jpn@castle.ed.ac.uk (Paul Neil) (03/14/91)
From: Paul Neil <jpn@castle.ed.ac.uk> > 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. > 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. The device you are referring to is known as a 'skeet'. It is delivered over the battle area by a helicopter (dangerous) or CAS-tasked aircraft. The sycamore seed analogy is a good one. The skeet has an IR sensor which looks for the powerplant of a tank (say). The spiralling movement of the device maximises the footprint of the IR sensor over the battlefield. Once a suitable target has been detected, a kinetic warhead is fired downwards into the target. The skeet is recognised as a cheap and effective (if rather crude) weapon. As to its operational deployment - In 1987 (when the Horizon programme was first broadcast) it was still "under development", and I haven't heard of it since. Paul