Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!att!cbnews!military From: miles@ms.uky.edu (Stephen D. Grant) Newsgroups: sci.military Subject: Tank Killing with Infra-Red 'Bomblets' Keywords: neato Message-ID: <10110@cbnews.ATT.COM> Date: 11 Oct 89 03:37:09 GMT Sender: military@cbnews.ATT.COM Organization: Univ. of Kentucky, USA. -5 GMT Lines: 45 Approved: military@att.att.com From: "Stephen D. Grant" I don't know if anyone out there caught this show on the Discovery Channel recently. It was called "Living Dangerously" and this episode highlighted so called 'Smart Weapons'. This was truly a neat show. The stuff that the military-industrial comlpex is creating these days is trully clever. Here is an example of one system they showed which was quite interesting. 1). A projectile (Missile, Shell) would be fired at the target to be killed presumably a tank. 2). Upon reaching it's altitude above the target, the shell cracks open and releases a spinning 'dispenser'. The dispenser spins to build up enough force to throw 4 bomblets outward at great distances. 3). The bomblets disengage and fly away from the 'stalk'. Each bomblet has micronized infra-red cicuitry and a small laser/infrared detector. As the bomblets fly through the air, the detectors make a circular sweep, as does the whole unit. 4). If the bomblet's detectors sense a source of heat or high infrared radiation such as a tank's engine, the device detonates the high explosive which is contained within it. 5). The bottom of the bomblet, some form of alloy, forms the 'bullet' if you will, that the explosive forces down onto the tank. It is all a split second occurence. After detonation, the charge hurls the ordnance down on top of the tank, taking into account it's relative lack of to armor. [mod.note: What you've just described is called "Sadarm". The "bullet" is more correctly called the "penetrator", and as you say, is explosively formed from the bomblet. - Bill ] Pretty neat. A Smart bomblet, which looks for heat, and when it finds it, it detonates, shooting a charge directly down onto the tank. The explanation i just gave isnt the best, but i think you really need to see the program to fully grasp the cleverness of this and the other new tank killing weapons which are being made today. Check out 'Living Dangerously' on the Discovery Channel. Miles