i am positively full of modest proposals this day.
this, in an indirect sort of way, courtesy of joe biden's observations about the independent decision making authority of sovereign states to bomb the living snot of of an aggressive neighbor's nuclear capacity, and a story most likely leaked the same day in order to reinforce biden's remarks, and that being that saudi arabia would most likely grant israel fly over status across saudi were they to avail themselves of the sovereign rights alluded to by biden.
(no, i am not gonna make fun of biden, not on the occasion of the one smart clear headed thing he has ever said in his whole damned-ly obtuse life. a "wordsmith" he ain't, but this time, not so bad ... .)
i have discussed this before in these pages, openly advocated it, and prayed for its occurrence, ... , for a number of reasons which i am not gonna discuss.
i have also opined that israel cannot do much of a job of it this first time around, because she lacks the "throw weight" of a strategic air force, and have advocated she go out and get one, "toot sweet," as we say in n.e. oregon.
but it occurs to me.--
that the guys working at scandia labs have the funnest jobs on earth. you ever watch one of those films in super slow motion where a bomb form is propelled through a re-enforced concrete block about 30 feet thick, and just blows the living smithereens out of it. remember the parking garage in bagdhad that the regime's higher ups thought was impenetrable. or, the restaurant with the bomb shelter saddam was to have been in?
well, scandia is where they do the research on such things.
scandia is also the place where they cannot keep track of laptop computers. seems an impossible task.
well, if i were israel, i would either steal or buy a computer with bunker buster written on top of it, in big red letters. and, i would simply copy it.
the trouble with bunker busters is that they are big, and they are heavy. you do not penetrate thick layers of soil and concrete with a 500 lb. munition. do you know what a wing wrack is? or pylons, or whatever you call it that is used to attach the munition to the plane?
well, i don't know for sure, but i suspect that israel does not have very many planes even equipped to carry a bunker buster, let alone to haul one 1400 miles one way. keep in mind, most jet fighters have an operational range which is very restricted, compared to that of a b-52. keep in mind, that a bunker buster is very heavy, and that the task of maximizing a jet fighter's operational range is severally compounded by carrying a heavy load of munition.
friends, this is why the brits invented the lancaster, and the americans the b-17 and b-29 during wwii. then, as now, fighter planes did not have the lift and range to carry heavy munitions a long way.
o.k., if we are israel we have stolen the structure of the bunker buster, along with its timing and fusing mechanisms to go bomb a long time (in such matters) after it has struck something, and designed a weapon that can protect the detonation systems long enough to allow it to penetrate to its target.
o.k. but if we are israel, we don't have anything to carry it 1400 miles one way, and to fly back 1400 miles after it is dropped.
we arrive at my modest proposal.--
if israel cannot get the necessary bunker buster bombs and the wing racks and mounting points for the weapon on its jets, (presenting a very serious problem, even if they acquire the bomb and/or its plans), then i suggest they simply build an airplane around the bomb, with wings, tail fins and elevators and the like, and pilot it by remote control from a two seat-er jet flying right along side of it. fuel considerations are maximized because the plane/bomb are only gonna go one direction. payload and lift are maximized, because the plane does not have to have all the stuff, e.g., space for supporting the pilot and his daily needs of things that support life, as in oxygen, nor does it require weapons and armaments, not does it require targeting acquisition, or counter measures to keep from being attacked. update: nor, does it require much by way of landing gear, since it ain't gonna land, right. all it requires for taking off is a little dolly, that just drops away when the bird clears the ground. end update. trust me, it will fly with company. the entire front section of the plane could be nothing but warhead, explosives, and the bomb case needed to protect all that goop so that it goes boom where it is supposed to. update: there is also the matter of things like wings, tail fins and the like actually serving to impede penetration of soil and hard point surfaces. really, this presents very little problem. that sort of stuff can just be designed to either sheer on impact, or be sheered by explosive charges right at impact: it won't take much to make that sort of structure "sacrificial." for an engineer, "no hill for a climber." end update.
the jet need only be warhead, and control surfaces and jet engine, and enough fuel to get there.
fly it to the target, have a smart bomb t.v. camera in the nose, assume the proper attitude, and fly that baby full speed right into the sands of iran.
cheap.
pretty good plan, i think. if israel wanted to, she could even give it cruise missile targeting and tracking capability, and an ability to "pop up" over target.
it seems eminently workable to me. and practicable. and, oh so cheap, compared to building a b-52 or three. and, certainly, certainly, there has to be someone with a used laptop for sale, around scandia. heck, israel once stole the planes to a jet fighter, the mirage i think, and had the plane flying and operational in a year of so. this would be a piece of cake, in comparison.
john jay @ 07.06.2009
So what you're suggesting is a GBU-28 morphed into a cruise missile?
Posted by: Frank Ch. Eigler | July 06, 2009 at 07:20 PM
frank:
in essence, yep.
cruder if no time, fancier & more refined w/ a wider window of time.
launch that baby off a dolly, or a launch ramp like a v-1, fly it by toggle or guide it by cruise missile profile, and stick that baby in the ground at an extremely high angle of attack, like absolutely straight down, and watch the fun.
500 lb. munitions ain't gonna do it.
basically.
john jay
Posted by: john jay | July 06, 2009 at 08:12 PM