tek@CS.UCLA.EDU (01/24/89)
Since we are on the subject of Libyan encounters ... One of the previous encounters (involving the Gulf of Sidra and the "Line of Death") involved neutralizing some Libyan radar sites. In that encounter, HARMs were fired at Libyan radar sites. Does anyone know, how well the HARMs performed? Have there been any other instances of ARMs actually being used in combat? Did the Israelis use them? (eg Bekaa Valley) How about the early missiles used in Vietnam? How about the still-in-development TACIT RAINBOW? Does anyone know, how its supposed to be better than the HARM? I have heard it's supposed to have an extremely high loiter time, one hour?! A little background for those who are not familar with ARMs: Anti-Radiation Missiles are missiles designed to home in on and attack ground based enemy radars. The standard counter-tactic is to turn off your radar. But turning off your radar may leave you blind, or cause your SAMs to loose tracking at particularly inopportune times (like during an air strike). As a result, you may be tempted to turn your radar back on. ARMs try to deal with this possibility. Desirable characteristics for ARMs: high-speed (low reaction time for defender) long loiter time (can wait for defender to turn radar on again) memory (can remember where the last radar emissions came from) flexible frequency setting (adaptable to the situation) Unfortunately, these characteristics are very demanding and lead to very large, very expensive and very complex (possibly unreliable) missiles. Ted Kim ARPAnet: tek@penzance.cs.ucla.edu UCLA Computer Science Department UUCP: ...!ucbvax!cs.ucla.edu!tek 3804C Boelter Hall PHONE: (213) 206-8696 Los Angeles, CA 90024 ESPnet: tek@ouija.board