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India Requests GPS-Guided Cans of Whup-***
06-Oct-2008 14:43 EDT
Going after a vehicle such as a surface to air missile launcher, or a cluster of vehicles like a formation of enemy tanks, can be a tricky business for a fast jet pilot. Vehicles hide, they shut off their radars, or there are just too many of them to effectively target and destroy en masse. Weapons like ATKs AGM-88E AARGM and MBDAs Brimstone missile can help, but theres another solution. Textrons Sensor-Fuzed Weapon (SFW) bomb scatters 40 projectiles, to cover 30 acres. The skeet projectiles, which look like tuna cans, will search for targets and fire the equivalent of a tank shell through the targets top armor. If no targets are found, 3 safety modes ensure that the area safe for troops to move through within several minutes which means its also safe for civilians years later. See $108.1M for 13,280 Cans of Whup-*** for more.
On Sept 30/08, the US DSCA announced Indias formal request for a variant of the SFW with GPS guidance but which IAF aircraft will carry them?
BLU-108 submunitionIndia has requested 510 CBU-105 Sensor Fuzed Weapons, which include Lockheed Martins WCMD GPS/INS guidance kit that screws into the bombs tail. India has also asked for 19 CBU-105 Integration test assets (12 live tails, 7 inert tails); 5 CBU-97 Integration test assets; containers; aircraft modification and integration; spare and repair parts; ad other forms of support.
The estimated cost is $375 million, which compares unfavorably to past American purchases of $108 million for 322 weapons. The key term in this description is aircraft integration. That effort will require installation of MIL-STD-1760 interfaces in the designated aircraft, which must then be integrated with the aircrafts stores management system.
The prime contractor will be Textron Systems Corporation of Wilmington, MA, and India has requested industrial offsets per its foreign procurement rules. Those offsets will be defined in negotiations with Textron. Implementation of this proposed sale will require annual trips to India involving U.S. Government and contractor representatives for technical reviews/support, and program management for a period of approximately 2 years.
The interesting question is, which aircraft will carry the CBU-105 SFW/WCMD bombs? Integration with Russian aircraft would pose additional challenges, which makes Indias Jaguar strike aircraft or Mirage 2000/Vajra aircraft its most likely candidates.
During the 1999 Kargill War, the performance of Indias Mirage 2000H/TH aircraft made them the IAFs preferred aircraft for high-altitude bombing. Thats a much safer approach, because it keeps the aircraft above short range air defense systems. Thanks to its WCMD kit, the CBU-105 is perfectly suited to that approach, which is why it has been added to USAF B-52, B-1, and B-2 bombers. While the status of a proposed Indian upgrade to Mirage 2000v5 Mk2 standard remains uncertain, Indias Mirage 2000 fleet has already received some local upgrades to improve their capabilities. The Vajra fleets niche within the IAF, plus that base of experience with local modifications, make it the most likely candidate to carry Indias CBU-105s after the contract is signed, and deliveries begin.
India Requests GPS-Guided “Cans of Whup-***”
06-Oct-2008 14:43 EDT
Going after a vehicle such as a surface to air missile launcher, or a cluster of vehicles like a formation of enemy tanks, can be a tricky business for a fast jet pilot. Vehicles hide, they shut off their radars, or there are just too many of them to effectively target and destroy en masse. Weapons like ATKs AGM-88E AARGM and MBDAs Brimstone missile can help, but theres another solution. Textrons Sensor-Fuzed Weapon (SFW) bomb scatters 40 projectiles, to cover 30 acres. The skeet projectiles, which look like tuna cans, will search for targets and fire the equivalent of a tank shell through the targets top armor. If no targets are found, 3 safety modes ensure that the area safe for troops to move through within several minutes which means its also safe for civilians years later. See $108.1M for 13,280 Cans of Whup-*** for more.
On Sept 30/08, the US DSCA announced Indias formal request for a variant of the SFW with GPS guidance but which IAF aircraft will carry them?
BLU-108 submunitionIndia has requested 510 CBU-105 Sensor Fuzed Weapons, which include Lockheed Martins WCMD GPS/INS guidance kit that screws into the bombs tail. India has also asked for 19 CBU-105 Integration test assets (12 live tails, 7 inert tails); 5 CBU-97 Integration test assets; containers; aircraft modification and integration; spare and repair parts; ad other forms of support.
The estimated cost is $375 million, which compares unfavorably to past American purchases of $108 million for 322 weapons. The key term in this description is aircraft integration. That effort will require installation of MIL-STD-1760 interfaces in the designated aircraft, which must then be integrated with the aircrafts stores management system.
The prime contractor will be Textron Systems Corporation of Wilmington, MA, and India has requested industrial offsets per its foreign procurement rules. Those offsets will be defined in negotiations with Textron. Implementation of this proposed sale will require annual trips to India involving U.S. Government and contractor representatives for technical reviews/support, and program management for a period of approximately 2 years.
The interesting question is, which aircraft will carry the CBU-105 SFW/WCMD bombs? Integration with Russian aircraft would pose additional challenges, which makes Indias Jaguar strike aircraft or Mirage 2000/Vajra aircraft its most likely candidates.
During the 1999 Kargill War, the performance of Indias Mirage 2000H/TH aircraft made them the IAFs preferred aircraft for high-altitude bombing. Thats a much safer approach, because it keeps the aircraft above short range air defense systems. Thanks to its WCMD kit, the CBU-105 is perfectly suited to that approach, which is why it has been added to USAF B-52, B-1, and B-2 bombers. While the status of a proposed Indian upgrade to Mirage 2000v5 Mk2 standard remains uncertain, Indias Mirage 2000 fleet has already received some local upgrades to improve their capabilities. The Vajra fleets niche within the IAF, plus that base of experience with local modifications, make it the most likely candidate to carry Indias CBU-105s after the contract is signed, and deliveries begin.
India Requests GPS-Guided “Cans of Whup-***”
