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To: David who wrote (2192)	2/6/1998 12:23:00 PM
From: David	Respond to of 3506

GPS developments affecting the Persian Gulf: (As background, keep in mind Russia's sympathies toward Iraq, the GPS jamming posts of a couple of months back, and the "smart" bombs that weren't all that smart in the 1991 Gulf War.) According to the February 2 Aviation Week and Space Technology, "A lot of attention has been paid to the Russian-built GPS jammer that was displayed at the Moscow air show last August. The U.S. Air Force, on behalf of another agency of the U.S. government, is in the process of buying about eight of the jammers to learn how to defeat them." I would speculate that Iraq has possession of this equipment (considering that it is Russian-developed), and that our military and intelligence agencies are operating under the same assumption. I'm sure they are first looking for electronic signatures when the jammers are in operation. The February 2 Daily Telegraph wrote, "Since the Gulf campaign, much of the research has concentrated on improving the steering mechanisms of laser-guided weapons. [Feb 1 Washington Post reports this work is being done by Lockheed-Martin and Raytheon.] In Tomahawk cruise missiles, the terrain-following machinery has been replaced with 'global positioning' steering by satellite that can be adjusted in mid-course." The February 1 Orlando Sentinel reported that there are now 250 Tomahawk missiles in the Gulf, more than were fired during the 1991 war. According to the Florida Times-Union of February 2, "The Air Force has bought and fielded -- though the locations are secret -- 670 next generation AGM-130 missiles, useful for striking slow-moving troop formations or hardened bunkers. The missile flew in the 1991 war but couldn't be guided in mid-course. Today, it can be fired as far as 40 miles from a target and controlled during flight by satellites. 'An F-15 pilot can take this thing up, launch it and leave,' said [Frank] Robbins [Director of the Air Force's precision munitions program]. 'It allows the guy to take his hands off the weapon and it will hit with GPS accuracy, as the satellite tweaks the end game.'" I wouldn't be the least surprised if there weren't a lot of spy v. counterspy activities going on right now over that anti-GPS jamming device. GPS is going to be very major in any military action in the Gulf, and presumably anywhere else the US goes in force in the future. The military and budget planners like GPS because of its potential to hold down US casualties (40 mile away shooters), need for less ammunition, and its potential for less collateral harm.