The U.S. Air Force awarded BOEING CO. a $188.3 million new small-diameter precision-guided bomb contract

[Larry Dighera]

The U.S. Air Force on Monday said it had awarded BOEING CO. a
$188.3 million contract to develop and test a new
small-diameter precision-guided bomb, giving Boeing's McDonnell
Douglas unit the green light to continue systems development and
demonstration work on the new 250-pound bomb. The Air Force had
announced the contract for Boeing on Oct. 9, but later said the
announcement was premature and the decision was still being
reviewed. The 250-pound class munition is half the size of the
smallest bomb used by the Air Force today but is designed to
pierce more than four feet of steel-reinforced concrete, like a
much bigger 2,000-pound BLU-109.
(Reuters 06:24 PM ET 10/20/2003)

More:
http://q1.schwab.com/s/r?l=248&a=877794&m=100623f95b4a905021827a&s=rb031020

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[John Penta]

On Tue, 28 Oct 2003 03:37:19 GMT, Larry Dighera >
wrote:

>
>The U.S. Air Force on Monday said it had awarded BOEING CO. a
>$188.3 million contract to develop and test a new
>small-diameter precision-guided bomb, giving Boeing's McDonnell
>Douglas unit the green light to continue systems development and
>demonstration work on the new 250-pound bomb. The Air Force had
>announced the contract for Boeing on Oct. 9, but later said the
>announcement was premature and the decision was still being
>reviewed. The 250-pound class munition is half the size of the
>smallest bomb used by the Air Force today but is designed to
>pierce more than four feet of steel-reinforced concrete, like a
>much bigger 2,000-pound BLU-109.
>(Reuters 06:24 PM ET 10/20/2003)

A strange thought: When's this thing likely to hit the FMS market?

A stramger thought: What's the likely reduction in collateral damage
if this is used in, say, Gaza? (It's a stupid idea (IMHO they'd be
much better off, PR-wise and strategically, using snipers), but
something to consider)

John

[Vaughn]

"John Penta" > wrote in message
...
> On Tue, 28 Oct 2003 03:37:19 GMT, Larry Dighera >
> wrote:
>
> A strange thought: When's this thing likely to hit the FMS market?
>
> A stramger thought: What's the likely reduction in collateral damage
> if this is used in, say, Gaza? (It's a stupid idea (IMHO they'd be
> much better off, PR-wise and strategically, using snipers), but
> something to consider)

At some point, (depending on the specific target) when you have a bomb
so accurate that it can actually hit a target, there may be little need for
it to actually go "bang" to do its job. The jets parked near schools in the
first Iraq war come to mind.

Vaughn


>
> John

[Keith Willshaw]

"Vaughn" > wrote in message
...
>
> "John Penta" > wrote in message
> ...
> > On Tue, 28 Oct 2003 03:37:19 GMT, Larry Dighera >
> > wrote:
> >
> > A strange thought: When's this thing likely to hit the FMS market?
> >
> > A stramger thought: What's the likely reduction in collateral damage
> > if this is used in, say, Gaza? (It's a stupid idea (IMHO they'd be
> > much better off, PR-wise and strategically, using snipers), but
> > something to consider)
>
> At some point, (depending on the specific target) when you have a
bomb
> so accurate that it can actually hit a target, there may be little need
for
> it to actually go "bang" to do its job. The jets parked near schools in
the
> first Iraq war come to mind.
>

in Iraq the RAF and USAF used bombs filled with concrete for
just this reason.

Keith