Air Tactics - the SAMbush

[pmulcahy11b]

Another thing various countries have been working on for years is high-acceleration heat-seeking missiles designed to take down other missiles, like SAMs. The problem is that the seeker has to be really, really sensitive to pick up the rocket exhaust from any angle, since the SAM isn't in flight long enough to develop much heat along its body, and then pick up the heat from the rocket after it shuts off, since most SAMs are powered for only 1-4 seconds of flight and then coast the rest of the way.

[pmulcahy11b]

And here's another one -- the US, NATO, the Russians, and the Chinese are all developing a new class of missiles (or may have already developed them) which can be guided by heat-seeking or radar-guidance, and even switch between the two or use both in flight. This is useful in high-ECM environments or when antiradiation missile use is expected, and you can use both methods of guidance at the same time to achieve greater precision.

[Raellus]

I like it.

This article calls to mind an Israeli tactic used against Syrian SAM sites around Lebanon during the '82 invasion. They used drone decoys carrying radar reflective material to get the SAM crews to turn on their targetting radars. Then, Israeli strike aircraft carrying ARMs would pounce and destroy the transmitters. Subsequent aircraft carrying cluster bombs would then destroy whatever was left.

[James Langham]

Originally Posted by Raellus

I like it.

This article calls to mind an Israeli tactic used against Syrian SAM sites around Lebanon during the '82 invasion. They used drone decoys carrying radar reflective material to get the SAM crews to turn on their targetting radars. Then, Israeli strike aircraft carrying ARMs would pounce and destroy the transmitters. Subsequent aircraft carrying cluster bombs would then destroy whatever was left.

It appears I know more about air tactics than I thought... :-)

[pmulcahy11b]

Originally Posted by Raellus

I like it.

This article calls to mind an Israeli tactic used against Syrian SAM sites around Lebanon during the '82 invasion. They used drone decoys carrying radar reflective material to get the SAM crews to turn on their targetting radars. Then, Israeli strike aircraft carrying ARMs would pounce and destroy the transmitters. Subsequent aircraft carrying cluster bombs would then destroy whatever was left.

I didn't think of that. Was it something like a Quail, which B-52s fired ahead of them in Vietnam on bombing missions to decoy radar like SAMs? The Quail was designed to produce the radar signature of a B-52, even though it is only about half the size of the typical cruise missile.

[Raellus]

Originally Posted by pmulcahy11b

I didn't think of that. Was it something like a Quail, which B-52s fired ahead of them in Vietnam on bombing missions to decoy radar like SAMs? The Quail was designed to produce the radar signature of a B-52, even though it is only about half the size of the typical cruise missile.

Similar concept but slightly different RPV. IIRC, the Israeli's used ground-launched, prop-powered UAVs a bit smaller than an old VW bug. I'll have to do a little research to find out what kind.