From: Ad 

Finally ......something I hae been expecting for a while now...

http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/2007/05/longshot-a-swooping-haawc-for-torpe
dos/index.php

I think this is just the beginning.

Imagine a bunch of drones set up to be "torpedo-bombers" coming
in alongside purely airborne missiles. i.e. you need torpedoes with homing
(already done) which can operate from a just over the horizon range i.e.
the drone drops it's torpedo just as the local shipborne ads switches on
& launches.

Also it points out how tooling along at low level over the sea will
increase the fatigue life of any aircraft & esp a modern converted
airliner (vs the over strengthened & thus overly heavy/fuel inefficient
for modern airlines 50'es era aircraft).

"merican maritime patrol aircraft currently carry torpedos as part of
their armament, which serve as key weapons against enemy submarines. As any
high-diver of cliff-jumper knows first hand, however, water can feel
surprisingly solid after a long fall. Torpedos still have to be released
from low altitude, typically 100 feet or less above the waves. Two recent
developments, however, are making this approach less practical for the US
military. One is tests of sub-launched anti-air missile systems, using
modified short-range air-air missiles that do not require radar guidance.
The other is its selection of the 737-based P-8A Poseidon as its next
maritime patrol and surface surveillance aircraft. The P-8A can perform low
swoops if necessary, but its airframe is really optimized for cruising at
altitude.

As these trends developed, someone in the US military asked the logical
next question:

"what if we could attack a JDAM-ER style glide kit with GPS guidance
to a lightweight torpedo, launch from high altitude, then let the kit
maneuver it into attack position and release it near sea level instead? Not
only would this fit the P-8A's strengths, it would also let us reduce
airframe fatigue on the old P-3C fleet."

Enter Lockheed's Longshot, aka. the High Altitude ASW Weapons Concept (HAAWC).

The LongShot system is a low-cost, self-contained wing adaptor kit that can
provide these capabilities to a range of existing air-to-surface munitions,
including sea mines, gravity bombs, laser-guided bombs and cluster bomb
dispensers. The system is self-contained and includes a flight control
computer, a GPS-based navigation system, and power sources; range is up to
50 nautical miles. This makes the LongShot kit a potential competitor to
Boeing's JDAM-ER offerings."


So this is a cheap glider unit. How long before instead there is a cheap
drone with a weapons bay capable of carrying a torpedo?

Adam

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