ATTACKING TARGETS BEYOND THE FEBA NATO NEEDS NEW WEAPONS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90T00155R000500030026-8
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 11
• Document Creation Date: December 27, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 27, 2011
• Sequence Number: 26
• Publication Date: August 1, 1984
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

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Attacking Targets Beyond the FEBA
NATO needs new weapons
by Mark Hewish
A major problem facing NATO is its in-
ability to match the Warsaw Pact's
relentless build-up of conventional
weapons for use in a European war. The
Alliance's present conventional force
structure in Europe has changed little
since the 1950s and 1960s. In that era,
when the doctrine of massive retaliation
reigned supreme, NATO's conventional
forces provided the tripwire for a nu-
clear response. The Soviet Union
reacted by building up a large theatre
nuclear capability, and in 1967 the
West switched to a doctrine of flexible
response, with the emphasis on battle-
field nuclear forces. The United States'
main gift to Europe the strategic nu-
clear umbrella that allowed European
countries to keep their defense budgets
low and concentrate on rebuilding their
economies ? remained in force.
Throughout the 1970s and into the
1980s, however, the Warsaw Pact
steadily upgraded its theatre nuclear
forces in terms of both numbers and ca-
pability. As the West's tactical nuclear
advantage was being reduced, NATO
also failed to close the traditional gap
between the size of its conventional
forces and those available to the Soviet
bloc. Simultaneously, the West's tech-
nological superiority was being eroded.
The Warsaw Pact has maintained its
post-World War 2 level of 180 divisions
facing NATO, and now also has 4,000
aircraft and 12,000 nuclear weapons
available for European operations. The
Western Alliance can field only 26 divi-
sions, plus five in reserve, with 2,000
aircraft and 6,000 nuclear weapons.
NATO studies show that, at the out-
break of a war in Europe, the Alliance
would have only 400 to 600 aircraft
available for interdiction missions.
These would be required to attack some
2,000 fixed targets from the FEBA out
to a depth of 300km, together with
large numbers of vehicles in each War-
saw Pact armoured division. Analyses
have shown that current aircraft armed
with free-fall 227kg bombs would have
to fly 2,200 sorties to destroy 60 per-
cent of the assets of a single armoured
division.
At present, therefore. NATO could
not interdict the second echelon forces
of a Soviet attack by means of conven-
tional weapons alone. The problem is
compounded by the Warsaw Pact's
heavy emphasis on chemical weapons,
for which the West has no equivalent
deterrent. The need to wear NBC pro-
tective clothing continuously degrades
a soldier's ability to fight effectively by
up to 80 percent. Therefore, in the opi-
nion of several senior US defense of-
ficials, NATO would be lucky to last a
week without having to escalate to a
nuclear exchange as its last chance of
stemming the tide.
General Bernard Rogers, Supreme
Allied Commander Europe, has been
saying for four years that NATO needs
to build up Its conventional forces to a
point where they act as a deterrent in
their own right. NATO's conference of
National Armaments Directors (CNAD)
has drawn up a list of four areas to be
emphasised:
(1) stopping the first-echelon attack
with the aid of indirect-fire weapons
such as MLRS Phase III and smart ar-
tillery munitions, using remotely piloted
vehicles for reconnaissance and target-
ing;
(2) attacking follow-on forces from
stand-off ranges;
(3) using specialised airfield-attack
weapons for both offensive and defen-
sive counter-air operations;
(4) improving the type and survivability
of battlefield information by so-called
tactical fusion systems and inter-
connected C3I networks.
The West cannot match the Soviet
Union one-for-one, because of political
and economic limitations, so it must
emphasise its technological superiority.
The United States now spends about
$8,000 million a year on nuclear weap-
ons, of which about half is allocated to
tactical weapons. Many senior US
planners believe that an expenditure of
between $2,000 million and $4,000 mil-
lion a year on conventional weapons for
what is generally known as deep attack
? interdicting follow-on forces ?
would make a significant contribution
to NATO's ability to win a European
1,2 ? A major increase in NATO firepower
against enemy first echelon forces will be pro-
vided by the LTV Multiple Launch Rocket Sys-
tem (MLRS ? 1), which has a range of up to
40km depending on the type of warhead. The
first battery is already deployed with the US
Army and MLRS is also planned to enter ser-
vice with the armies of France, Germany, Italy
and the UK. The MLRS Phase III development,
dispensing six Terminally Guided Warheads
(TGW) based on a millimetre-wave homing de-
sign proposed by Raytheon (2). is not sched-
uled for service entry until 1992, under present
plans. Because of the realignment of the Joint
Tactical Missile System (JTACMS) program,
the US Army's next-generation system for at-
tack of enemy forces at ranges out to 70km ?
which is likely to be a derivative of MLRS ?
may be well into development, if not produc-
tion, by then. The Phase III TGW is likely to be
used in this and other dispenser systems.
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war. To put this level of spending into
perspective, $3,000 million a year would
not even buy a single additional divi-
sion of the type now fielded in Europe.
In 1981 the US Defense Science
Board highlighted 17 areas of technol-
ogy that could make a significant con-
tribution to redressing the balance. Of
these, nine apply to the concept of deep
attack:
? very high-speed
(VHS IC)
? stealth developments
? advanced software and algorithms
? fail-safe/fail-tolerant electronics
? machine intelligence
? microprocessor-based
learning aids
? supercomputers
? materials such as advanced com-
posites
? high-density focal-plane arrays.
These "emerging technologies" (ET)
will allow NATO to extend its conven-
tional stand-off capabilities. Present
technology permits the acquisition and
attack of soft area targets at ranges of
100-150km. In the near term, this will
be extended to encompass hard area
targets at the same ranges. Research is
now aimed at establishing the ability, in
the long term, to attack hard point tar-
gets at ranges greater than 100km. In
April 1984, CNAD agreed to consider
11 programs as part of ET, including
several relating to deep attack, such as
the terminally guided warhead for
MLRS Phase III, JSTARS, and some
elements of management-information
systems.
integrated circuits
personal
Stopping the first echelon
Five NATO countries ? the United
States, Germany, France, Britain and
Italy ? are increasing their artillery in-
ventories in the short term by deploying
the LTV Aerospace and Defense MLRS
(Multiple Launch Rocket System, IDR
5/1980 pp. 728-732). The US Army
fielded the first operational MLRS batt-
ery of nine launchers in early 1983 and
plans to spend a total of some $4,000
million on more than 300 launch vehi-
cles and approximately 400,000 rock-
ets. The four European countries have
set up the European Production Group
(EPG), comprising RTG (Raketen
Technik Gesellschaft ? owned jointly
by MBB and Diehl) in Germany, Hunt-
ing Engineering in Britain. Aerospatiale
in France and Bombrini Parodi Delfino
(BPD) in Italy. Britain is waiting for a
European production line to be set up
before ordering a planned 105 launch-
ers and 82,500 Phase I bomblet-
dispensing rockets (plus 12,500 train-
ing rounds) from the consortium; Ger-
many would take 200 launchers, 16,000
training rounds, 65,000 Phase I rockets
and 20,000 Phase II anti-tank mine dis-
pensing rockets; France would require
55 launchers, 3,000 training rounds and
32,000 Phase I rockets; while Italy
1054 INTERNATIONAL DEFENSE REVIEW 8/1984
wanted 20 launchers, 1,420 training
rounds, 5,400 Phase I rockets and 600
Phase II rockets.
According to LTV, a single MLRS
vehicle with its three-man crew and
carrying 12 rounds represents more fire-
power than 18 203mm howitzers
manned by nearly 600 personnel. The
launcher vehicle's inertial-navigation
system is accurate to within 0.4 percent
of the distance travelled and is normally
updated every two hours or so. Less
than two minutes elapse from the vehi-
cle stopping to the launcher being laid
on the first target, and the interval be-
tween successive rounds can be as little
as four seconds: two seconds to re-aim,
and a further two seconds to allow tur-
bulence from the previous round to
subside. Even the first rocket is claimed
to be more accurate than a howitzer af-
ter firing many registration rounds.
The MLRS Phase I round accom-
modates 644 M77 bomblets, an im-
proved version (with a slightly longer
ribbon parachute) of the M42 that is
carried in the cargo rounds fired from
the 155mm M109 (88 bomblets) and
203mm M110 (190 bomblets) how-
itzers. The M77, which weighs some
180g, carries a shaped charge that will
penetrate up to 100mm of armour. The
MLRS Phase I round dispenses its
3, 4, 5 ? The British Royal Air Force will soon
begin receiving the JP233 airfield attack
weapon from Hunting Engineering, to equip its
Tornado IDS aircraft (3). The Tornado will have
to overfly its targets in order for the JP233 to
dispense its H8876 (area denial ? 4) and SG
357 (cratering ? 5) submunitions. Hostile air
defenses are likely to become increasingly
dense and effective, and the RAF is now fund-
ing teams led by Hunting and British Aerospace
to design a powered stand-off dispenser that
will allow Tornados tasked with counter-air
missions a greater chance of survival.
M77s at a density of some 250/hectare
(compared with about 200/hectare for
the M109 and M110), equating to a
separation of about seven metres be-
tween the bomblets and a coverage
pattern measuring 80-100m in diameter
at maximum range. The Phase II rocket
houses 28 RTG AT2 mines and is ap-
proximately 45kg lighter than the Phase
I round, increasing maximum range
from more than 30km to some 40km.
The US, France, Britain and Germany
also plan to buy the Phase Ill version of
MLRS, carrying terminally guided sub-
munitions to attack moving targets.
Multi-national industrial consortia are
now conducting a 28-month competi-
tive component-validation phase for the
terminally guided warhead (TGW),
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which is expected to be followed before
the end of 1984 (possibly in Sep-
tember) by the selection of one or more
teams to proceed with the planned 30-
month system-validation phase. At one
time the program was due to be nar-
rowed down to one team at this stage,
but IDR understands that two consortia
are now likely to receive further con-
tracts. Managerial as well as technical
problems still remain: the United States
would prefer competition at all stages,
whereas the European partners want
their nominated contractors to remain in
the running. This could lead to further
reshuffling of team membership for the
next phase. Another problem is the long
timescale ? a further 40-month matu-
ration and low-rate production phase,
currently planned to follow system vali-
dation, would stretch the program to 98
months and prevent service entry before
1992.
The technical solution adopted for
the TGW is the "long-glide" concept
originally proposed by the team led by
Raytheon. The MLRS Phase ill would
contain six unpowered TGWs, or sub-
munitions, in the nose of the rocket.
These would be expelled to form a ring,
with the individual submunitions enter-
ing a shallow dive and individually
homing on to their targets by means of
millimetre-wave radar seekers. IDR un-
derstands that targets would be ac-
quired initially by the 94GHz seeker op-
erating in active mode, which would
then switch over to passive radiometric
homing at a range of some 250m in or--
der to minimise glint problems. A steep
dive during the final stages of an attack
allows the submunition's warhead to
penetrate a tank's lightly armoured up--
per surfaces.
The United States is expected to bear
40 percent of the cost of the TGW pro-
gram, with the three European countries
contributing 20 percent each. The sub-
munitions developed for MLRS Phase
III are also likely to be adopted for other
dispensing weapons.
Despite its recent problems, the Mar-
tin Marietta Copperhead laser-homing
155mm shell will make a significant
contribution to the West's armoury. The
weapon's reliability in lot-acceptance
tests has now reached 83 percent, and
the company is building 15 to 17
rounds a day. Total procurement is
planned to reach 44,000 by 1 991 for
the US Rapid Deployment Forces, and
further sales in Europe are likely.
The US Army's plans to deploy the
SADARM (Sense and Destroy Armour,
IDR 8/1980, pp.1235, 1236) munition
ran into problems during the Spring of
1984, when Congress cut off funds as a
result of the Army's inability to agree a
unified plan for anti-armour munitions.
The program is expected to be
relaunched in October, however, ini-
tially to provide a "smart" round for the
203mm howitzer. Some 2,000 to 3,000
of these heavy calibre artillery pieces re-
main in the US inventory for the nuclear
and counter-battery roles. Weapons of
155mm calibre are operated much more
widely, however, and one candidate to
provide a fire-and-forget anti-armour
round in this category is the Avco Sys-
tems XM898 (formerly known as the
Enhanced Sensing Munition). This
packs four Skeet submunitions into a
standard M483A1 cargo shell. The
Skeets are ejected over the target and
deploy a simple Kevlar wing with a tip
weight. This causes the descending
submunition to describe a rotational
motion similar to that of a single syca-
more seed, so that the Skeet's infra-red
seeker scans over a large area to find
the target. A millimetre-wave radar al-
timeter detonates the submunition at
the correct height, firing a self-forging
fragment through the top of the tank.
Those submunitions that fail to find a
suitable target while descending have a
secondary role as run-over mines.
Follow-On Forces Attack
NATO is now establishing its long-
term policy guidelines for Follow-On
Forces Attack (FOFA), which it defines
as engaging targets at ranges from
25km to more than 400km beyond the
FEBA. Mission-need documents drawn
up by SHAPE are expected to be sub-
mitted to the CNAD before the end of
1984. This wide range bracket overlaps
with weapons such as MLRS and can-
non artillery, and air-launched weapons
are in many cases suitable for both
close support and interdiction.
? Long-Range Stand-Off Mis-
sile. NATO expects three memoranda
of understanding relating to new air-to-
surface weapons to be signed this year.
The first, covering competitive feasibil-
ity studies of the Long-Range Stand-
Off Missile (LRSOM) to enter service in
the early 1990s, was due to be signed
this summer. The 18-month studies,
costing $6 million (provided equally by
the United States, Germany and Bri-
tain), are expected to be conducted by
two teams: one led by Boeing and in-
cluding MBB, British Aerospace Dy-
namics and Marconi Avionics; and the
other headed by General Dynamics'
Convair Division and involving Dornier
and Hunting Engineering. Major sub-
Improved Lance proposals
Although the USAF now plans to use a
cruise missile for the deep attack role,
rather than a weapon based on either
Lance (1-22) or Patriot (1-16), the prob-
lem remains of how to replace Lance itself.
LTV Aerospace has proposed an improved
version of the weapon to replace the 16
Lance battalions deployed by NATO in Eu-
rope. Improved Lance would have a solid
rocket motor, using the same propellant as
in MLRS, in place of the present liquid mo-
tor. This provides three times the 110km
range of the present missile, allowing the
weapon to be launched from 50km west of
the present FEBA yet still reach the East
German/Polish border as well as providing
cross-corps support. The improved missile
would have five times the accuracy of its
predecessor (0.5mrad rather than 2.5mrad,
equating to a 50m CEP at a range of
100km) and three times the lethality, using
the M251 warhead carrying 825 M74 anti-
personnel/anti-materiel bomblets di-
spensed over an area 400m across.
LTV Aerospace has offered the US Army
a firm, fixed-price contract for Improved
Lance, and estimates that RDT&E and pro-
duction of an initial 1,000 missiles would
cost less than $600 million (at 1983
prices). The missile itself, at some $175,000
a round, is half the price of existing Lance.
A further $75,000 buys the APAM war-
head, while conversion of existing launch-
ers (including the addition of a fire-control
system derived from that in MLRS. and a
vehicle navigation system) would cost
$800,000 per launcher. Phase 1 of Im-
proved Lance, using converted single-
round launchers, could enter service in
1987-88. Phase 2 would introduce new
three-round launchers on wheeled chassis,
while Phase 3 would add further warheads:
a terminally guided version for attacking
hard structures, an improved nuclear pay-
load, a chemical warhead and anti-armour
submunitions.
LTV Aerospace has signed marketing
agreements for Improved Lance with the
Royal Ordnance Factories in Britain, Weg-
mann in Germany and Difesa e Spazio in
Italy. The European contractors would be
offered co-production, and co-devel-
opment if possible. They would also be
able to contribute to the development of
new warheads and ground support equip-
ment.
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contractors on the GD-led team are ex-
pected to include AEG-Telefunken,
LITEF, Thorn-EMI, Lucas Aerospace
and Marconi Defence Systems. The US
Air Force will act as lead service for the
feasibility studies.
LRSOM would be a subsonic cruise
missile with a range of 500-600km and
carrying various specialised payloads to
attack targets such as air bases, bridges
and C3I bunkers. As the total payload
will be limited to 500-600kg, the mis-
sile itself will be required to incorporate
extremely accurate mid-course and ter-
minal guidance so that small targets
such as hardened aircraft shelters can
be destroyed at long ranges with
"dumb" munitions.
The Boeing-led team will draw on
the US company's experience with the
Air-Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM)
program and on the work that has been
under way at British Aerospace Dynam-
ics for several years on a cruise-missile
derivative of Sea Eagle, known as P4T,
with TERPROM guidance. General Dy-
namics Convair also has extensive
cruise-missile expertise from the Toma-
hawk and derivative Medium-Range
Air-to-Surface Missile (MRASM) pro-
grams. Dornier is contributing its
knowledge of subsonic unpiloted vehi-
cles from the CL-89/CL-289 drone
projects and Hunting Engineering is of-
fering its work on submunitions with
the JP233 airfield-attack weapon sys-
tem. Dornier has been collaborating
with GD since 1978 on studies applica-
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6-10? RTG (owned by MBB and Diehl) is to
deliver the first production MW-1 dispensers in
October. to equip Luftwaffe Tornados (6). The
Italian Air Force also wants the MW-1. The
weapon can dispense either anti-tank or anti-
airbase submunitions. Anti-tank submunitions
include the KB 44 (7) and MIFF (8) plus the
MUSA mine (not shown), while those for use
against airbases include the MUSPA (9) and
STABO (10). See text for further details. These
submunitions are also being proposed for a va-
riety of US and Franco-German powered,
stand-off dispensers.
ble to LRSOM, emphasising guidance
and warhead options. The German
company has also developed "stealth"
techniques as part of its future fighter
studies. Dornier prefers a dispenser ar-
rangement that can accommodate a
wide variety of submunitions, with the
emphasis on high reliability and low
cost. The company has designed a di-
spensing mechanism whereby submu-
nitions are ejected sideways from the
weapon in pairs, then separated by a
pyrotechnically-initiated air bag that ac-
celerates the outer submunition laterally
and retards the inner one. This allows
the missile to attack targets immediately
beneath it. Ejection speeds of up to
70m/s have been demonstrated, and
components suitable for LRSOM will be
test-flown at Eglin AFB in early 1985 as
part of a US-German-British technol-
ogy program. Dornier's studies have
also concentrated on guidance techni-
ques suitable for use in all weathers, in-
cluding heavy snow on the ground. The
company's original work on two-di-
mensional pattern recognition proved
inadequate in snow, so Dornier has
now added a range input ? provided
by a laser rangefinder or millimetre-
wave radar ? to build up a three-di-
mensional picture of the target.
The United States has recently re-
aligned its efforts to develop a deep-
attack weapon, which is now orientated
around a cruise missile rather than a
ballistic weapon (see below). Although
the cruise solution adopted for LRSOM
has advantages in terms of range and
payload, making it suitable for attacking
fixed targets such as airfields and
bridges, it is slow and comparatively ex-
pensive. For this reason there has been
a powerful US lobby in favour of a bal-
listic deep-attack missile that could en-
gage moving targets at stand-off ranges
by virtue of its quick reaction time. One
argument in favour of this solution is
that a mix of aerodynamic and ballistic
weapons already exists in the forms of
MX Peacekeeper/ALCM and Pershing
II/GLCM, exploiting the individual ad-
vantages of each type.
The Europeans, however, have been
less keen on ballistic weapons. A ballis-
tic deep-attack missile could easily be
mistaken for a nuclear weapon by the
defending forces, and problems of
demonstrating that such a weapon has
no strategic role ? especially if it is
fired from a silo ? appear to be insur-
mountable.
Until May 1984, the US Army and
USAF were collaborating on their own
joint weapon system for the deep-at-
tack role: the JTACMS (Joint Tactical
Missile System), with the Army as lead
service, and the complementary USAF-
led JSTARS (Joint Surveillance And
Target Attack Radar System). On May
22, however, the two services revealed
that they had reached agreement on
which would be responsible for specific
roles and missions. The USAF assumes
responsibility for what was JTACMS
and plans to develop a cruise (rather
than ballistic) missile for this role. The
weapon will have a range of 370-
550km but will not be a derivative of
the Tomahawk cruise missile or the pre-
viously cancelled MFiASM. The Army
will concentrate its efforts on a ground-
launched weapon with a range of some
70km, possibly a derivative of MLRS
(see above). Defense Department of-
ficials acknowledge that European con-
cern about ballistic weapons was one
reason for the re-alignment of the pro-
gram, although the driving factor was
cost.
The JTACMS program had been
launched by the Defense Department in
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11 ? The USAF has approved low-rate initial
production of Texas Instruments' new Paveway
III laser-guided bomb in its GBU-24 version
(based on a Mk84 900kg bomb). Paveway III
can be delivered from very low level, in all
weathers, and can also be tossed from stand-
off ranges.
12 ? The Rockwell International GBU-15 TV-
guided glide bomb, shown here on the port in-
board pylon. of an F-4E Phantom, has been
adopted by the USAF as its interim stand-off
weapon. Operational testing of an imaging IR
version is due for completion by end-1984, and
the USAF plans to develop an AGM-130 pow-
ered version, with a range of 24km.
13--- The McDonnell Douglas F-1 5E Strike Ea-
gle has been chosen as the USAF's new Dual-
Role Fighter. It features improved ground attack
capabilities, including use of the twin-pod Mar-
tin Marietta LANTIRN system (shown in this
impression), for laser illumination of targets at
night. Other weapons will include the new
Combined Effects Munition (CEM) cluster
bomb, 19 of which can be carried. The CEM
consists of an SUU-65/B Tactical Munitions
Dispenser (TMD) loaded with 202 multi-role
bomblets.
ment system to detect and track follow-
on forces, and to guide attacks accura-
tely against them. The airborne radar
would initially operate in the wide-area
MTI role to provide an "electronic high
ground", with fixed-target indication
and weapon-guidance modes being
added later. Time-sharing would permit
the simultaneous engagement of several
targets. The C-18 would carry a large
amount of on-board processing equip-
ment and would have eight to ten ope-
rators/controllers in the fuselage, in the
same manner as the E-3A AWACS. In-
formation would be exchanged with
ground stations and with other airborne
platforms (including missiles being
guided to their targets) over secure
digital data links.
June 1982, six months before comple-
tion of the Assault Breaker project (IDR
9/1982, pp.1207-1211) that demon-
strated the delivery of smart submuni-
tions from ballistic carrier missiles. The
two services had great difficulty in
agreeing a common requirement: the
Army wanted a ballistic weapon with a
longer range than present artillery and
rockets (out to about 100km beyond
the FEBA), while the USAF leaned to-
wards a cruise missile with a greater
range. The targets to be engaged were
similar, but with different emphasis on
each one: the Army's list of priorities
was VI targets, air-defense assets and
manoeuvre forces, while the Air Force's
main priority was Suppression of Enemy
Air Defenses (SEAD), followed by anti-
armour and counter-VI. The Army
wanted anti-armour, Anti-Personnel/
Anti-Materiel (APAM), mine-carrying
and chemical warheads, while the Air
Force favoured unitary (of approxi-
mately 500kg), anti-armour, APAM and
possibly mine payloads.
Before the JTACMS program was re-
aligned, plans called for a joint require-
ment to be agreed in May 1984. This
was to have been followed by requests
for proposals, evaluation of the bids and
letting of a contract for full-scale engi-
neering development, with service entry
five to seven years later. Projected costs
for research and development were
$115 million in 1985 and $1,237 million
over the period 1985-89. Details of the
new program may not become clear for
some time.
The complementary JSTARS radar
system will now be installed only in the
USAF C-18 (Boeing 707), and not in
the TR-1 or Army OV-1D as previously
planned. JSTARS, initiated in May
1982, absorbed the Air Force's Pave
Mover and the Army's SOTAS BDS
(Battlefield Data System) programs. It
was intended as a complete manage-
Concept-definition studies of the ra-
dar have been carried out by Hughes
Aircraft, Westinghouse, General Electric
and a team of Grumman and Norden.
Before the program was re-aligned,
plans called for selection of a single in-
tegrating contractor in August 1984,
with full-scale engineering devel-
opment lasting a further four years.
Projected R&D spending was $203 mil-
lion in 1985 and $666 million in 1985-
89.
Over the next few years. NATO air
forces will deploy a number of new
weapons suitable for use against inter-
diction targets. RTG is due to begin
production deliveries in October this
year of the MW-1 (Mehrzweckwaffe 1)
dispenser that will form the standard ar-
mament of Luftwaffe Tornados. MW-1,
which weighs 4,500-4,700kg when
loaded, contains 112 tubes that house
submunitions of 132mm diameter.
These submunitions are divided into
two groups: HZG 1 (Hauptzielgruppe
I), now in production, is optimised for
the anti-armour role and comprises the
KB44 bomblet, the MIFF (Mine Flach-
Flach) anti-tank mine and the MUSA
(Multisplitter-Wirkkorper, Aktiv) frag-
mentation mine. MW-1 can also carry
the HZG II combination of submuni-
tions in the airfield-attack role (see
below). The same submunitions are
planned to be used in the CWS/Apache
free-flying dispenser, and MBB is offer-
ing a cut-down version of MW-1,
known as MDS (Modular Dispensing
System), for fighter ground-attack air-
craft.
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The US Air Force plans to deploy
60,000 rounds of the Hughes AGM-
65D Imaging Infra-Red Maverick air-
to-surface missile (IDR 5/1984, p.647),
for which Raytheon has been named as
second source. Joint production will
rise to a peak of 44 rounds a month in
1986. The AGM-65D will arm the
F-111, F-16, A-7, A-10 and probably
the F-1 5E, allowing them to attack hard
targets from stand-off ranges at night
and through battlefield mist, smoke or
haze. The F-ills will operate the
weapon in conjunction with the Ford
Aerospace & Communications AVQ-26
Pave Tack electro-optical targeting pod.
Pave Tack can also be used with
dumb or laser-guided bombs, and with
the GBU-15 glide bomb. The televi-
sion-guided version of the GBU-15,
based on a Mk84 900kg bomb, is ope-
rational on USAF Tactical Air Command
F-4E Phantoms. Initial operational test-
ing of the version with an infra-red
seeker (as fitted to AGM-65D Maver-
ick) is due to be completed by the end
of 1984. The USAF has standardised on
the GBU-15 family as its interim stand-
off weapon and plans to develop a
powered version, the AGM-130, to arm
F-ills and F-4s. The 24km-range
AGM-130 is intended to provide a large
increase in capability at low cost, and
comprises a standard GBU-15 (includ-
ing the present data link) with the addi-
tion of a rocket motor and, for the dis-
pensing version, a radar altimeter and a
facility known as Adjusting Aimpoint
Compensation. The last-named allows
for the fact that the seeker's view, as
seen by the weapon-system operator on
his display, is offset from the target in
the case of a dispensing weapon. A
contract for full-scale engineering de-
velopment of AGM-130 was due to be
awarded in June 1984, with deliveries
starting in 1987. The weapon can be
based around the Mk84 bomb or an
SUU-54 dispenser carrying Aerojet
Ordnance BLU-97/B bomblets.
The BLU-97/B also forms one pay-
load for the USAF's new SUU-65/B
Tactical Munitions Dispenser (TMD),
this combination of dispenser and 202
bomblets ? each of which contains a
shaped charge, fragmentation section
and incendiary device forming the
CBU-87/B Combined Effects Munition
(CEM). The CEM will replace a series of
earlier cluster bombs and is claimed to
provide two to four times the kill rate of
the current Rockeye.The weapon com-
pleted initial operational testing in Oc-
tober 1982 and can be delivered at
heights down to 200ft and speeds of
700kt. Up to 19 can be carried by an
F-1 5E. The burst height can be selected
in flight by adjusting the time delay and
operating height of the proximity fuze,
and the spin rate of the dispenser can
be selected between zero and 2,500
revs/min to vary the submunition pat-
tern (the weapon is spun up by pop-out
canted fins on release from the carrier
aircraft).
The TMD can also contain the Gator
mine family, each dispenser accommo-
14-16 ? The USAF's new SUU-65/B Tactical
Munitions Dispenser (TMD) can be loaded
with a variety of submunitions including Avco
Systems Extended-Range Antiarmour Mum-
tions (ERAM) and Sensor-Fuzed Weapons
(SFW ? 14 ? photo: Brian M. Service).
ERAM is a smart mine containing two Skeet
submunitions which it ejects outwards and up-
wards when it senses approaching tanks, while
the SFW deploys four Skeets from the air.
Photo 15 shows the IR-sensing, top-attack
Skeet (centre left), ERAM (top) and SFW (bot-
tom). Up to six Skeets can also be delivered by
conventional IRAAM 155mm artillery rounds
(16).
dating 72 of the anti-tank version and
22 of the anti-personnel variant. An
F-111 can thus deliver some 600 mines
over an area of 200m by 300m from
200ft and a speed of 800kt. Another
payload for the TMD is the Avco Sys-
tems Sensor-Fuzed Weapon (SFW),
now in full-scale engineering devel-
opment. The TMD can contain ten such
submunitions, each holding four Skeet
self-forging fragment warheads. Yet an-
other possible payload for the TMD is
the Avco Systems ERAM (Extended-
Range Anti-Armour Munition), this
combination being designated CBU-
92/B. Avco has completed advanced
development of ERAM, which deploys
up to two Skeets when it senses ap-
proaching tanks, and the weapon could
enter full-scale development immedi-
ately, leading to production in some 18
months. No money is available at
present, however, and the ERAM pro-
gram may be handed over to the Army
for deployment from helicopters or
trucks. This solution would avoid the
need for expensive shrinking of the
electronics in ERAM that would be nec-
essary for it to fit comfortably into a
TMD.
The USAF has approved low-rate ini-
tial production of the Texas Instruments
Paveway III low-level laser-guided
bomb in its GBU-24 version, based on
a Mk84 900kg bomb. Paveway III is de-
signed to operate in poor weather and
in a high-threat environment, and can
be delivered from level flight at very low
altitudes, in a toss mode from stand-off
ranges, or in a dive of up to 60?. The
use of an autopilot for mid-course guid-
ance allows the pilot to merely sight the
target through his windscreen and
pickle, without having to track the tar-
get. A boosted version, using a rocket
motor, has also been proposed.
The US Naval Weapons Center at
China Lake is conducting operational
testing of Skipper 2, a Mk83 450kg
bomb fitted with a laser seeker and the
same rocket motor as is used in the Sh-
rike anti-radiation missile. The addition
of a motor allows the weapon to be
launched from stand-off ranges.
In the UK, Hunting Engineering is
developing an improved version of the
BL755 cluster bomb to meet Air Staff
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Requirement 1227 (modified). Each of
the 147 bomblets incorporates an
uprated explosive charge, and a para-
chute has been added to the rear in or-
der to pitch the bomblet sharply nose-
down following weapon release at very
low levels.
Air-to-surface weapons used by the
French Air Force include Matra's
Belouga cluster bomb and the Aerospa-
tiale AS.30L laser-guided air-to-surface
missile. Matra has launched production
of its BGL laser-guided bomb system,
which is due to enter service with the
Armee de l'Air this year. Firing trials car-
ried out in October 1983 resulted in a
bridge pier being completely destroyed
by two Arcole 1,000kg bombs with the
BGL guidance and control kit. A version
based on a 400kg bomb is also avail-
able.
? Low-Cost Powered Dis-
penser. NATO is now looking towards
a future air-launched stand-off weapon
for use at short and medium ranges, and
expects to sign a memorandum of un-
derstanding this year leading to a feasi-
bility study for a Low-Cost Powered Di-
spenser (LOCPOD). The US, Belgium,
Canada, Denmark, Italy and Norway
have expressed interest in such a
weapon, with a range of some 20km,
for service entry in approximately 1990.
A pre-feasibility study under Dutch lea-
dership has been completed, and Ca-
nada is expected to assume responsibil-
ity for the feasibility study. Britain has
already drawn up a requirement for
such a weapon in the form of Air Staff
Target 1238, and has awarded competi-
tive feasibility study contracts to two
UK industrial teams led by British Aero-
space and Hunting Engineering, respec-
tively. Neither the German nor the
French defense ministries have yet es-
tablished their exact needs, although
the Luftwaffe is looking for a weapon in
this class to arm Alpha Jets, but the in-
dustries in those countries are taking
17,18 -- The Skeet submunition features an IR
seeker and an explosively formed penetrator (or
self-forging fragment) warhead. Formation of
the penetrator is shown in photo 17. while
photo 18 shows a Skeet in action.
the initiative in forming international
teams to develop suitable technology.
MBB and Matra have agreed jointly
to provide company financing for devel-
opment of the project known as CWS
(Container Weapon System) by the
German company and as Apache (Arme
Planante a Charges Ejectables) by the
French firm. Dornier and Brandt Arme-
ments have also agreed to collaborate
on a weapon referred to as the Short-
Range Stand-Off Missile (SR SOM)
and Pegase, respectively (see IDR 6/
1984, p.796). Franco-German govern-
mental financing of one or more of the
proposals may be made available in
1986.
Techniques suitable for incorporation
in CWS/Apache have been developed
as part of a US-German technology
program under which MBB and Bruns-
wick have collaborated on the Low-Al-
titude Dispenser (LAD, IDR 6/1982,
p.804). Flight trials of the LAD 1 vehi-
cle, for which MBB contributed the
warhead section and its submunitions,
were carried out during 1982 at Eglin
AFB. Inert KB44 bomblets (as devel-
oped for the MW-1) were dispensed
from the unpowered LAD 1 vehicle to
check the ejection performance. These
tests have been followed over the last
year or so by trials with the 1,360kg
Remotely piloted vehicles
Several NATO countries are developing
RPV systems to provide intelligence infor-
mation and to aid in acquiring and engag-
ing battlefield targets. The US Army's major
program in this field is Aquila, being devel-
oped by Lockheed Missiles & Space Co.
Each Army division will have two central-
ised launch/recovery sections (CLRs) with
associated forward control sections
(FCSs). The RPV itself carries a stabilised
daylight television camera and a laser
rangefinder/designator. With the RPV fly-
ing at a height of 3,000ft, and the camera's
sightline 25 degrees below the horizontal.
the ground area being imaged at any given
time mesures 700m across by 1,250m deep
and an area of 25km2 can be searched in
five minutes. Sensor information is tran-
smitted back to the FCS via a jam-resistant
data link.
Aquila is intended mainly for artillery fire
adjustment, replacing manned aircraft in
this role, and to designate targets for attack
by Copperhead. Hellfire and laser-guided
bombs. A prototype system has been de-
ployed at Fort Hood in order to provide op-
erating experience. The day-only variant is
scheduled to enter production next year
and to be fielded in quantity during 1987.
Full-scale engineering development of the
associated FLIR system is planned to start
this year, allowing a night capability to be
added to Aquila in 1989.
Matra and MBB have agreed to collabo-
rate on an RPV system and have submitted
proposals to the French and German gov-
ernments. The Brevel program,. which has
absorbed Matra's Scorpion and MBB's
Tucan projects, would use an RPV weigh-
ing 100-150kg and having a range of 50-
80km. The payload would comprise TV
and/or FLIR, and the system could become
operational at the end of this decade.
The British Army has a similar program,
Phoenix, which will use air vehicles de-
ployed at corps level to conduct battlefield
surveillance and to find targets for attack
by artillery. The main sensor will be a FLIR.
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LAD II, which uses gas generator dis-
pensing (as in the MW-1) to reduce
costs and provide greater flexibility.
MBB has developed a standard dis-
pensing unit containing four tubes
(ejecting two submunitions to each
side), and these can be attached me-
chanically to build up a weapon of the
size desired. Smaller, two-tube, mod-
ules are also available.
The LAD flight path is controlled by
an autopilot and altimeter, using four
control surfaces on the rear fins, but it
would be fitted with an inertial naviga-
tion system. It can be pre-programmed
on the ground or in flight, with data
passed via a MIL STD 1553B digital
data bus. Several LAD flight profiles
have been tested, including low-altitude
level delivery and "pop-up" for a steep
dive attack, to allow kinetic energy run-
way penetrators to be released. Launch
speed limits are 300 to 600kt (556 to
1,112km/h) and, launched at 600kt, the
LAD can manoeuvre to a target up to
2.5n.m. (4.5km) off the aircraft launch
axis. Maximum launch range along this
axis is 5.5n.m. (over 10km) but Bruns-
wick claims that this increases to
13n.m. (24km) in the powered version.
A variety of submunitions have been
tested, including the US Kinetic
Energy Penetrator and MBB STABO to
attack runways, the US Sensor Fuzed
Weapon using Avco Skeet submuni-
tions and MBB's KB-44, both anti-ar-
mour, and the US Anti-Material Incen-
diary Submunition (AMIS). Two dis-
pensing systems were used. One was a
variant of the 135mm (5.3in) tube dis-
penser used in the MW-1, which em-
ploys a sequencer-controlled cartridge
gas generator to eject the individual
submunitions laterally in a controlled
pattern. The second was a Brunswick-
designed four-bay airbag system which
simultaneously ejects all of the submu-
nitions in a bay.
A further series of LAD demonstra-
tion flights, funded as a US Foreign
Weapons Evaluation program, will start
in early 1985. This will test three sub-
munition dispensing systems, including
one each from Dornier and MBB, used
with a variety of German submunitions.
Three LAD vehicles are to be built. One
will be similar to the earlier, slab-sided
unit, while two others will be more
aerodynamically refined, and presum-
ably lighter, as they are claimed to be
suitable for carriage by all USAF strike
aircraft. The test vehicles will be recov-
erable for re-use.
MBB's dispenser modules form the
2m-long centre section of the CWS/
Apache which can contain up to 48
tubes for German submunitions of
132mm diameter, or 44 of 184mm cali-
bre to accommodate Matra's submuni-
tions. The MBB ordnance section can
be loaded with any of the submunitions
planned for MW-1 (see above and
below), while the French version can
house Matra's Mimosa fragmentation
submunition for use against troops or
light vehicles, the Arcadie "semi-smart"
anti-tank weapon, or mines. Alter-
natively, 12 Samanta runway-cratering
munitions could be mounted length-
wise within the missile's centre-section.
CWS/Apache is expected to fly in
1987-88, with troop trials following in
1989-90. Three basic versions are
planned: an unpowered dispenser with
stub wings and a range of 7-15km,
depending on the release height and
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INTERNATIONAL DEFENSE REVIEW 8/1984
whether a toss delivery mode is used; a
derivative, also unpowered, with flip-
out wings to give a range of 25-30km;
and a powered weapon with a range of
some 50km. Matra sees CWS/Apache
as the natural successor to its present
family of specialised air-to-surface
weapons such as Belouga and Du-
randal.
Dornier is already collaborating with
Hunting Engineering and Honeywell on
MLRS Phase III studies, and, together
with Brandt Armements, this co-opera-
tion is continuing with PegaselSR
SOM. Aerospatiale is also expected to
join the team. The weapon typically car-
ries 24 submunitions, of which several
types will be available. Dornier regards
millimetre-wave radar guidance as be-
ing too expensive for this application,
as well as being unproven technology
that may not be available in time for SR
SOM. A modified SADARM submuni-
tion is therefore a prime candidate for
the weapon. Detection range would be
extended to increase the size of the tar-
get-acquisition footprint from some
80m radius to about 600m, allowing the
target signature to be analysed before
attack. A steerable parachute would
also be added to the submunition, al-
lowing it to turn and follow a target
19, 20 ? The USAF has ordered 3,000 Matra
Durandal boosted anti-runway weapons.
shown here on an F-111 (19), for the counter-
air mission. Up to eight of Avco's Boosted Ki-
netic Energy Penetrator (BKEP) anti-runway
weapons (20) could be dispensed from a TMD
for the counter-air mission, together with Brit-
ish HB876 mines used in the JP233. BKEP is
now in full-scale engineering development for
the USAF as a potential follow-on to Durandal.
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The increased footprint size would per-
mit navigation errors of 300-400m for
the dispenser itself to be tolerated, and
a kill rate of 30 percent could be ex-
pected against a tank column moving
along a road. Test vehicles demonstrat-
ing aspects of SR SOM technology are
due to start flight trials next year.
? Suppression of enemy air
defenses. The success of any deep at-
tack mission that requires the use of
penetrating aircraft, and of close-sup-
port engagements, depends on sup-
pressing enemy air defenses. The third
Mali covering tactical air-to-surface
missiles that NATO expects to be
signed this year relates to SRARM
(Short-Range Anti-Radiation Missile),
a high-speed ARM intended to be de-
ployed in the early 1990s for self-
defense of tactical aircraft. Members of
Airfield attack
NATO's Air Force Armaments Group
is studying US proposals for a concept
known as Counter Air 90, which envis-
ages the use of ballistic missiles to at-
tack enemy air bases in the first few
hours of a European war. Several com-
panies have put forward proposals for
such a weapon, referred to as Axe by
the US Department of Defense. Martin
Marietta has proposed CAM (Conven-
tional Counter-Air Missile), using an
extended-range Pershing II carrying a
dispenser warhead. The US company
has discussed CAM with Hunting Engi-
neering, which is carrying out studies
related to the British MoD's Air Staff
Target 1236 for a future airfield-attack
missile. Lockheed's studies to meet the
Axe requirement have centred on its
proposed Ballistic Offensive Suppres-
provide a much-needed improvement in
NATO's counter-air capabilities.
The British Royal Air Force will intro-
duce the Hunting Engineering JP233
dispenser weapon over the next few
months (IDR 4/1984, pp.485-488). A
Tornado can carry two complete J P233
weapon systems containing a total of
60 SG357 cratering submunitions and
430 HB876 area-denial mines. Luft-
waffe Tornados will carry MW-1 dis-
pensers loaded with the STABO (Start-
bahnbombe) cratering munition, the
MU S PA (Multisplitter-Wirkkorper,
Passiv) fragmentation mine using
acoustic fuzing to attack taxiing aircraft,
and the MUSA and MIFF mines also
carried in MW-1 for the anti-armour
role (see above). Development of this
submunition combination, known as
HZG II, is scheduled for completion at
the end of 1985 and to become opera-
tional in 1987. Negotiations now under
way with the Italian Air Force are ex-
pected to lead to that service arming its
Tornados with MW-1s carrying HZG II
submunitions for airfield attack. STABO
has already been tested by the USAF at
Eglin AFB under the Foreign Weapons
Evaluation Program and is to be further
demonstrated there in October 1985
from a Tornado. The MUSPA mine will
also be examined at Eglin under the
same program.
RTG has carried out initial devel-
opment of two further submunitions
21,22 ? NATO is expected this year to start
feasibility studies for a Low-Cost Powered Di-
spenser (LOCPOD) with a range of about
20km, for service entry in about 1990. The Brit-
ish RAF has already awarded competing study
contracts to teams headed by Hunting and Brit-
ish Aerospace to meet its Air Staff Target 1238.
Two Franco-German teams have also been
formed to compete for the anticipated NATO
contracts for LOCPOD, as illustrated here in
two artist's impressions. 21 shows two Dornier-
Brandt Armements Pegase/SR SOM powered
dispensers beneath the wings of a Lufwaffe Al-
pha Jet. The MBB-Matra CWS/Apache is
shown (22) dispensing MBB bomblets devel-
oped for the MW-1.
the Alliance that have expressed interest
in such a program comprise the US, Ca-
nada, Italy, Holland and Britain. The US
is deploying the Texas Instruments
HARM as its standard weapon in this
category (IDR 11/1983 pp.1585-
1588), and is developing the Side-
winder-based Sidearm I and II as low-
cost interim weapons to protect tactical
aircraft. The German Navy has also se-
lected HARM, which is being promoted
by MBB as standard armament for the
projected Electronic Combat and
Reconnaissance (ECR) version of Tor-
nado for the Luftwaffe. The Royal Air
Force has selected the British Aero-
space Dynamics ALARM as its new
lightweight anti-radiation missile, to en-
ter service in 1987, and Matra is pro-
posing its ARMAT as a dedicated long-
range ARM (derived from Martel) for
the Armee de l'Air.
sion System (BOSS), based on the Tri-
dent C4 missile. Following a cold
launch from a silo and booster separa-
tion at a height of 80,000ft and Mach
6.7, the weapon would reach an apogee
of 160,000ft at Mach 5.5. Stellar updat-
ing of the guidance system at
110,000ft/Mach 6 is followed by a
mid-course glide of the warhead sec-
tion at its maximum lift/drag ratio. The
vehicle then turns on to its required azi-
muth and executes a terminal pull-up at
20,000ft and Mach 2.4 to dispense
submunitions.
Most European countries are op-
posed to such an exotic solution using
ballistic missiles, preferring to rely on
cruise weapons and manned penetrat-
ing aircraft for the next generation of
airfield-attack weapons. A number of
new weapons optimised for this role are
now coming into service, which will
that could be incorporated in MW-1.
The ASW (Anti-Shelter Weapon) em-
ploys a similar principle to that of
STABO, using a tandem arrangement of
warheads to blow a hole in a hardened
aircraft shelter (HAS) so that the sec-
ondary grenade can detonate within the
HAS itself. Another submunition,
LASSO, erects itself on legs and de-
ploys sensors so that it can detect pass-
ing vehicles and penetrate their sides by
means of a hollow charge. Further de-
velopment of these submunitions de-
pends on money being made available.
In September 1983, after more than
three years of competitive evaluation,
the USAF selected the Matra Durandal
as its interim anti-runway weapon for
Tactical Air Command. Durandal, des-
ignated BLU-107/B by the USAF, has
been in production since 1977 for the
Armee de l'Air and export customers.
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Orders and options now total some
29,000 rounds, including approximately
3,000 for the US. Up to 24 can be car-
ried by an F-111 (although 12 is more
typical), and the weapon is also likely to
arm F-4s and F-16s.
In addition to buying Durandal, the
USAF has funded full-scale engineering
development (to be completed in April
1985) of the Avco Systems BLU-106/B
BKEP (Boosted Kinetic-Energy Pene-
trator) as a specialised airfield-attack
submunition. BKEP was originally
planned to be carried by the AGM-
109H MRASM medium-range air-to-
surface missile, and following the can-
cellation of that weapon there were
proposals that dedicated future coun-
ter-air versions of the GBU-15/AGM-
130 family could accommodate 15 to
17 BKEPs in a dispenser vehicle. This
proposal has died through lack of fund-
ing, however, and a possible first appli-
cation of the submunition is in the Tac-
tical Munitions Dispenser. IDR under-
stands that the USAF Armament Divi-
sion at Eglin AFB may look favourably
on a proposal for a version of the TMD
loaded with eight BKEPs and the
HB876 mine as used in the British
JP233 anti-airfield dispenser. The two
submunitions have the same diameter
? a legacy from the days when JP233
was a joint Anglo-American project --
thereby aiding integration into the
TMD. The TMD can be tossed for
1,500-2,000m but is essentially a fly-
over weapon. Although a stand-off mis-
sile such as LOCPOD or LRSOM would
seem more suitable as a delivery vehicle
for BKEP, senior decision-makers wi-
thin Tactical Air Command are at
present committed to penetrating air-
craft.
Avco was due to have delivered
nearly 60 trials rounds of BKEP, includ-
ing some complete submunitions, by
July 1984 for testing at Eglin and at the
company's facilities on Cape Cod. Pro-
duction could start within six months of
FSED being completed. BKEP is de-
signed to defeat the hardest targets,
which are not necessarily those for
which European-developed weapons
are intended. The USAF, with its world-
wide responsibilities, needs a weapon
that will destroy air bases in Siberia and
on the Kamchatka and Kola peninsulas
as well as in Central Europe. US experi-
ence of building airfields in Alaska dur-
ing World War 2 has shown just how
23-27 ? The USAF continues testing of MBB
and Dornier submunitions from powered Low
Altitude Dispensers (LAD) developed by
Brunswick (sequence 23-26). Unlike the MBB
submunitions, those developed by Dornier are
carried longitudinally and ejected sideways,
with separation between submunitions being
achieved by means of pyrotechnically-initiated
air bags (27).
1066 INTERNATIONAL DEFENSE REVIEW 8/1984
hard a target a runway can be when it is
constructed by digging a trench down
to the permafrost layer in summer, filling
it with gravel, tamping down and topp-
ing with concrete or tarmac. The size of
hole made by an anti-runway munition
against such a target is not as important
as creating heave to produce slabs that
offer no purchase for a bulldozer blade.
Battlefield data management
NATO's intelligence capability is now
good enough to provide detailed ana-
lyses of Soviet exercises, allowing the
Alliance to pinpoint vulnerabilities, but
deep attack using conventional weap-
ons is possible only if accurate and
timely battle-management data are
available to all levels of command. Over
the past five years or so the US Depart-
ment of Defense has sponsored three
series of experiments to demonstrate
that deep attack is feasible.
The first series, designed to show
that it is possible to locate targets and
vector attacks with sufficient accuracy
for conventional weapons to be used,
involved Pave Mover radars for non-
emitting targets, PLSS (the Precision
Location Strike System) for emitters at
the upper end of the frequency range,
and CELT (the Coherent Emitter Loca-
tion Testbed) for lower-frequency radio
systems. The results have been incorpo-
rated into the JSTARS program (see
above) and into the US Army's /m-
proved Guardrail system (using RC-
12D aircraft) to cover lower-frequency
emitters.
A second series of trials, the Assault
Breaker program, demonstrated a ballis-
tic delivery system and the use of smart
submunitions. The third element, relat-
ing to information management in near-
real time, has involved a number of de-
velopments all of which have been
tested in Europe. TRW, on behalf of the
US Army and USAF, has been responsi-
ble for the Battlefield Exploitation and
Target-Acquisition (BETA) system and
Limited Operational Capability Europe
(LOCE) programs. BDM developed the
Army's TAPS (Target Analysis And
Planning System), using Apple micro-
computers to assist battlefield planning,
and RCA provided a computer-based
signal-sorting system for emitter loca-
tion.
These programs have led on to the
Joint Tactical Fusion (JTF) program,
involving the USAF and Army, which
was intended to complement JSTARS
and JTACMS ? although the re-align-
ment of Air Force and Army responsibi-
lities has thrown the program into a
state of flux. For the interdiction mis-
sion, JSTARS would have provided the
targeting sensor, passing data to the
JTF network and also cueing and guid-
ing attacks by JTACMS. The JTF pro-
gram was allocated some $600 million
for R&D alone in 1985-90, with an in-
terim capability becoming available in
Fiscal Year 1986 and the full system in
Fiscal Year 1990. ++
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