Article

2006-11-29 Israel-Palestine-Jordan

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Posted by Fred 2006-11-29 00:00|| || Front Page|| [3 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 It's called "cluster bombs dropped on launch sites, machine shops, and Paleo gun-sex parties".

Posted by Rob Crawford">Rob Crawford 2006-11-29 08:04|| http://www.kloognome.com/]">[http://www.kloognome.com/] 2006-11-29 08:04|| Front Page Top

#2 Odd, unless Raytheon is a subsidiary of Grumman, why would they not mention the company which is providing counter-battery systems to the US and which supplied them with Patriots from which they developed the Arrow?

The AN/TPQ-36 and AN/TPQ-37 certainly seem suited to the katyushas and qassams... "Over 350 Firefinder radars are in use today by seventeen nations." - so it's prolly not an export issue...

Hmmm. So is the markup is astronomical... or is this another "We can do it better!" (piggy-backing off US designs) thingy which gromgoru gets all puffy about... or is this article disingenuous BS?

Posted by .com 2006-11-29 08:24|| 2006-11-29 08:24|| Front Page Top

#3 1 minute video of Phalanx shooting down mortars.

Posted by ed 2006-11-29 08:41|| 2006-11-29 08:41|| Front Page Top

#4 This anti-Kassam plan is sure to be provocative to Kassamophiles. When will we learn that defending ourselves only makes them rape us harder?

/most of the left

Posted by Excalibur 2006-11-29 09:25|| 2006-11-29 09:25|| Front Page Top

#5 These rockets are essentially big bottle rockets that can be fired with a timer. Counterbattery fire is of little use except for vengance. Not that there is anything wrong with that per se, but it does have PR consequences.

Typical firing drill is prop up the launch rail on cinder blocks in the middle of baby duck farm, set the timer and drive off. When the counterbattery arrives, the perps are long gone and the world is ranting about those evil baby-duck-killing joos. The low rent version of this scenario replaces the cheap Sears timer with an even cheaper and stupider shaheed.

Let me put on my Mr. Cynical hat and say the good thing about this scenario is it will drive the development of active defenses against tactical missils and mortars.

Posted by SteveS 2006-11-29 09:53|| 2006-11-29 09:53|| Front Page Top

#6 This is not My field of expertise, .com, but I believe the requirements are different. Counter-battery is slower and isn't real-time, but requires higher accuracy since you can't correct the CB fire. CB is still successful is the fire is launch after the incoming rounds hit (but it's obviously better to launch before). Some of the latest US CB systems can actually send rockets back before the first incoming shell has hit, but it's not necessary to mission success. Unfortunately, under ~~Carter~~ Olmert, Israel doesn't seem to be in the counter-attacking mode.

Pure defense is a whole different animal. Now, obviously, you have to compute and launch before the rounds hit for the system to be of any value. However, accuracy isn't quite as important, as the interceptor can correct in mid-flight. While Raytheon had developed a system to intercept anti-tank rockets, I don't know if that could be adapted to this purpose. Patriot would work, but costs so much more than the Kassam that "success" would bankrupt the country.

Of course, carpet-bombing the population centers would work even better.

Posted by Jackal">Jackal 2006-11-29 10:14|| http://home.earthlink.net/~sleepyjackal/index.html]">[http://home.earthlink.net/~sleepyjackal/index.html] 2006-11-29 10:14|| Front Page Top

#7 Okay, I'm no CB expert... but these certainly sound like a fit for those POS rockets:

"AN/TPQ-36 Firefinder is a highly mobile medium range 3-D radar system that rapidly locates hostile artillery, mortars, and rocket launchers. Operating at X (I/J) band, it can detect and report positions of up to 10 different weapons in seconds, at a maximum range of 24 kilometers."

"AN/TPQ-37 Firefinder is a long-range 3-D weapon-locating radar system with double the performance of the AN/TPQ-36, locating long-range weapons out to 50 km. When long-range surface to surface missiles must be located, a special 60-degree sector mode extends the AN/TPQ-37's range even further. The AN/TPQ-37 operates at S (F) band"

Posted by .com 2006-11-29 10:22|| 2006-11-29 10:22|| Front Page Top

#8 #2 Poor .com. It took him a long time to accept that Bush doesn't know that his doing. It'll, if at all, take him much longer to accept that there's a qualitative difference between IMI and "bribe the procurment officer" US weapon manufacturers.

Posted by gromgoru 2006-11-29 13:57|| 2006-11-29 13:57|| Front Page Top

#9 Jackal: Add me to your carpet bombing write in vote tally! And just for grins, mix in a bit of cluster bombs and a little bit of FAE as a chaser (fuel-air explosive, a kindler, gentler replacement for napalm).

Posted by USN, ret. 2006-11-29 14:36|| 2006-11-29 14:36|| Front Page Top

#10 #8 Poor gromgoru. No, nothing else, just poor gromgoru.

Posted by .com 2006-11-29 15:36|| 2006-11-29 15:36|| Front Page Top

#11 Again, the problem with the AN/TQP-36 and -37 is probably that they are too slow because they need to get an accuracy which a defensive weapon would not need.

Probably. I know nothing about these specific systems except what's in Janes (and we know how reliable that is).

Posted by Jackal">Jackal 2006-11-29 20:45|| http://home.earthlink.net/~sleepyjackal/index.html]">[http://home.earthlink.net/~sleepyjackal/index.html] 2006-11-29 20:45|| Front Page Top

#12 I'm of the Mongol persuasion - if they attack, wipe out everything within 10 miles of the attack launch point. Even the paleos aren't stupid enough to continue after you do that ten or twenty times. Or maybe they are...

Posted by Old Patriot">Old Patriot 2006-11-29 21:35|| http://oldpatriot.blogspot.com/]">[http://oldpatriot.blogspot.com/] 2006-11-29 21:35|| Front Page Top

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