Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!pacific.mps.ohio-state.edu!linac!att!cbnews!cbnews!military From: explorer@rpi.edu (James C Krok) Newsgroups: sci.military Subject: Various topics Message-ID: <1991Feb12.014620.9991@cbnews.att.com> Date: 12 Feb 91 01:46:20 GMT Sender: military@cbnews.att.com (William B. Thacker) Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories Lines: 42 Approved: military@att.att.com From: James C Krok Just a few comments on old threads: (1): The C-130 was in fact the largest aircraft to ever take off from a carrier. (source: a book on the C-130, title escapes me...) There was no mention of load, JATO use, etc. I think it's safe to assume that the cat's weren't used! (2): The word "ballistic" in "ballistic missile" refers only to the warhead itself. The launch vehicle, of course, has guidance. Its job is to get the warhead to just the right altitude, speed, and direction, after which the warhead is just released and allowed to impact. ICBM's function the same way. (except maybe for MIRV's). There seemed to be some confusion about this issue. Recall that any free falling object is following a ballistic trajectory. (3): On the subject of dodging IR-guided missiles (i.e. 'winder): The seeker heads can be tuned to detect a certain wavelength (or range thereof) of IR radiation. They are usually tuned to the wavelengths emitted by exhaust gasses or hot metal parts, like exhaust nozzles. This makes it more difficult to use flares or the sun to dodge these missiles. (4): There has been a lot of comparison of fuel-air explosives to regular explosives on an energy-to-weight basis (in the local papers, anyway). Everyone on the net seems to be aware that the fuel in the FAE must be mixed with oxygen before it can be detonated. This greatly reduces its effectiveness on an energy/weight basis, and brings it down to the level of any solid explosive. Recall that the atmosphere is approx. 80% nitrogen, and this, too, is mixed with the fuel. 4/5 of the oxidizer is therefore inert anyway. FAE's are still a good way to bring a lot of explosive potential in a small package, though. Someone asked if solids were better because the oxidizer was mixed into the compound. Actually, the oxidizer is contained in the individual molecules! Each molecule is a miniature bomb. When the explosive is detonated, these molecules decompose, generating energy. This makes solid explosives more powerful, in my opinion. Thanks... J. C. Krok Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, NY