jgd@gatech.edu (John G. De Armond) (01/02/90)
From: rsiatl!jgd@gatech.edu (John G. De Armond) In article <12598@cbnews.ATT.COM> sampson@attctc.Dallas.TX.US (Steve Sampson) writes: > > >> There were rumors after the Falklands war that HMS Sheffield didn't try to >> stop the incoming Exocet because IFF had identified it as friendly (French). >> This was denied, and then the whole subject was hushed up. I still wonder about >> this. > >I've seen Exocets flying in the Gulf and never have seen them reply to IFF or >SIF, also, identification isn't confirmed with a squawk. IFF is a crypto >secure system. How would the Argentines know what the current code was? >The British weren't equipped to handle incomming Exocets so they tried to kill >targets before they got close enough to launch. You might comment on what the >Sheffield had for defense systems for Exocets (either enroute or terminal)? There was a very interesting documentary on The Discovery Channel about a month ago on the Falklands war. The interesting part is that they had both the British and the Argentinian commanders on the show and both talked quite frankly about tactics and failures. The Sheffield was addressed in particular. The British DID have anit-Exocet weapondry but they themselved defeated it! It seems that the radar in the Exocet and the British Ship-to-sattelite link operated on the same frequency. The British were making a data transfer when the missile came in (wonder if some sailer was reading News? :-) came in. The data transmission jammed the anti-missile system! There were three other very interesting facets. First, both commanders agreed that the sheer dominance of the Harriers turned the war toward the British. Secondly, The Args. really blew it with mis-fuzing bombs so that the bombs were not armed by the time they hit the British ships. Lastly, the high hills around the bay where the major air and naval battles were fought made the high-powered British fire control radar useless. Both commanders acknowledged that they learned much from the war. The Discovery Channel tends to repeat at intervals. If you get a chance to see this film clip, do so. John -- John De Armond, WD4OQC | The Fano Factor - Radiation Systems, Inc. Atlanta, GA | Where Theory meets Reality. emory!rsiatl!jgd **I am the NRA** |