US goes for technolgy-aided war

WASHINGTON: Unlike the 1991 Gulf War, when fewer than 25 per cent of bombs were guided to targets, the vast majority of weapons this week have been directed by satellites or lasers with precision to within feet of their aiming points.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld complained to reporters this week that he had heard a media report comparing the heavy bombardment to bombing raids in World War II.

"There is no comparison," he said.

"The weapons that are being used today have a degree of precision that no one every dreamt of in a prior conflict. They didn't exist. And it's not a handful of weapons, it's the overwhelming majority of the weapons that have that precision."

The Pentagon says extreme care is being put into targeting to avoid collateral damage and deaths of innocent civilians, but Baghdad has charged that civilian casualties have already resulted from raids.

Among the weapons being used are:

BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missile

With a range of up to 1,000 miles, the stubby-winged missiles are fired from surface warships and submarines and guided precisely to targets using satellite signals. They are powered by a turbojet engine and also use stored digital pictures of the target area for more precise strikes.

The 18-foot Tomahawk, costing more than $1 million, skims toward the target at about 550 miles an hour 100-300 feet above the ground.

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AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM)

Nicknamed "Jazz'em," the Air Force and Navy air-launched cruise missile can be fired by a variety of fighters and bombers far from heavily-defended targets. The 14-foot missile costs $400,000, uses folding fins and is guided to target by satellites. It can be armed with a 1,000-pound high-explosive warhead to destroy hardened targets and underground bunkers.

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Joint Direct Attack Munition bomb (JDAM)

A tail unit with a guidance system is strapped to regular "dumb" bombs of up to 2,000 pounds making the weapon, which is guided by satellite signals, very precise. Computers on the aircraft tell the pilot when to release the bomb and the weapon's guidance system receives constant signals directly from satellites to adjust its tail fins and stay on target.

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GBU-24 Paveway-3 laser-guided bomb

A 2,000-pound bomb with a long, slender nose that uses both front and rear control fins and is designed to destroy heavily-reinforced concrete and steel targets. Guided to target by laser beam from another aircraft or from troops on the ground. Use can be hindered when bad weather disrupts laser beams of light.

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GBU-28 "Bunker Buster" laser-guided bomb

The 4,600-pound bomb was developed for the 1991 Gulf War to penetrate hardened Iraqi command centers. Air-launched and laser guided, it is capable of penetrating deep underground to destroy buried targets.