Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!rpi!uwm.edu!linac!att!cbnews!cbnews!military From: henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer) Newsgroups: sci.military Subject: Re: Using up obsolete stocks Message-ID: <1991Feb28.052123.9991@cbnews.att.com> Date: 28 Feb 91 05:21:23 GMT References: <1991Feb26.012713.7033@cbnews.att.com> Sender: military@cbnews.att.com (william.b.thacker) Organization: U of Toronto Zoology Lines: 17 Approved: military@att.att.com From: henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer) >From: Will Martin >... wouldn't this be a perfect opportunity to fire off all the Lance >missles with conventional warheads we have in the inventory? Trouble is, a conventional-warhead Lance is about as militarily useful as a Scud. That is, not very. Conventional-warhead ballistic missiles, with the possible exception of Pershing 2 with its terminal-homing head, have always been toys for public-relations value rather than practical weapons. Like Scud, Lance is effective only with a nuclear or chemical warhead. It simply isn't accurate enough to put a conventional warhead within lethal range of anything. -- "But this *is* the simplified version | Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology for the general public." -S. Harris | henry@zoo.toronto.edu utzoo!henry