ABSTRACT
Faced with surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), mach 2 interceptor aircraft, radar controlled anti-aircraft gunfire, modern systems of camouflage and sophisticated electronic counter-measures (ECM) methods, the ground attack aircraft has a formidable task in delivering its weapon load. The Americans have developed the use of lasers for attacking ground targets still further by fitting missiles and glide bombs with laser seekers in addition to that in the aircraft. The missile/bomb locks onto the reflected laser energy before release and thereafter steers itself right down onto the target by harnessing the reflected laser energy to guide it. The Americans have now got an integrated defence suppression programme which takes in all forms of electronic warfare and weaponry to facilitate the penetration of dense SAM defended environments. The main point of attack by ECM is the SAM’s guidance radars and the main method of dealing with them is to jam them so that the missiles cannot be guided to their targets.
