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The Obama administration’s decision to retire submunition warheads from the military inventory was stupid, and purely political posturing. Submunitions do have a significant dud rate, but that problem can be mitigated, and the military effectiveness of submunition warheads is undoubted. There are a great number of targets on the battlefield that are best dealt with via a submunition warhead, such as enemy artillery, air defense sites, and Petroleum, Oil, Lubricant (POL) storage sites.

The original M26 rocket of the M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System carried 644 M77 Dual Purpose Improved Conventional Munitions. Each bomblet was roughly the size of a 40mm grenade, and featured a small shaped charge with a fragmentation sleeve. That gave it the ability to both penetrate the thin top armor of lightly armored vehicles, and cause casualties to thin skinned vehicles, personnel and material via the fragmentation.

An MLRS field artillery battalion has three firing batteries, with 9 launchers each.  With each launcher firing two pods of six rockets each, that gives us a total of 208,656 bomblets on a given target. Small wonder Iraqi artillery forces hated being on the receiving end of “steel rain.”

The withdrawal of M26 series left the Army  with only the M31 Guided MLRS rocket in the inventory. Mind you,  it’s a fantastic capability, with much better range, and a formidable 225 pound warhead. That’s not nothing. But while it has the ability to take out a point target, it is lacking in its ability to defeat area targets.  Even modest dispersion allows the enemy to mitigate the effects of an MLRS attack.

To address this shortcoming, the Army worked with Lockheed Martin to develop the Alternative Warhead program. Basically, instead of a GMLRS (pronounced “glimmers”) having a simple HE warhead, they put in an airburst fuse for a charge surrounded by  about 180,000 tungsten pellets. The combination of airbust and the large number of pellets yields a significant fragmentation pattern that can yield casualties over a wide area.

^Lots of good ‘splodey  up in  there^

The new Alternative Warhead is now in service, and deployed forces in the Centcom area have used it for the first time during training at the Udairi range complex.

What’s interesting is that the idea of using a vast number of pellets as a fragmentation warhead for a battlefield rocket is hardly new.

When the Army fielded the MGR-1 Honest John unguided rocket in the 1950s, it was first seen as a way of delivering tactical nuclear weapons, or chemical agents. But as US strategy shifted away from tactical nuclear weapons, a conventional warhead was developed for the Honest John, and used the same principle as today’s Alternative Warhead M30A1 round.

Because the AH-1 Cobra was designated under the already fairly prolific H-1 Huey series, the designations of all the various subtypes is something of a mess, meaning that an AH-1F is actually a later variant than the AH-1S. And I have no idea where the AH-1E fits in. Still, for the most part, this is what the later model Cobras in Army service were equipped with, and it’s an interesting look at the armament system. In particular, the Rocket Management System is quite a bit more sophisticated than I would have thought.

Here’s a promotional video touting the introduction of the AGM-12 Bullpup missile as it was about to enter service.

The Bullpup was very much a first generation guided weapon. The pilot pointed his plane at the target, launched Bullpup, and then, by using a small joystick, attempted to keep the missile centered over the target all the way to impact. Commands were sent via radio link.

With a range of about 3 miles, it wasn’t exactly a true standoff weapon. And the guidance method meant the launching aircraft had to maintain a steady flight path. During operations in Vietnam a few years after Bullpup entered service, that inability to maneuver was seen as the major flaw of the design. It left the launching aircraft very vulnerable to aimed anti-aircraft artillery.

Still, Bullpup was generally quite reliable, and easy to use. It never seriously threatened to replace general purpose bombs as the  primary weapon, but it was used in certain niche roles and missions successfully.

First in a series. Let me know what you think.

Via AvGeekery.

The A-7A/B/C variants suffered from the troubled TF30 turbofan engine. When the USAF was pressured into  buying the Corsair II, they insisted on quite a few improvements, foremost being the adoption of the TF41 turbofan  (an Alison built variant of the Rolls Royce Spey). Other improvements included switching to the M61 Vulcan, and greatly improved avionics. The A-7D/E were the first operational planes with a Heads Up Display, and coupled with the avionics, gave the aircraft exceptional accuracy in weapons delivery in an era before smart bombs.

The TOW missile system has been around for almost 50 years, and yet the US Army has no plans to replace it as the primary ground based anti-tank missile for the force. That doesn’t mean they haven’t continually improved it. 

While most literature on the TOW talk about the various upgrades to the missile itself, the first really big upgrade to the TOW was the early 1980s introduction of the TOW 2 guidance set. That set featured greatly improved reliability, and a dual channel guidance mode, with both a flare and a xenon beacon being used for missile tracking.

Currently, the Army is fielding the M41A7 Improved Target Acquisition System for its TOW launchers. ITAS was originally simply supposed to be a third generation Infrared viewer to improve the range the gunner could acquire targets, particularly at night or in reduced visibility.

Along the way, a couple of interesting things happened that made the ITAS much more than a simple weapon sight. First, a laser rangefinder was added (shooting at targets too far out was a common problem at longer engagement ranges). Next, the ITAS gained the ability to plug into a remote display for the squad leader. That gave the squad leader better ability  to control engagements and ensure priority targets were engaged. Finally, the ITAS was integrated with a GPS based position and locating system. If the TOW vehicle knows where it is, and it knows the range and azimuth to a particular target, well, it’s an easy calculation to determine the location of that target, usually referenced via the Military  Grid Reference System. While the coordinates aren’t as accurate as those derived from dedicated systems such as those used by Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (the ITAS apparently doesn’t determine own or target elevation), it’s still a very useful tool for building situational awareness and plotting enemy positions. Indeed, units are increasingly using the ITAS equipped TOW system to augment their organic reconnaissance and surveillance capability.

All that, and it makes first round hits even easier with the TOW.

You may have noticed I haven’t been around much.  That’s because I’ve spent the last three weeks on the road.  A goodly portion of that time was without internet access, and even when I did have internet, I was pretty much too busy to blog.

Fourth of July weekend was spent at a lake house on Lake Smith, Alabama. While the heat and humidity was ghastly, it was great being with family, and there’s no denying that the view was terrific.

Plus, there was a cat.

A quick side trip to Decatur, Alabama to visit kin (sadly, because I had no cell service, I couldn’t tell Roamy I was in her neighborhood). And if you’re gonna visit Decatur, Alabama, you simply must visit Big Bob Gibson’s BBQ.

The 4th itself was spent in Birmingham, watching fireworks over the statue of Vulcan.

I spent a little time with one of the newest members of the clan.

After that, it was off to Texas, where the incomparable Aggierican was the Hostess with the Mostess!

First item on the agenda was a mini-meetup with friends at the Facebook-famous El Arroyo.

Next up was a visit to Stinson Field, where the municipal airport (KSSF), which, this being Texas, has a great BBQ restaurant with some fantastic brisket. Nearby is a cheap, but surprisingly good museum, with an eclectic collection of displays. And cats to keep the mice away.

After 2 hours in that museum, which lacked air conditioning on a 95F/90% humidity day, it was time to spend 2 hours in the US Army Medical Corps museum at Fort Sam Houston, which, in addition to being a terrific museum, was blessedly very well air conditioned.

We were running out of time, but the railroad medical car was impressive.

Up to 27 litter patients, 6 medics, a doctor, a full galley,  restroom and shower, office space, and even a sanitizer.

Right down to the Army Medical Department crockery service.

As a World of Warships player, there was no way I was going to pass up the opportunity to visit the mighty USS Texas.

The old gal is over 100 years old, and she’s got some real material condition problems. Still, a goodly portion of her is open to the public.

Looking toward the San Jacinto Battlefield Monument, of which more anon.

Pretty sparse amenities in the wheelhouse.

You can’t go all the way up to the director on the tripod, but you can climb pretty far up the superstructure,  and the exposed exterior ladders are a tad daunting for those of us with a fear of heights.

Incidentally, after years of having to suffer listening to Aggierican converse casually in Spanish, German and even Hungarian with friends and family,  I relished being able to spout nautical jargon that she simply couldn’t grasp. Hah! Revenge is a dish best served on a 95F da
y on a ship without air conditioning (except in the ship’s Wardroom. Of course the Wardroom has AC!).

Do you know what does have air conditioning?

The San Jacinto Battlefield Monument.

The obelisk is a foot shorter than the Washington Monument. Built in 1936, commemorating the centennial of the Battle of San Jacinto that secured Texas independence from Mexico, they later added a star to  the top. Everything really is bigger in Texas.

Indeed, at the top of the monument, they were careful to add more and bigger windows to look out of.

While most of the food in Texas was fantastic, some held slightly less appeal.

Hanging out near Randolph AFB meant the skies were abuzz with the cute little T-38C Talon trainers.

All good things must come to an end, however, and finally, my trip has been concluded, and I’ve returned home to the desert, and internet access. Many thanks to Aggie and her family for their spectacular Texas hospitality.