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Ground Moving Target System Hits Tank With JDAM
EFL:In the early October test of the Affordable Moving Surface Target Engagement (AMSTE) system, a Northrop Grumman-led team used two Ground Moving Target Indicator radar sources and a U.S. Air Force F-16 carrying a live Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) weapon to detect, track and obliterate a remotely driven M-60 tank moving through a congested and potentially confusing traffic environment. Just prior to the engagement, the tank crossed paths with several vehicles at an intersection. The AMSTE tracking system successfully maintained track through the confusion. Thatâll come in handy. The test team used two radar systems developed by Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems to track the tank. An APY-7 system installed on a Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS) test-bed aircraft flew 100 kilometers from the target. A prototype Joint Strike Fighter active electronically scanned array aboard a BAC 1-11 flew 35 kilometers from the target. The F-16, flying at 20,000 feet, was more than 11 kilometers from the target when it dropped the GPS-guided weapon. As the JDAM fell, it received location information on the tank from the Joint STARS that was so precise that the live bomb hit the tank directly on its turret completely destroying the tank. Cool, with this precision you can use smaller JDAMS and hit more targets per mission. Posted by: Steve 2003-12-23 |
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