Fall 2006 - Air & Space Power Chronicle - Air Force Link

72 AIR & SPACE POWER JOURNAL FALL 2006the stealth gap. However, it too has limitations.For a standoff weapon, it enjoys exceptionalrange, though still inadequate to reach targetsdeep within an enemy IADS. The threat systemsresident in the IADS will dictate the releaselocation of the weapons. One can easilyimagine a theater where legacy aircraft haveto deliver ordnance 50–100 nm from the edgeof the IADS, which will limit the weapons totargets within the barrier SAM ring or just beyond.Additionally, the JASSM currently carriesonly a penetrator warhead—not a suitablechoice for all targets. The AGM-158’s limitedrange and inability to produce desired effectsagainst all targets keep it from providing a finalremedy to the stealth gap.The B-2, on the other hand, goes a longway toward doing so. The aircraft certainly hasthe range and LO features to strike nearly anywhere.Its SAR provides excellent range andrange-rate information that, when combinedwith GPS position and velocity data, can reduceTLE. One could then send this informationto weapons such as the GBU-36 and GBU-37 GPS-aided munitions to destroy a variety oftargets. A near-precision weapon consisting ofa guidance tail kit mounted to an Mk-84 bombbody, the GBU-36 will likely be replaced by thestandard GBU-31 JDAM. The GBU-37 has asimilar tail kit but mounts to the 4,500-poundBLU-113 penetrator, giving the B-2 a deeppenetrationcapability to complement itsmore-conventional weaponry. Although neitherweapon is precise, the B-2’s ability to minimizeTLE allows these munitions to approachtrue precision. 14Unfortunately, the limited number of B-2sand their periodic nonavailability due toscheduled and nonscheduled maintenanceadversely affect the Air Force’s ability to usethem to destroy large numbers of targetsquickly and decisively. Indeed, only 16 of thesebombers are combat coded, and those aircrafthave a mission-capable rate of just 30.5 percent.15 Often, however, an aircraft in need ofminor repair may still prove suitable for combat—butnot against a robust IADS, whichwould require fully combat-capable aircraft.The remainder of the current LO strikeforce consists of the 50 F-117s, which, likeother aircraft, have strengths and weaknesses.This single-seat attack aircraft has less rangethan a true bomber but more than most tacticalfighters, enabling it to perform deep-strikemissions. Based on this author’s observations,mission-capable rates compare favorably tothose of other fighters (around 80 percent),ensuring the availability of a suitable force. Aninfrared targeting system with a laser designatordrives TLE to zero. The F-117’s two bombbays have internal storage for a variety ofweapons, including Paveway II and III laserguidedbombs, unguided cluster-bomb units,and the inertially guided and GPS-aided enhancedGBU-27, which can also guide to a laserspot. JDAM capability will be incorporatedby the end of the year; however, funds forthe integration of wind-corrected munitionsdispenserintegration have already been absorbedby PBD 720. This flexibility in weaponryallows the jet to attack a host of targets:buildings, bridges, and area targets, as well asdeeply buried, hardened targets. In fact, itsability to destroy hardened targets is unparalleled.By using two GBU-27 Paveway III precisionweapons in an optimized delivery, the systemcan penetrate deeper than even the B-2’snear-precision GBU-37. 16 Additionally, the enhancedGBU-27 (which doesn’t require laserguidance) gives the Nighthawk an all-weather,deep-penetration, hard-target defeat capability.USAF photoAs an added benefit, all these weapons canbe brought to bear with minimal or no helpfrom the GPS. Although this system has provenitself reliable and extraordinarily valuable to