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The Standoff with Iraq

New bombs use satellites to find their targets

An F-15 Eagle carries the new bombs
VXtreme Video CNN's John Holliman reports

February 9, 1998
Web posted at: 8:00 p.m. EST (0100 GMT)

From Correspondent John Holliman

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Florida (CNN) -- Military researchers have developed a new bomb that is guided by satellites instead of lasers so pilots can hit their targets even during cloudy weather.

During the 1991 Persian Gulf War, pilots couldn't always hit their targets with laser-guided bombs in cloudy weather because clouds interfere with the lasers. If pilots flew beneath the cloud cover to guarantee a hit, they risked exposure to Iraqi anti-aircraft fire.

So the Pentagon ordered researchers at Eglin Air Force Base to develop a solution to the problem. The scientists say they have.

"We've capitalized on the ability to use the Global Positioning System," said scientist Frank Robbins. "We can strike the Earth where we want, in all weather, day or night."

The Global Positioning System, or GPS, is a series of orbiting satellites developed by the military to pinpoint specific locations on the Earth's surface.

Air Force Capt. Mike Farrell was a weapons officer dropping bombs during the Gulf War. He's now a test pilot dropping the new bombs on simulated enemy targets.

Farrell drops the new bombs on simulated targets

"With our missiles and jamming platforms and everything else, we always go in with a package making the odds in our favor that we're going to do what we need to get done with the minimal damage to our forces," he said.

The new system is used in the new "bunker buster" bombs that can plow through several feet of concrete and explode inside the bunker.

Scientists at Eglin also are testing a new bomb that is designed to plow into underground bunkers filled with chemical or biological weapons. Once the bomb explodes, it is supposed to burn the weapons at an extremely high temperature so the poisonous chemicals don't escape into the atmosphere.

Weapons designers say the new bombs are among dozens of improved weapons available to commanders and pilots in case of renewed military conflict with Iraq.

"Many of the new systems we are working with have GPS-type systems on board the actual weapon itself," said Air Force Maj. Troy Fontaine. "Again, that launch-and-leave capability makes us very unpredictable to the enemy."

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