John Ramsden (jramsden@enh.Prime.Com) (03/13/91)
From: John Ramsden (jramsden@enh.Prime.Com) Seeing recent footage of the use and effects of cluster bombs I was reminded of something vaguely similar shown a couple of years ago on TV in the UK. It was a device which descended by parachute over an area supposedly containing tanks, and as it approached the ground it would start drifting sideways and precessing at the same time, like a gyrating sycamore seed. This motion maximized the coverage of a camera or some sort of ground-scanning detector on the underside of the device. As soon as the characteristic shape of a tank hove into view the device would launch a missile of some description aimed at the turret which, according to the documentary, was a weak spot. Anyway, I was wondering what this contraption was called, whether it was still (if ever) in use, and whether it was used in the Gulf. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ John R Ramsden | (jramsden@enh.Prime.Com) | "... and let that be a lesson to you !" Prime Computer Inc. | Saddam Hussein (victory speech) Framingham, Mass. | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ P.S. If possible could respondents copy me [as well as posting] since our notesfeed can sometimes be a bit shaky.
rja@Eng.Sun.COM (Robert Allen) (03/14/91)
From: rja@Eng.Sun.COM (Robert Allen)
In article <1991Mar12.224821.25366@cbnews.att.com> John Ramsden (jramsden@enh.Prime.Com) writes:
+
+It was a device which descended by parachute over an area supposedly
+containing tanks, and as it approached the ground it would start
+drifting sideways and precessing at the same time, like a gyrating
+sycamore seed. This motion maximized the coverage of a camera or some
+sort of ground-scanning detector on the underside of the device.
+
+As soon as the characteristic shape of a tank hove into view the
+device would launch a missile of some description aimed at the turret
+which, according to the documentary, was a weak spot.
I don't know about this, but I've heard of a mine which could detect
whether the target passingby was a truck, person, or tank, and launch
an appropriate munition.
--
Robert Allen, rja@sun.com DISCLAIMER: I disclaim everything.
"The intelligent man is one who has successfully fulfilled many
accomplishments, and is yet willing to learn more." - Ed Parkerthos@softway.sw.oz.au (Thomas Cohen) (03/15/91)
From: thos@softway.sw.oz.au (Thomas Cohen) In <1991Mar12.224821.25366@cbnews.att.com> John Ramsden (jramsden@enh.Prime.Com) writes: >It was a device which descended by parachute over an area supposedly >containing tanks, and as it approached the ground it would start >drifting sideways and precessing at the same time, like a gyrating >sycamore seed. This motion maximized the coverage of a camera or some >sort of ground-scanning detector on the underside of the device. >From my source book of choice - Ian Hogg's Encyclopedia of Ammunition. This is a SADARM - Search And Destroy Armor weapon. A US remotely delivered munition (RDM) designed to destroy tanks at long range. Three can be fitted into a 203mm or 155mm carrier shell and are base ejected in the vicinity of the target, at which point they hang from a parachute at 30 deg to the vertical. As they descend they spin at about 4rps and a millimetric wave sensor scans the ground for the signature of a tank, which is hardwired into the munition. If it finds one, it fires a self forming fragment at the target (see below). The clever bit is, if it doesn't find a target, it will fall to the ground and become a shaped charge mine. If I were a tanker, I wouldn't like to follow an enemy through a region where these had been used. A Self Forming Fragment (SFF) is a development of the Schardin effect. A flat cone shaped charge with a very heavy plate liner rather than the thin liner of most shaped charges. On detonation, the liner is not vaporized into a jet, but converted to a slug-shaped missile which is projected at about 1200 m/s as a kinetic energy projectile. As these are used at usually around 50m, velocity loss is minimal. Penetration is good, but not as good as a well designed APDS round. A bit more on millimetric wave sensing - A form of passive millimetric wave radar, based on the fact that high frequency radar approaches the infra red and takes on some of the characteristics of optical frequencies. At these frequencies, gound object emit radiation which is largely due to their reflectance of the colour temperature of the sky. The earth is fairly uniform, but tanks stand out quite nicely thank you. thos cohen |Softway Pty Ltd "Stopping to pick up passengers would disrupt |ACSnet: thos@softway.oz the timetable" - Alderman Cholerton, on why|UUCP: ...!uunet!softway.oz!thos the council's buses didn't stop for passengers|Internet: thos@softway.oz.au
cga66@ihlpy.att.com (Patrick V Kauffold) (03/15/91)
From: cga66@ihlpy.att.com (Patrick V Kauffold) > From: John Ramsden (jramsden@enh.Prime.Com) > > It was a device which descended by parachute over an area supposedly > containing tanks, and as it approached the ground it would start > drifting sideways and precessing at the same time, like a gyrating > sycamore seed. This motion maximized the coverage of a camera or some > sort of ground-scanning detector on the underside of the device. I believe this is a submunition weapon called "Skeet"; a joint development of British and (West) Germany as part of the "deep strike" NATO strategy. I have seen film recently on A&E network and on Discovery's Firepower series. I saw one reference to this weapon in press reports from the Gulf war, but no video, and no details of how it performed, if in fact it was used. The sensor on the Skeet was IR. Useful against tanks on the move, in the open or in wooded areas. Not much use against tanks dug in (not hot), al-la Iraq. Nifty idea, though. Very British.