Dispenser Weapons

From the cluster bomb came the dispenser sys wpn, which is available in several forms: overflight laydown; stand-off dispensers with 'smart' submunitions; or sophisticated cluster bombs with dedicated submunitions for specific roles.

Textron Defense Systems' CBU-97 Sensor Fused Weapon (SFW) is one of the latter examples. It consists of the SUU-64 Tactical Munition Dispenser (TMD) containing ten BLU-108 submunitions. Each submunition contains four 'smart' projs, which are capable of detecting and penetrating moving armd tgts. The wpn can be delivered at airspeeds between 20 and 650 kts at all altitudes with level, dive or toss rels.

Air-to-Ground Missiles

From the various permutations of what may be called 'bombs' it is a short step to the air-to-gnd msl. Systems of this class include categories covering dedicated conventional land atk, anti-armor, anti-radiation and anti-ship ops.

In the past most air-to-gnd guided wpns have been designed to atk a single tgt, such as a bridge or concrete emplacement. Attention is now being directed toward the problem of destroying a number of separate tgts in a single firing run, such as a gp of tks. The sys that has gained favor in the US is the Hypervelocity Missile (HVM), with a FLIR sensor tracking both tgts and msls and generating corrective signals that are transmitted over a laser data-link. The msl defeats the armor of the tgt by means of its kinetic energy.

Unguided rockets

In recent years the high cost of guided wpns has encouraged the further development of unguided rkts. The starting point for several new designs was the US Navy 70 mm Folding-Fin Aircraft Rocket (FFAR), the third generation of which can take a flechette whd. Rkts are housed in 4 to 36-tube pod-mounted lchrs which are usually suspended from the underside of the wings.

Some abn lchrs are short racks, others are streamlined pylons.

To summarize, abn wpn systems are gradually providing day/night op, longer ranges and higher kill probabilities against a broad spectrum of tgts.

5.4. Exercises

1. Расположите следующие вопросы в логическом порядке, подберите к ним ответы и переведите их.

( )Can you classify these weapons according to the principle of relative location of the launcher and the target?

( ) What weapons do you understand by bombs?

( ) How can you classify rockets and missiles?

( ) What is the classification of rockets and missiles according to the principle of guidance?

( ) What types of weapons does aerial armory include?

( ) How are rockets and missiles classed according to the range?

( ) What do you mean by guns?

( ) What are these principles?

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2. Переведите.

безраздельно господствовать в качестве основного вооружения истребителей; to abandon the airborne gun; выбирать скорострельность; to use lighter weapons including pintle- and pod-mounted mgs; размещать в подфюзеляжной турельной установке, закрепленной в носовой части; to belong to the category of beyond visual range weapons; действовать по принципу "выстрелил-забыл"; to release and aim bombs in the traditional way; приспособить для ведения будущих боевых действий с помощью новых систем взрывателей; to classify according to filler and use; нести авиационные фугасные бомбы на различных точках внешней подвески; to achieve retardation by air-inflatable retarder; авиационная бомба с лазерной системой наведения, размещаемая в подвесном контейнере; to assign a designator; выпускать кассетные боеприпасы в различных вариантах; to detonate bomblets at individually preset times; снаряжать боевой частью с неконтактным взрывателем; to deliver cluster bombs with level, dive and toss releases; уничтожать за один заход группу целей; to take a flechette warhead; размещать НУРы в 36-ствольном пусковом контейнере.