Snake Posted September 8, 2020 Share Posted September 8, 2020 A U.S. Army self-propelled howitzer firing a Mach-5 shell just shot down a cruise missile for the first time. It’s a big deal. Imagine, in some future war, Army howitzers ringing a strategic air base in the western Pacific, swatting down incoming missiles so the base’s planes can take off and land unmolested. The shoot-down took place at the White Sands missile range in New Mexico on Wednesday. An M-109A6 Paladin tracked howitzer fired a 155-millimeter-diameter hypervelocity shell at an incoming BQM-167 target drone, blasting it to pieces. “Tanks shooting down cruise missiles is awesome—video-game, sci-fi awesome,” said Will Roper, the U.S. Air Force’s top scientist. 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake Posted September 8, 2020 Author Share Posted September 8, 2020 Impressive when you think a howitzer basically just shoots a small Volkswagen a few miles downrange and hopes to hit a target. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fireball 440 Posted September 8, 2020 Share Posted September 8, 2020 That is impressive. Park that thing in the suburbs of the Twin Cities and let em fly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zambroski Posted September 8, 2020 Share Posted September 8, 2020 14 minutes ago, Snake said: Impressive when you think a howitzer basically just shoots a small Volkswagen a few miles downrange and hopes to hit a target. The retrofitting of these ancient armaments with modern guidance systems has made them highly accurate and lethal again. It’s not like the ordnance has changed much....it just needs a higher level of accuracy and target tracking. Still, to hit a cruise missile? Impressive. Even the crew must have been like, “Get the fuck out! We actually hit it?!?!?!” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake Posted September 8, 2020 Author Share Posted September 8, 2020 1 minute ago, Zambroski said: The retrofitting of these ancient armaments with modern guidance systems has made them highly accurate and lethal again. It’s not like the ordnance has changed much....it just needs a higher level of accuracy and target tracking. Still, to hit a cruise missile? Impressive. Even the crew must have been like, “Get the fuck out! We actually hit it?!?!?!” While in Germany I was with the 2nd Bn, 3rd Field Artillery Regt. I worked for the CESO, and would frequently get the chance to sit "on the hill" and watch 109s hit tanks from miles away. A mind blow. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XCR1250 Posted September 8, 2020 Share Posted September 8, 2020 Just now, Snake said: While in Germany I was with the 2nd Bn, 3rd Field Artillery Regt. I worked for the CESO, and would frequently get the chance to sit "on the hill" and watch 109s hit tanks from miles away. A mind blow. Friend was on the New Jersey off Nam, he sent me pics of the 16" shooting.. they had a camera set up on Deck, pretty wild stuff. He was a 5" Fire Control Tech. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zambroski Posted September 8, 2020 Share Posted September 8, 2020 6 hours ago, Snake said: While in Germany I was with the 2nd Bn, 3rd Field Artillery Regt. I worked for the CESO, and would frequently get the chance to sit "on the hill" and watch 109s hit tanks from miles away. A mind blow. We did several “fun” cross training exercises with armored units at both Ft. Benning and Ft. Stewart. I got to run down range as a gunner in an M1 both times. Honestly, sweet fuck! Just unreal what our military is capable of....and sadly just handcuffed to apply in the real world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake Posted September 8, 2020 Author Share Posted September 8, 2020 2 minutes ago, Zambroski said: We did several “fun” cross training exercises with armored units at both Ft. Benning and Ft. Stewart. I got to run down range as a gunner in an M1 both times. Honestly, sweet fuck! Just unreal what our military is capable of....and sadly just handcuffed to apply in the real world. The kaserne I was at isn't even there anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.