrike and the AS,37 ARM
-,vards at the end ofa drogme parachute version of the Anglo-French Martel
deployed after the motor is cut, The ASM for the defence-suppression task,

fi"*"r
Instruments AGM-45 Shrike and General Dynamic
= AGM-78 Standard ARM *:*i..:,::r,,::i..:::i.",1rri.:.:.:..'::::.r:i,..:::.,\::::,==,=#
dgr
{F
Specialized anti-radar mtsstles last delivery of a batch of AGM-78D2
.ARMs) were developed by the US mrssiles was made in Augnrst 1976, Ulti- Based upon the AIM-7 Sparrow AAM airframe, the Texas Instruments Shrike
\avy from l95B onwards as a means of mately both the Shrrke and Standard has a largerwarhead andless powerful rocketmotor. Althoughused
rlproving the suwivability of conven- will be replaced by the AGM-BBA extensively, the pertormance is less than satisfactory.
:onal attack aircraft, either by deter- HARM, and curent operators of the
:-ng the enemy from operating hrs de- type are Israel (not certainly), South
:ensive radar or by directly destroying Korea, the US Air Force, US Marine
--re radar's antenna, The flrst tactical Corps and US Navy, The Shrke is in
iRM to enter production was the slighlly more widespread service, cur-
Texas Instruments AGM-4SA Shrike in rent operators including lran, Israel,
--q63, This was essentially a Sparrow the UK, US Air Force, US Marine Corps
iiM airframe wrth an enlarged blast- and US Navy
:agmentatron warhead and a smaller
:Jcket motor, Although used exten- Specification
s-'rely by the US forces in Vietnam, by AGM-45Shrike
-=ael against the Arabs and by the UK Tlpe: anti-radiation air{o -surface
-:: the 1982 Falklands war, the Shrike missile
:-as displayed a not altogether satisfac- Dimensions: length 3.048 m (10 ft 0 in);
::ry performance as a result of design spanO,914 m(3 ft0 in); diameter
-rnitatrons associated pnmarily wrth 0.203 m (B in)
':e seeker, There are no memory cir- Launchweight: 176,9 kg (390 lb)
:rts available, and this means that the Propulsion: solid-propellant rocket
:iutdown of the radar being attacked motor
lauses the missile to go ballistrc, The Performance: speed Mach 2; ranqe
-eker is also rigidly mounted, so the 46.5 km (28,9 miles); CEP reasonable if
::-ssile must be pointed towards the the target radar continues to emit
:{get at launch, and the seeker has to Guidance: passive radar-homing
:e tuned before take-off to the Warhead: 65,8-kg (1451b) HE blast Above: The much larger and more Standard naval SAM, the ARM hx a
;;avelenqth band of the radar system fragmentation capab le S tand ard ARM ( foreground) memory cir cuit which en able s i t to
*lder attack, otherwise it cannot pick is replacing the Shrike (background) attack aradar site evenwhen it has
-p any emrssions, A total of 13 different Specification inUS service. Developedfrom the stopped transmitting.
-=ekers to cover likely target systems AGM-78 Standard ARM
:-3s thus been developed, Total pro- Tlpe: anti-radiatlon air{o-surface
j:ction for the USAF and US Navy was missile
ai:out lB,[Link], the larger num- Dimensions: lenglh4,572 m (i5 ft 0 in);
rer going to the former service, which span 1,092 m (3 ft 7 rn); diameter
-es it primarily on the McDonneil 0,343 m (13.5 in)
lcuglas P-4G Phantom 'Wild Weasel Launchweight:615, I kg (1,356 lb)
-l defence-suppression aircraft Propulsion: solid-propellant rocket
:lgether with the General Dynamics motor
AGM-78 Standard ARM, Performance: speed Mach 2.5; range
The latter missrle was contracted in 112,65+ km(70+ mlles); CEPgood
-366 because the Shrike's combat per- even rfthe target radar ceases
::rmance was found to be bad, Desig- transmittrng
:-ated AGM-78A Standard in its initial Guidance: passive radar-homing
::rm, rt was based on the Standard Warhead: 97, 4-kq (2 14. Zlb) HE blast
::ipboard SAM and imtially equrpped fragmentation
;nth the Shrrke seeker with all its faults.
?roduction soon shifted [Link] AGM- Below: Developed from a naval
?8B version with a gimballed wide- area defence mr'ssilg tfi e Slandard
:and seeker and a memory circult thal ARM has the excellentrangeofover
::quired no pretuning, thus permitting I I 2 km (70 miles). ?fie mrssi,le is also Above: The smallsizeof theShrike been used to great effect by Israel to
ir attack even ifthe radar had ceased available to be fired from Standard- (seen here mounted on a Douglas A- deal with Syrian missj,le sjfes rn t/re
:mitting signals. An AGM-78C variant equipped ships for the anti-radar 4Slqhawkof theUSNavy) limits the Lebanon.
Tas then produced for the US Air role- electronic fit. Neyerlheless, ifft as
:crce, the subsequent AGM-78D and
AGM-78D2 models further increasing
-:e seeker capabilities, Over 3,000
::ulds had been burlt by the time the
€ fi"*", Instnrments AGM-884 High-speed Anti-Radiation
Missile (HARM) Similar in appearance to the Shrike
missile it will replace, HARM (High-
Although the Standard ARM was an speed Anti- Radiation Mis s ile) is a
improvement on the Shrke, its combat larger weapon with a greatly
performance in Vietnam was still not improved pedorm ance. I t will ak o
very irspiring as its memory circults replace the S tandard ARM, having
proved less than satisfactory, Also the similar perform ance with mu ch
Standard was five times costlier and improved electonics.
three times heavier than the Shrike, so
a requirement for a new ARM was
estabhshed. The result was the Texas
Instniments AGM-88A HARM, whlch
emphasizes high speed so that any de-
fending radar operator has only mini
mum warning times to 'shut down' his
system; this attacker's advantage is
multiplied by the fact that the launch
platform does not need to execute any
characteristic launch manoeuwe,
Initial development of the HARM
began in late 1969 by the US Nary, but
progEess was halted by severe tech-
nical problems which were not re-
solved until 1973. Further delays were
then experienced with the Texas In-
struments gnridance seeker and initial Travelling at more than 3200 km/h (2,000 mph), this sequence of HARM in its final approach would take a split
production deliveries were not made second. Designed to use its very highspeed to give the opposingradar operator as little time as possible to switch
until 1983. The missile has three modes off whendetected,HARM destroys its targetsbymeans of a66-kg(145-lb) high-explosive blastwarhead.
of operation: the self-protection mode,
in. which a threat receiver on the
[Link] platform detects a radar stgnal
and programmes the missiles seeker
before it is flred; the 'target-of-
opporhrnity'mode, in which the sensi
tive seeker on the missrle itself locks
on to an emitting radar; and the 'pre-
briefed' mode, in whrch the missile is
fired blind in the general direction of a
possible target with its seeker sear-
ching for a sigmal onto which the mis-
sile can home, In the last mode, failure
to detect a signal initiates a program-
me for self-destruction, Lrke its two
predecessors, the HARM can also be
fued in a 'loft' manoeuvre to increase
its rangre, the target being acquired on
the downward portion of the trajec-
tory, The warhead is detonated at a
preset height over the tarqet by a laser
proximity fuse in order to maximize
damage to the antenna and electro-
nlcs.

Specification
AGM-884
Type: anti-radiation air{o-swface
missile
Dimensions: Ienqth 4. 171 m ( 13 ft
8.2 in); span 1, I 18 m (3 ft B in);
diameter0,254 m(I0 in)
Launch weight: 36 1. I kg (796 lb)
Guidance: passive radar-homing Carried on a Mfionnell Douglas mjssj/et a t a u nit cost of nearly a
Propulsion: solid-propellant rocket
Performance: speed Mach 3*;range Warhead: 65,8-kg (i45lb) HE blast F-4G Phantom, HARM missiles are million dollars per missile , with even
74.4+ Urn(46,23* miles); CEPvery fragmentatlon j ust entering U S seruice. I nitial larger numbers to be procuredin the
good requirem ent was for almos t 7 00 years to come,

E fit"itts AGM-69A Short-Ranse Attack Missile (SRAM)

In 1964 the US Air Force besan de- carrier ofthe type is the Boeing Strato-
velopment of the Boeing AGM-694 fortress, the B-52G and B-52H models
SRAM, for use primarily against major each being able to carry 20 missiles,
defensive rnstallations deep within The more usual load is six or eight flight for the terminal phase; and a E quipping S tr a tegic Air C omm and's
enemy terrltory whilst the launch plat- SRAMs as well as four tree-fall thermo- combination of inertial and terrain- bomber force, the AG M - 6 I A SRAM
form remains outside the enemy's en- nuclear gnavity bombs. The General following. Each profile can further be ( S hor t R ange Attack M issile ) is
gagement zone, The missile was also Dynamics FB-i I 1A can carry uP to stx enhanced by the progrrammrng into mainly designed for interdiction
required to atlack main-mission SRAMs, but those aircraft which do the missile's onboard guidance system duties deep behind enemy lines.
targtets as well rf they were suttable or carry them as part of their normal of deviations in direction of up to 180".
iJ they had exceptionally heatry antt- weapons load only have just two, The range depends entirely upon
aircraft defences. The first production Four basic flight proflles can be util- what launch altitude and flight profile is chosen according to the target type
round was delivered to the Strategic rzed in an attack: semi-ballistic from chosen. Once over the target the war- and the damage level required. The
Air Command in 1972, the last of 1,500 the point of launch to the tarqet; alti- head can either detonate on contact to missile's computer can be retargeted
berng delivered three years later, meter-controlled terrain-following; Qnve a erround burst or at a preset alti- at any time up to launch, The SRAM is
Some I,150 SRAMs currently remain in ballistic pull-up ftom behind screen- tude to glve an air burst nuciear explo- expected to stay in service for a num-
the operational inventory, The major ing terrain using inertially-gurded sion, the type of explosion being ber of years to come,

1476
Specification
AGM-69A
Type: short-range airto-surface
strategic mrssile
Dirnensions: length4,267 m (14 ft 0 in)
io internal carriage or 4,826 m ( 15 ft
-0 in) for external carriage; span
i.762m(2 ft6 in); diameter0,445 m
117 5 in)
Launchweight: 1016 kq (2,240 Ib)
Propulsion: two solid-propellant
:ocketmotors
Performance: speed Mach 3, 5; range
between 56,3 andB0.5 km (35 and 50
riles) at low altitude, or behveen 160,9
ind 221, 3 km ( 100 and 137. 5 miles) at
:-Lgh altitude; CEP 457 m (500 yards)
Guidance: inertial
Warhead: W69 17O-kiloton yield
:,uclear

S RAM is carried by Boeing B-52G

bombers andby theFB-[ I I ofSAC.
The SRAM's Mach 3.5 speed and low-
:evel range of up to 80 km (50 miles)
allow bombers tomake stand otf
.ttacks.

ffi iit"insAcM-86 Air-Launched

Cruise Missile (ALCM)
:.: Boeinq [Link] is the result of a US With a range in excess of 3000 km
.r-: Force requirement to provide an (1,850 miles), theAGM-688 gives the
=-:-launched strategrc weapon for de- USAF a weapon which will enable its
:.:yment on the Boernq B-52 bomber bombers to make strategic attacks
=:-i successor designs. without having to face the task of
i he onginal AGM-864 was to be in- trying to penetrate modern defences.
=::hangeable with the AGM-694 ' :
::.AM on the latter's internal B-52 the missrles range for a grven war- SRAMs and free-fall nuclear bombs, ned before productLon j,',-.-::.-.r
=-;rt-round rotary launcher, However, head, The more modern B-52H will have the Advanced Crurse MssLl- :=:.;-
::rause the weapon was considered In 1980, following a considerable de- same external pylon load, but the
'- .oe short onrange, and because of a lay rn announcing the results, the US bomb bay of each aircraft ts to be re- B-52H aircra{t are being mocii:.: ::
, :!artment of Defense's 1979 decision Arr Force revealed that the AGM-B6B built to accommodate an additional accept a rotary ALC M |aun c h e : -:
- :cld a fly-off between the AGM-BOA was the chosen weapon. The flrst tv\ro eight ALCMs on a new rotary laun- their bomb bays. Crujse m jss:- e
--.i the General Dynamics AGM-109 rounds were delivered to the Strategic cher. The follow-on Rockwell B-1B will carriers are to be fitted with spr::..
- ,:-Lahawk cruise missile, a consider- Air Command in 1981. The B-52G is be able to contain the same rnternal leading edge extensions, in
--_,' stretched version, the AGM-868, being modified to carry 12 AGM-BOB rotary launcher and up to 14 more accordancewith the SALT trea:-5-: : --
'.< produced, This was some 30 per missiles on two underwing pylons ALCMs will be carried on external enable identitication by surve : - z:. :e
-

,-:. Ionger and effectively doubled whilst retaining its internal load of racks, A total of 4,348 ALCMs rs plan- sate/fites.

ii.i:

::,-t
Boeinq AGM-86 ALCM (continued)

Specification
AGM-868
Type: au-launched strategic cruise
nrssile
Dirnensions: length 6.325 m (20 ft 9 in);
span3.658 m (12 ft 0 in); diameter
3.693 m(27,3 in)
launchweight: 1281.4 kg(2,825 lb)
Propulsion: one [Link]
Performance: speed 805 lcr/h. .
(d00 mph); range 3138 kn (1,950
miles); CEPbetween 10and30 m(32.8
and 98.4 ft)
Guidance rnertial with terrain contour
updating
Warhead: WBO- I 2OO-kiloton yleld
rucieat
M aj or carrier of ALCMs will be the
Rxkwell B- I B bomber. Until it enters
service, the trusty old B-52 (some of
which are older than their pilots!)
will remain the primary delivery
sys tem. The B- I B will carry I missiles
internally and 26 onunderwing
pylans.

€ ughes/IVlartin AGM-62 Walleye

Developed from 1963 onwards by the Right: Television guided, the Walleye ,

JS Naval Weapons Center at China isa3.54 m(11 ft4 in)grlidebomb

with a 375 kg(825Jb) shapedcharge :'
r

-ake, with first production deliveries

by Hughes in 1966 and by second- warhead in its original torm. Later
source contractor Martin Marietta in models have a much greater
HugheVMartin AGM-62 Wal-
1967, the warload.
leye family of TV-gmided unpowered
glide bombs entered rnto the US
Navy's weapon inventory in the latter
I'ear. The first version was the AGM-
62A Walleye I, of which 4,531 were
produced, This could be carried at
loeeds up to Mach 1,9 and be laun-
:hed from altitudes up to 10670 m
:35,000 ft), It was [Link] extensively in
iire Vietnam War, 920 being used tn
'ire 1972 'Linebacker Ii' missions alone.
iis tarqets were mainly large buildings
-rnth interior contrast wlndows and va-
nous types of bridgtes. Against the 'soft'
wooden bridge structtues the results
were excellent, but when a 'hard'
bridge (requiring a span to be des-
:oyed) was attacked the result was
':sually only bent girders. As the war-
head was not large enough to attack
such 'hard' targets, Martrn Manetta
:onverted 1,481 of the Walleye Is and
b'rnt 529 new missiles to the lonqer-
rangre Walleye II confignrration, with a
,";arhead over twlce the original size
aad a new seeker with a smaller 'gate'
:cr shghtly grreater accuracy, The Wal-
leye gmrdance system allows the pilot
:c lock-on before launch, Iaunch the
-;eapon and then exit the area, The
:nly requirement is that the selected
i3Jget must contrast sharply (in visual
.iems) with its surroundings so that the leye I and 2 400 Walleye II rounds miles). The Walleye is also used by Walleye II is seen aboard an US Navy
giyro-stabilized TV camera in the Wal- have been converted to this configura- Israel. Corsair . Most recent development o{
ieye's nose can be 'gated' before tion. The US Navy prefers to use a tvuo- Walleye has centred around the ER/
launch to remain pointing at the area of aircraft formation with this weapon, Specification DL modification; larger wings extend
:lgh contrast and thus gmide the mis- one to carry and launch the missile, Walleye series the glide range and enhanced
sile in flight. As it closes the tarQlet the and the other to order lock-on or qxde Tlpe:gmided glide bomb electronics allowthemissile to be
,Valleye II gains accuracy since the it manually all the way to the tarqet Dimensions: Iength (Walleye I) released before lock-on, subsequent
-r:agre it sees is expanded in the TV using the data-link pod, Three ERDL 3.454 m (11 ft 4 in) and (Walleye II) guidanie being prov ide d by a d ata
{,'stem's field of view, Walleye IIs were combat-tested 4,039 m (13 ft 3 in); span (Walleye I) link.
To extend the range of the missile against targets irursible to the pilot at 1, 156 m (3 ft 9.5 in) and (Walleye II)

srll farther, a lock-on-after-launch the time of launch during the 1972 1,295 m (4 ft 3 in); diameter (Walleye I)
;ariant was introduced, Thrs requlred bombinq of North Vietnam, and all 0.3 1B m ( 12, 5 in) and (Walleye II) and 45 km ( 1. 12 and 28 miles), while
a --ffo-way datalink so that the pilot in three scored direct hits. A nuclear ver- 0.457 m (18 in) ERDL versions have a maximum range
-:-e retinnq aircraft could see the TV sion of the Walleye I, with the 100- Launchweight: (Walleye I) 512.6 kg extended by at least 30 per cent; CEP
prciule in order to select a tarqet and kiloton yield W72 warhead, was also (1,I30 lb) and (Walleye II) 1061,4 kg between 4,6 and 6. I m (15 and 20 ft)
o:mmand the lock-on, The result was operated by the US Navy between (2,340Ib) Warhead: (Walleye 1) 374,2-kg (825-lb)
ire Extended-Range Data-Link 1970 and 1979. Against tank-sized Performance: range (Walleye I) HE linear shaped charge, and
(ERDL) Walleye, which entered initial targets the maximum range of most of between LB and 29.6 kn (1,12 and 18,4 (Walleye II) B6 l.B-ks (1,900-lb) HE
production in 1972, A total of 1,400 Wal- the USA's gnrided weapons is 4.8 km (3 miles) and (Walleye II) between LB linear shaped charqte
Area Deniql Weapons
While battle across the Central Front in Europe remains an Surprisingly lsrael, which has had more combat experience than most agains:
unlikely prospect, military planners nevertheless have to the whole spectrum of targets likely to be encountered during air-to-surface
operations in any future war, has not been seen to use area-denial weapons o=
respond to a potential threat. Given the currentSoviet the types described above. lt prefers instead to rely on more conventional iror
numerical superiority in conventional terms, NATO has to bombs with simple delay-action fuses and on ihstantaneous effect CBUs sucr'
consider methods of dealing with multiple targets with one as the TAL-1 and TAL-2.
shot. The Soviets have in contrast used a number of area-denial weapons du ring the
Afghanistan war, where for example helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft have
dropped canisters that dispense in flight large numbers of small irregularlr-
Designed specifically to prevent passage of enemy troops and vehicles, the shaped plastic PFM-1 minelets filled with sufficient liquid explosive to blow of: a
area--denial weapon usually consists of a dispenser with a number of submuni- person's hand or foot, This is a particularly eff ective weapon against the mujaha-
tions in the form of bomblets or mines fitted with one or more type of fuse, deen guerrillas, who have to walk and to use animals to carry their weapons ani
These last may be of the delayed-action type, whereby the submunitlon becom- supplies. ln the same category must be placed the persistent chemical agent-
es live on ly after a preset time period has passed; or of the permanent f use type, filled iron bomb and shell, which significantly restrict or totally prevent move-
',vhereby the device is live f rom the moment of laylng and remains so until it is ment by unprotected personnel and equipment over any section of terra n
ietonated by an external source; or of the self-destruct type, whereby the contaminated with an agent that is lethal to humans by skin .absorption or'
,,veapon is live when laid but after a preprogrammed time renders itself some- inhalation. The Soviets have used such bombs in Afghanistan, and the lraqrs
row inoperative, or more simply explodes. have used similar munitions against the lranians in recent months.
The US armed forces, using the experience of the Vietnam War as their A slightly different situation is covered by the very large mine-dispensir-c
guideline, were especially gifted in developing munitions of this type. The US Air systems used by helicopters. These are typified by the Valsella VS/MD scatter-
-crce's latest example is the current Gator anti-armour mine system. Designed dropping unit for carriage as an underslung load by medium- or hearry-l -:
'cr laying from high-speed aircraft of all the services for interdiction of second- helicopters. This system usually carries a mix of VS-1 .6 anti-armour and VS-50 c'
:chelonJorces in assembly areas and on the march, the Gator has as submuni- VS- lVk 2 anti-personnel mines, which are laid as part of a large'quick' [Link]
:ons the Honeywell BLU-g1/B magnetic influence anti-tank mine and the minefield during rapidly changing tactical situations such as an enemy brea<-
rerojet BLU-92/B anti-personnel fragmentation mine. Each mine has three through. This particular field is well covered by the ltalians, although l!es:
selectable self-destruct times, the chosen period being set on the dispenser Germany and the UK are now explorlng the possibilities.
refore the mission. A total of six Cluster Bomb Units (CBUs) have been iden- For the future the adaptation of 'smart' submunitions to area-denial technc :-
:fied with the system: the CBU-78/B and CBU-84/B each carry both types of gy is obvious, a case in point being the development of the Extended-Raro:
- ne, the CBU-82/B and the CBU-8S/B carry the BLU-91/8, and the CBU-83/B Anti-armour Munition (ERAM) for use in the US Air Force's Tactical Mun'i:i
carry the BLU-92/8. Dispenser, the SUU-65/B, to iorm the CBU-92/B munition. The ERAM is ej[Link]
'rCin CBU-86/B
European circles the British have not had the same inclination to follow this randomly over the target area and floats down on a parachute. Once on :r:
:;th, but instead have evolved the Hunting Engineering JP233, which will be ground, the weapon's three acoustic sensor probes are extended and tne r,',:
-sed with a cratering submunition and an area-denial weapon to prevent repairs Avco Skeet self{orging fragment (SFF) warheads are armed. When a targ3: :
:: lhe area damaged by the cratering device. detected, classified and tracked by the probes, the onboard data process:'
The West Germans have taken this concept further with their MW-1 multi- calculates the target's f uture position and aims the f irst Skeet launcher tor.,: -::
:-'pose dispenser, for which they have produced a whole range of predomi- this point. The Skeet is then launched, engaging the target from above w l- :-:
-:ntly area-denial type submunitions. These are subdivided into two mixes for SFF warhead; the ERAM has in the meantime swung back to start a sweec':'
-s: against specific classes of targets. another target.

Above : An S UU (Suspended Avco S keet mines, each equipped

Underwing Unit) dispenser shows its with infra- red and acousfic sensors.
load of ERAM submunitions. Each of When dropped fft e canrsfer sfi eds jts
thenine submunitions carries two mines after deploying a parachute.

Above:Once on the ground, the

ER AM su bm unition de ploys i ts three
acoustic and infra-red sensors. Once
an armoured vehicle is in range the
mine fires one of its Skeet munitions
(like a clay pigeon, hence the name)
to explode directly over the target.

Left: ERAM before ground Above: Explosion of an anti-armour Above: The force of the exploding
deployment. If the Skeets do not find submunition after detecting a tank. shaped charge forms a dart-shaped
a target once launched, they do not By launching the weapon high in the penetrator out of a disk of copper in
explode, but tall to the surface where air above the tank the explosion can the Skeet, which is then prcjected at
they act as conventional mines. Thus be directed onto the weakest point in very highvelocity to the thinner top
ERAM can be used to attack both the armour of a modern tank, the top. surface of the target. It can also
tank formations and lines of explode upwards when run over by a
communication. tank.
 ffi iTugt es AGM-GS Maverick
Smallest of the fully-guided launch- Only2.49 m(8 ft2 in)longand
andleave ASMs for the US servtces, weighing from 2 I 0 kg (463 Ib),
the Hughes AGM-65 Maverickwas ori- Maverick is the smallestfire-and-
ginally a US Arr Force programme but forget missile in the USAF's tactical
has now been adopted for both the US inventory. It has been manufactured
Navy and Marine Corps, The basic in avariety of guidance systems,
centroid TV homing version, the AGM- includinglR and laser.
65A, entered US Air Force servrce in
january 1972, and at least 30 were flred
in combat during that year in Vietnam;
another 69 were fired by Israeh pilots
against Arab tarqets durrng the 1973
Yom Kippur War, Although scoring 87
hlts, the missile was found to be sev-
erely limited in use because of the low
magniflcatron of its TV camera, which
iorced pilots to close to well wrthin the
maximum launch range in poor weath-
er just to see the target clearly enough
to achieve a lock-on. To overcome this
problem the AGM-658 scene-
magniflcatron version was next pro-
duced, This has the TV image mag-
nif,ed to twice its previous size and
made clearer, thus enablingr the pilot
to rdentify the target, lock-on the mis-
sile and fire rt much more quickly and
at a greater slant range than that ofthe
AGlt-65A,
The follow-on version was the AGM-
65C for the US Marine Corps, whrch
was laser-guided for use in the close-
support role against targets desig-
nated by ground-based or airborne
laser designators. The latter can be
any of the Pave Knife, Pave Penny,
Pave Spike or Pave Tack systems, or
even a compatible non-US designator,
This weapon was superseded in
L9B2 by the AGM-65E, which has a 136-
kg (300-1b) penetrating blast frag-
mentation warhead with a three-
position selectable fuse delay.
In May 1977 Hughes began de-
velopment for the US Air Force of the Abov e : The s tandar d M averic k can
AGM-65D with an imaging IR seeker be locked on to a target by the pilot of
that enables the Maverrck to lock on at the releasing aircraft centring the
a range at least twice the distance potential target on the monitor
otherwise possible in European areas screen in his cockpit. The infra-red
in mrst and rain or at niqht. It will be the version has a similar method of
standard missile used with the LAN- operation, with the added advantage
TIRN nigiht and adverse-weather de- of being effective at night or in bad
tection system now being fitted to weather.
USAF General Dynamics F-16 Fighting
Falcon flqhter and Parrchild A-10 Right: Mavericks are loaded onto a
Thunderbolt II attack aircraft, F airchild A- 1 0 while on deployment
The US Narry will adopt the AGM- to Egypt as part of a'Bright Star'
65F, which rs essentially the same as exercise. The missile is in use with
the AGM-65D but wrth the warhead the Egyptian air force aswell as the
and fuse of the AGM-65E and modified air forces of I 2 or more countries.
guidance soflware to give maximum T ot al production of W M averic k
effects against surface shrps, Weapons alone is approaching 30,000 missiles.
cf the AGM-65 series are fielded by Specification span 0 719 m (2 ft 4.3 in); diameter
Egypt, Greece, Iran, Israel, Morocco, US Air'Force, US Navy, US Marine AGM-6SMaverick 0.305 m (12 in)
Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Corps and West Germany, Others are Type: air{o-surface missile Launchweight:210 kg (463 lb) except
Sweden Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, believed to be negotiating for the type. Dimensions:lenglh2.499 m (B ft 2 in); AGM-65HF 287,4 kq (633,6 1b)
Propulsion: solid-propeilant rocket
Performance: speed subsonic: range
between 0,9 and 24 2 km (0 56 and 15
€4iii4.,.,:,:::,::, miles); CEP about I 5 m (5 it) except
AGM-65C/E which rs less than this
figure
Guidance: (AGM-65A B/ TV Lmaging,
(AGM-65C/E) laser-homing and
t==-= (AGM-65D/F) imagins IR
Warhead: 56.7-kg (125-lb) HE shaped
charge except AGM-65E/F 136, i-kg
(3001b) HE penetrating blast
fragmentation

Apair of AGM-65 Mavericks are

carried under the wing of a
McDonneil Douglas F-4 Phantom, the
first aircraft to fire the missile in
anger in Vietnam in I 97 2. AIso used
in the Yom Kippur war of I 97 3, the W
Maverick requires good viewing
conditions to be most effective.
Armed Forces of the World

BrifishArmU
:s with any army, that of the UK is divided into
Par,Z

: rferent arms of the service, but the British army

-:tains a regimental system that extends beyond
:^e old infantry and cavalry allocations to all other
.-ms. Very basically a soldier joins the army into a
':giment or corps, and then remains with it through-
:rt the main part of his service career. This is parti-
:-larly true of the cavalry and infantry units and to a
:sser degree the technical or other arms. lt is possi-
: . to transfer from one arm to another (e.9. from .l
.-e Royal Artillery to the Army Air Corps), and ::?*
:-icers can take staff postings as opposed to regim- ..+*.1-!
=-tal postings. The 'teeth' arms will be considered
''st.
The Royal Armoured Corps (RAC)
-he Royal Armoured Corps contains many of the
- : cavalry regiments plus the RoyalTank Regiment
,-: ls divided into armoured regiments, equipped
. :^ tanks, and armoured reconnaissance regim-
=-rs, equipped with the Scorpion family of recon-
-: ssance vehicles. The various regiments carry out
-:-'s of duty in their specific functions. and the
---sehold Cavalry regiments in addition carry out
-: ceremonial duties interspersed with tours
-'s of
:= :cmbat duties. There are also two Territorial
---y yeomanry regiments who carry out recon- tracks (M1 10, 175-mm/6.89-in M107, 155-mm/6.1- British reconnaissance regiments are equipped
-: ssance functions using the Fox reconnaissance in M10942 and 105-mm/4.13-in Abbot). Units based with the Alvis FT I 0 I Scorpion, seen here
:le. The RAC also operates the Swingfire long- in the United Kingdom use either the 1 55-mm {6.1- exercising on Ascensrbn Is/and. Powered by a
=-
-.-ge anti-tank guided missile. military version of the J agru ar 4. 2 litre en gin e. i t h as
in) FH-70 or the 105-mm (4.13-in) Light Gun, both of
good acceleration and can reach 80 kml h (50 mpkt
them towed weapons. Most of the 105-mm (4.13-
onroads.
The lnfantry in) and 1 55-mm (6.1 -in) Field Regiments (regiment is
-re infantry regiments make up the main the RA's term for a battalion-sized formation) has
.--.:gth of the army. and there are in all 55 infantry three batteries each with eight guns. The RA also unlt and also provides support when requireo 3:-
: =.::iions. Lumped together as divisions for admi- has under its control Blowpipe/Javelin air defence cialist reglments include an armoured engineer- ':9-
- .,'ative purposes, these battalions would be missiles and the Towed and Tracked Rapier air- iment equipped with specialized armoured c.-:::
- -:d in emergency by a further 38 infantry batta- defence units. The RA also has its own locating engineervehlclesand mobile bridges (the Cer-i-' :-
: -: 'rom the Territorial Army. The modern infantry regiment with surveillance drones, sound ranging AVRE and the Chieftain AVLB), and an ampn r :-:
:;::: ion is a powerful force containing four (some- and survey elements, and is soon to have its own engineer regiment equipped with the M2 r:: :
- -:s three) companies each of three platoons and a computer-based command and control system. All bridge/ferry.
-==:quarters platoon. Each battalion has its own batteries already have their own fire-control compu- The RE also contain an explosive ordnan:e : .-
'--sipport mortar platoon, an anti-tank element ters, posal (EOD or bomb disposal) regiment, a sp3: :
.-: : pioneer engineer platoon. The battalion is also postal and courier element, and a mapping anc s-1
. . . :ced with night-vision equipment, its own sig- The Royal Engineers (RE) vey element, and also provide divers. There are a .:
-= s element, and some battalions have variable The Royal Engineers help the rest of the army to numerous other specialist units including the :- \'
=,:ons increments to suit local requirements. A move, live and fight, and basically provides military ary Works Force (MWF) which acts as a 'consJ ::-*
-=,.. nobile anti-tank force equipped with Spartan/ engineering support to the rest of the army (and the cy' service on many aspects of military constru:: : -
' :-s to be formed soon. other services as well). They practice the whole and operations. The RE also have an inter-sen, ::
-':ntry based in BAOR is classed as mechanized range of combat and military engineering from the function in the support of the RAF'S Harrier [Link]-
-"-:ry and travels in the FV432, scheduled to be construction of battlefield obstacles, combat bridg- rons.
,,:: emented by the MCV-80. Some battalions ing, demolitions, water supplies, road building and
The Rapier missile system is designed to destroy
:;.=: n the United Kingdom but scheduled for repair, construction of f ieldworks and shelters, mine
fast low-flying airqaft; its accuraqt is such that
: :. -: n time of war will use the new Saxon warfare and clearing, and so on. For these purposes warheads are fittedwith an impact {[Link] i,981
-.: ed armoured personnel carrier. Infantry batta- the RE is organized into field engineer regiments the British army ordered a further 50 Rapier
--= lased in the United Kingdom and elsewhere each wlth two or three squadrons, plus a field sup- systems mounted on aversion of the Ford Motor
:-: :ased on the 4-tonne truck. The infantry includes port squadron which acts as an equipment holding I C argo C ar r ier.
C orpor ation M 54
'-= ',,'e battalions of the Brlgade of Gurkhas.

The Royal Artillery (RA)

--: Royal Regiment of Artillery includes the Hon-
:--": e Artillery Company, the Royal Horse Artillery
,-: :-e Royal Artillery. ln practice the Royal Horse
--
:
.ry
(RHA) operates in the same manner as the
- . :
Artillery, apart f rom acting as a standard-setter
-,' :-3 rest of the gunners, while the Honourable
:. :ry Company (HAC) is a Territorial Army unit
- :eremonial, social and observation post func-
.
--:
--: 3A holds and fires the army's only nuclear
==::rs (Lance missiles and the 203-mm/B-in
' 'I self-propelled howitzer), both of which oper-
"-- :-r oart of BAOR. BAOR holds the bulk of the
: -- . : artillery strength, most of it self-propelled on
 f) -- c->
Armed Forces of the World
\2 YtoY BritishArmy ffi
its own 'naval'arm with a specialist Maritime Reg- The lntelligence Corps
iment operatjng landing craft, logistics carriers and Often known as the'i Corps', this corps has two
even a special ammunition-carrying ship. There are main functions: combat intelligence and security.
also some smaller craft under RCT control. Neither is easy to describe in a few words but basi-
cally combat intelligence is the provision of as much
The Royal Army Ordnance Corps background information as possible of an enemy's
(RAOC) equipment, methods and operating methods.
The RAOC may be regarded as the army's Security refers to security within the army in the
storekeepers, but its operational role is much more form of denying an enemy access to the army's
than that of supplying stores from static locations. premises and information.
The RAOC moves wth the army wherever it travels
or operates, and keeps the supplies of every con- The Royal Pioneer Corps
ceivable item any unit might want, not only ready to The Royal Pioneers Corps has now largely lost its
hand but also in an operational condition. Many old pick-and-shovel image as it now acts as the
RAOC units are fully mobile and operate from army's large-scale materials handling operatives in
trucks. The RAOC is also responsible for the supply both stores and foruvard areas, and its officers also
of petrol, fuel and oils to the army. especially in act as the army's management experts when deal-
BAOR where a supply pipe network has been estab- ing with civil operatives working within the army,
lished. Other RAOC responsibilities include the e.g. on construction [Link]. The Pioneers also
large-scale provision of some food (including bread supply the army's dog handlers for guard duties but
from field bakeries) and the storage, maintenance on occasion they can still act as the army's main
and repair of all types of ammunition. The RAOC is large-scale labour force in support of other arms.
also involved in the clearing of terrorist-type bomb
and other devices in Northern lreland and else- The Royal Military Police
where. The 'Red Caps' have largely lost their old unloved
image as they now act mainly as the army's internal
The Medical Services police force concerned with the day-to-day policing
British inlantry sections are equipped with an L7 The army's medical services include the Royal of all facets of military life. The MPs pride them-
General Purpose Machine Gun, the British version Army Medical Corps (RAMC), the Royal Army Den- selves in that they act as examples for other soldiers
of the Belgian Mitraillduse d'Appui G6n6ral. The tal Corps (RADC) and Oueen Alexandra's Royal to follow, and their role in war would involve traffic
GPMG is also mounted on a tripod for sustained Army Nursing Corps (OARANC). These units oper- control and the control of prisoners-of-war.
fue, using standard NATO 7.62 mm x 5 l ate mainly from military hospitals or local garrison Other arms of the army include the Royal Army
anmunition; its cyclic rate ot fire is 750- I 000 rpm.
medical centres, but in time of war many of the Education Corps, the Army Physical Training Corps,
personnel would move out to mobile field hospitals the Army Catering Corps, the RoyalArmy Chaplains'
The Royal Signals or to the various forward ambulance units. Department, the Gibraltar Regiment, the Royal
The role of the Royal Signals is to provide and Army Pay Corps and the Women's Royal Army
maintain rapid, accurate and reliable communlca- The Special Air Service (SAS) Corps.
tions for the army. Most units in the army are re- The SAS has had rather more public exposure in
sponsible for their own local communications, but recent years than it would like, for normally [Link] a
tne Royal Signals provide the large networks for very specialized force used for much of the army's
higher command echelons and for long-distance undercover work which would range f rom operating
communications. This service is provided in BAOR behind enemy lines to the surveillance and infiltra- On the modernbattlefield camouflageis of vital
importance, but Ioliage and face paint are of little
rsing signal regiments, some of which are at corps tion of terrorist groups. lt requires a high [Link] value when charging over open ground. This
level with others at diVision level. At present the physical and mental ability from its members, and secfion is arme d with the L I A I S elf-Loading R ifle,
signal network is known as BRU lN, but this is now in tends to operate along its own particular lines. The the British single-shotversion ofthe Belgian FN
the process of being replaced by the advanced SAS does not recruit from the general public. Fusil Au tomatique L6ger.
PTARMIGAN system. The Royal Signals also pro-
vide long-range links with the United Kingdom and
many overseas locations using artificial satellites,
and also assist in the operation of communications
within NATO.
The Royal Electrical and Mechanical
Engineers (REME)
The REME act as the army's main repair and
:naintenance element to keep the army's wide
range of equipment fit and ready for use. lt thus has
io be ready to repair anything from tanks and trucks
to medical equipment and cameras. The REME's
fitters and mechanics are integrated into almost
every unit of the army from the infantry to the gun-
ners. and may operate as part of a unit or as a mobile
or static workshop associated with the unit. Many of
the trades and skills used by REM E are unique with-
n the army.

The Royal Gorps of Transport (RCT)

The role of the Royal Corps of Transport is much
.nore than driving trucks, which is only one facet of
:ne corps' activities. The corps also acts as the
arr y's movements organizers and also gets in-
.cived in the operation of port, air movements and
:"e provision of air logistic support. The driving tasks
a'e mainly carried out by the RCT's Transport Reg-
-ent, which acts as [Link]'s main load-carrier.
--e RCT also provides the army's ambulance car-
-s:s and contains the army's railway specialists,
'':rr drivers to railway operators. The RCT also has