U.S. Strikes from a Distance
By David Ruppe
The aircraft-launched missiles, known as standoff weapons, are designed to travel a great distance before striking a ground target, enabling the striking aircraft to fire at a target from a safer distance. U.S. officials say no planes crossed the northern boundary of the southern "no-fly-zone," the 33rd parallel. And because the zone is at most a few dozen miles south of the edge of Baghdad's suburbs, it was possible for the planes to hit the Iraqi facilities near Baghdad without crossing the no-fly-zone. One site north of Baghdad though was attacked also. A Pentagon spokesman declined to specify what type or types of missiles were used in the attacks. The type of standoff weapon commonly carried by U.S. jets patrolling the no-fly-zones are high-speed anti-radiation missiles, or the AGM-88 HARM, which have been in the U.S. arsenal since 1984. The HARM has a range of at least 30 miles. At around $317,000 apiece, HARM missiles are particularly useful for striking enemy anti-aircraft radar-equipped air defense systems because it can home in on and strike an anti-aircraft radar that has been quickly turned on and off again — a tactic used by Iraqi forces to try to locate U.S. aircraft without giving away the location of the radar. The HARM homes in on electronic emissions to deliver at high speed a 143 pound fragmentation warhead. A standard anti-radar missile, HARMs have been deployed on F-16s, F-18s, and other U.S. aircraft all over the world. The aircraft in today's attack included F-15s, F-18s and British tornado aircraft. "It's basically the anti-radar missile, it's basically a special purpose weapon designed to home in on anti-aircraft radars," says military analyst John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org. Up to 19,000 are in the Pentagon inventory. A HARM could certainly get from the extended [U.S. Operation] Southern Watch no-fly-zone to the suburban Baghdad, he says. Another type of precision-guided standoff weapon that might have been used, says Pike, is the AGM-154A Joint Standoff Weapon JSOW. Entering service in 1998 and used during the conflict over Kosovo, JSOWs have a range of roughly 40 to 50 miles or more. The AGM-130 standoff weapon, first deployed in 1994, might also have been used. With a rocket motor for extended range, the $1.2 million AGM-130s also can strike from more than 40 miles with great precision. It too was used against Yugoslavia and like the JSOW, this weapon is guided partially by global positioning satellite (GPS) information. Copyright © 2001 ABC News Internet Ventures |
