Abstract
Infrared guided smart weapons have proven their utility in modern warfare. The first introduction was the WALLEYE, used against the Thank Tika bridge in Vietnam. Countless missions, resulting in lost lives and aircraft, failed to destroy the bridge until the WALLEYE accomplished the mission in one strike. The Afghan war demonstrated that a simple Sidewinder could wreak havoc on the Soviet Hind helicopter. Desert Storm illustrated the military and humane usefulness of smart weapons. Robot weapons allow the surgical destruction of a target without risking human lives to pilot them. Both sides in Desert Storm used IR missiles effectively, as “most of the 27 U.S. aircraft lost were victims of IR-guided missiles” [Hughes, 1].
“Give us the tools and we will finish the job.”
Winston Churchill
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© 1994 Van Nostrand Reinhold
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Miller, J.L. (1994). Smart Weapon Seekers. In: Principles of Infrared Technology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-7664-8_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-7664-8_9
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