jlc@milton.u.washington.edu (Jeffrey Casterline) (01/27/91)
From: Jeffrey Casterline <jlc@milton.u.washington.edu> I asked this in August and September but did not really get a solid answer. First, do any of the members of the coalition fleet have an effective anti-ballistic missile defense system, ala the Patriot? If so, could such a vessel close in to shore provide missile defense for that portion of the mainland? Responses last summer noted the effect of ground clutter. How would that apply to this question? Is the Aegis system capable of handling this type of threat environment? Second, the F117 has demonstrated great effectiveness in a high threat environment. With that threat apparently passed now in Iraq (unless we are being mislead), is there any reason to keep them in the Gulf? Should we remove them from harms way to avoid an inadvertent (sp?) attack or destruction of these valuable assets, e.g. a missile attack where the SCUDs are not stopped? Third, I read here once that in some ways using smoke from the Kuwaiti fires would disrupt the allied air assaults, and then I heard other opinions. Wouldn't the smoke and heat disrupt the infrared systems? This would be true for almost any of the platforms; planes, tanks, helos. Fourth, radio reports infer that the Iraqi infantry is dug in deep, British designed bunkers of steel and concrete. Easy to built and install. Looking at the existing arsenal of bombs and missiles, do we have readily available anything that could take them out. A radio report I heard indicated that many of these are as much as 50' deep. Finally, are there existing shipboard fire suppression devices to contain a large fire on the water? Could we create a path through a flaming oil slick? Maybe some of the answers to these are classified. I'm just wondering about these like many other people. Jeff Casterline