[ Thursday ]
Technology Fires the First Shot in Iraq
It should come as no surprise that the combined military forces operating around the world depend on an extensive network of satellites, ground stations, command and control centers, and field operations to execute their training and battle plans. This was in evidence last night, as the USA military forces launched a precision attack on 'targets of opportunity' (namely, the Iraqi leadership) based on minutes-old intelligence. With global positioning satellite (GPS) data programmed into the guidance systems for cruise missiles and F-117A weapons systems, the image of a large-scale video game unfolds.
Make no mistake; this is a real battle, with real people and weapons involved. But the success of the mission depends in a large part to the performance of the technology and the men and women understanding and operating it.
gdubya
For more information, see the folowing story in the Washington Post...
CIA Had Fix on Hussein
Intelligence Revealed 'Target of Opportunity'
The first Tomahawk cruise missile to be fired into Iraq is launched from the USS Bunker Hill in the Persian Gulf. Operations officers reprogrammed the missiles on the fly with digital target data transmitted from CIA headquarters at Langley. If the CIA had come across yesterday's intelligence windfall in 1991, the U.S. military could not have struck the Bahgdad residence fast enough. (Photographer's Mate 2nd Class Richard Moore -- U.s. Navy)
Due to the copyright holder's permission requirement, please go the following site for the complete article:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A58177-2003Mar20.html
MM [06:56]
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