Air Weapons: Switch Hitters

Archives

April 11, 2011: With the destruction of most of Libya's air force by the end of March, and growing combat activity by Kaddafi's ground forces, there has been a call for more ground attack aircraft.  So, when possible, air-superiority fighters are being switched to ground support. Britain prepared for this eventuality by speeding up modifications on its new air-superiority Typhoon fighters, so they could rapidly be switched to ground attack operations with the addition of a Litening targeting pod, smart bombs and Brimstone guided missiles. Typhoon pilots who normally flew the air-superiority version of the Typhoon, had to receive training in ground attack operations, and the use of the targeting pod. Thus the British, who have twenty Typhoon and Tornado fighters assigned to Libya duty, were able to quickly switch four of their Typhoons from air-superiority to ground attack duty. The small (48.5 kg/107 pounds) British Brimstone missile is perfect to knocking out individual armored vehicles on the coast road.

Ground attack technology has come of age in the last two decades. This includes smart bombs (GPS or laser guided) and targeting pods. By 2008, for example, the U.S. Air Force had all of its fighters and bombers in Iraq carrying targeting or reconnaissance pods. Both of these contain vidcams, with zoom, that can provide a live feed, day or night, of whatever is going on below. The targeting pods also contain laser designators and laser range finders, so that bombers can quickly program and drop a smart bomb or missile. Pilots can learn how to use these pods in a simulator, which quickly turns an air-to-air fighter into a very capable ground attack system.

 

 

X

ad

Help Keep Us From Drying Up

We need your help! Our subscription base has slowly been dwindling.

Each month we count on your contribute. You can support us in the following ways:

  1. Make sure you spread the word about us. Two ways to do that are to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
  2. Subscribe to our daily newsletter. We’ll send the news to your email box, and you don’t have to come to the site unless you want to read columns or see photos.
  3. You can contribute to the health of StrategyPage.
Subscribe   contribute   Close