Your tax $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ at work

[unhappycamper]

Marines test laser-guided 2.75-inch rockets
By Kris Osborn - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Sep 20, 2007 5:35:46 EDT

Fired from a Marine Corps Cobra helicopter, laser-guided 2.75-inch rockets destroyed ground targets from four kilometers away during a Navy test at China Lake, Calif., on Wednesday.

The test-firings of the 10-pound rockets were the first airborne shots of the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System, an Army-Navy program in development by BAE under a $96 million deal from 2006. The rockets homed in on both ground and air-based laser designators, Navy officials said.

Navy officials are asking Congress to find money to field the $10,000 rockets earlier than planned.

“I believe it could be fielded as soon as late 2009 if the money is there. The impact is immense. This offers precision guidance with low collateral damage. That is exactly what the warfighter needs,” said Michelle McBride, who leads the project for the Navy.

McBride said the Army and Navy would likely include the rockets in their 2009 budget requests.

Hitting smaller targets from the air will save lives and money, said Frank Wilson, vice president and general manager of precision targeting at BAE Systems.


Rest of article at: http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2007/09/defense_laserguidedrockets_070919/


uhc comment: I'll bet my next paycheck these fuckers are intended for a UAV of some kind. Cpl. Lunchpack in NM will be able to kill with precision.

[NYVet]

1. If it takes the troops out of the line of fire and makes them safer, then yeah, let's put them on a

UAV. And if we can hit a target, kill it, and not do too much damage to nearby surroundings, then I am all for it.

[Maq]

2. Aerial ASSASSINATIONS

Beyond there wartime utility, makes me wonder when will they be used for political assassinations.

APKWS II "Hellfire Jr." Hydra Rockets Enter SDD Phase
27-Apr-2006 12:33
DID recently covered the versatile Hydra-70 rocket family, and noted the project underway to convert these ubiquitous rockets into cheap laser-guided precision weapons via the APKWS II (Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System) program. The ability to vastly expand both the varieties of aircraft, helicopters, and UAVs carrying precision weapons and the number of weapons per platform, all in a package that is good enough for most targets and offers both more warhead flexibility and reduced collateral damage, is a pretty significant combination.

Sept 19/07: BAE Systems shoots 2 guided APKWS rockets from a U.S. Marine Corps Cobra helicopter at NAS China Lake, marking the weapon's first flights from an aircraft. Following the launches, both APKWS rockets were guided by a laser designator to a ground target. The first rocket was guided to the target by a ground-based laser designator. The pilot guided the second rocket to the target using laser designation equipment onboard the helicopter. Both rockets struck the target board well within accuracy requirements established by the Army and Marine

SOURCE: http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/apkws-ii-hellfire-jr-hydra-rockets-enter-sdd-phase-02193

[NYVet]

3. I'm sorry but we don't fight war under the Nevada State boxing commission rules...

We sneak around, hide and do our best to do bad things to people who want to do them to us before they get the chance.

Would you rather that we go back to crossbows and catapults and put our soldiers on horseback wearing chain mail armor?

[unhappycamper]

4. Actually, I'm coming to the conclusion that EVERYONE should use swords.

It's close, it's personal, and ya really gottta want to kill somebody. When you smell the blood and shit and fear, you'll fight like your life depended on it. Wussy folks need not apply. Keyboardists and pundits not needed.

If we were to use swords only, perhaps we'll actually think about what we're doing.

[Maq]

5. Why sneak if you are miles away

Things are escalating roughly (publicly visibility) since 1963 when Kennedy was taken down. Remember in Dallas, he was able to parade down the street in an open convertible. Now you are lucky to see them high profile politicians up close. The Pope has to be in a special bubble car which won't stand up to these new rockets.

Soon you won't need to be in Nevada at Screech AFB to guide a UAV laden with laser guided rockets. Why not out of a living room behind a personal computer. Can you imagine the theft of one or few of these rockets and the havoc they can unleash from a right wing fanatic like a McVeigh.

It might be time to get out of politics. This brings a whole new meaning to the Tower of Babel. Someone is gonna knock it down.