B-1s for maritime strike!

[GDS_Starfury]

looks like fun!



http://www.navyrecognition.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1252

[LongBlade]

Do we really need to use a 500 pound guided missile to take out a 30' speedboat?

I thought that's what the Ma Deuce was for.

[GDS_Starfury]

That's a boat drone to test against moving targets.
Think how scared our navy was about backfires, now multiply by 20.   8)

[Staggerwing]

That's a boat drone to test against moving targets.
Think how scared our navy was about backfires, now multiply by 20.   8)

It also looks like the speedboat has been running around in circles. Maybe the exercise was meant to prepare the Air Force in case they ran across a time-traveling KM Bismarck with a stuck rudder.

[GDS_Starfury]

sexy time!

DARPA and the Office of Naval Research are collaborating on the Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) program, which successfully launched its first prototype on Aug. 27. DARPA designed the free-flight transition test (FFTT) demonstration to verify the prototype's flight characteristics and assess subsystem and sensor performance. Designed to launch from both ships and planes such as the B-1 bomber, the test vehicle detected, engaged and hit an unmanned 260-foot Mobile Ship Target (MST) with an inert warhead.

DARPA and the Office of Naval Research are collaborating on the Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) program, which successfully launched its first prototype on Aug. 27. DARPA designed the free-flight transition test (FFTT) demonstration to verify the prototype's flight characteristics and assess subsystem and sensor performance. Designed to launch from both ships and planes such as the B-1 bomber, the test vehicle detected, engaged and hit an unmanned 260-foot Mobile Ship Target (MST) with an inert warhead. A black circle indicates where the missile hit and punched straight through the target.

[mirth]

Do we really need to use a 500 pound guided missile to take out a 30' speedboat?

I thought that's what the Ma Deuce was for.

Agreed. We must have better platforms/weapons for that type of target.

[Airborne Rifles]

You may be missing the point of the test. It's cheaper to blow up a speed boat as a test target then a full-sized ship. If you can hit the little speedboat, then you can hit a bigger target. The munitions used are inert anyway, you can tell from the blue markings on the bomb.

[LongBlade]

You may be missing the point of the test. It's cheaper to blow up a speed boat as a test target then a full-sized ship. If you can hit the little speedboat, then you can hit a bigger target.

That makes a great deal more sense.