La guerra non è un picnic

[rossana <rossana at comodinoposta.org>]

Alla fine della guerra fra Israele e Hezbollah si disse anche la guerra 
mediatica fu vinta dagli Hezbollah nonostante la sua artiglieria, 
fanteria, intelligence, forza aerea e navale. Per la guerra di questi 
giorni ha avuto bisogno di ulteriori bombe intelligenti e le ha chieste 
a settembre. "La guerra non è un picnic".

TEL AVIV (AFP)
Sun Jan 4, 4:58 am ET
Israel will expand and intensify its offensive against Hamas in the Gaza 
Strip "as much as necessary," Defence Minister Ehud Barak told reporters 
on Sunday ahead of a cabinet meeting.

"This operation won't be easy and won't be simple," he said. "The 
operation will be expanded and intensified as much as necessary. War is 
not a

http://abcnews.go.com/International/popup?id=6544976&contentIndex=1&start=false&page=16 


Israel uses YouTube, Twitter to share its point of view
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/12/31/israel.youtube/index.html#cnnSTCText 



Notifica del Defense Security Cooperation Agency Difesa
NEWS RELEASE COMUNICATO STAMPA l
Media/Public Contact: (703) 601-3859
Transmittal No. 08-82
Israel - GBU-39 Small Diameter Bombs Israele -

WASHINGTON, September 9, 2008 – The Defense Security Cooperation Agency 
notified Congress of a WASHINGTON, possible Foreign Military Sale to 
Israel of GBU-39 Small Diameter Bombs as well as associated equipment 
and services. The total value, if all options are exercised, could be as 
high as $77 million.
The Government of Israel has requested a possible sale of 1,000 GBU-39 
Small Diameter Bombs (SDB1), 150 BRU-61/A SDB1 Mounting Carriages, 30 
Guided Test Vehicles, 2 BRU-61/A SDB Instrumented Carriages, 7 BRU-61 / 
A SDB1 Jettison Test Vehicles, 1 Separation Test Vehicle, 2 Reliability 
and Assessment Vehicles, 12 Common Munitions BIT and Reprogramming 
Equipment with Test Equipment and Adapters, 3 SDB1 Weapons BIT 
Simulators, and 2 Load Crew Trainers
support equipment, personnel training and equipment, publications and 
technical data, US Government and contractor engineering and logistics 
personnel services, and other related elements of logistics support. The 
Il estimated cost is $77 million.
Israel’s strategic position makes it vital to the United States’ 
interests throughout the Middle East. I Our policy has been to promote 
Middle East peace, support Israel’s commitment to peace with other 
regional Arab countries, enhance regional stability and promote Israeli 
readiness and self-sufficiency.
national interests to assist Israel to develop and maintain a strong and 
ready self-defense capability. This proposed sale is consistent with 
those objectives.
Israel will have no difficulty absorbing these additional bombs into its 
armed forces. The proposed sale will not affect the basic military 
balance in the region.
The principal contractor will be Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, 
Boeing Corporation, St. Louis, MO. . There are no known offset 
agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale. 
Implementation of this proposed sale will involve multiple trips to 
Israel by US Government and contractor representatives for one-week 
intervals, for approximately three years. There will be no adverse 
impact on US defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale. This 
notice of a potential sale is required by law; it does not mean that the 
sale has been concluded.


Components and Capabilities

The SDB System comprises the following components: the weapon itself, a 
four-weapon carriage, a precision inertial navigation system/global 
positioning system, a mission-planning system, and a logistics-support 
system.

* Weapon
o GBU-39/B: multipurpose, insensitive, penetrating,
blast-fragmentation warhead for stationary targets; equipped
with deployable wings for extended standoff range
+ Dimensions: (L x W): 70.8" x 7.5" (1.8 m x 19 cm)
+ Weight: 285 pounds (130 kg)
+ Warhead penetration: 3 feet of steel reinforced concrete
+ Fuse: electronic safe/arm fuze (ESAF) cockpit
selectable functions, including air burst and delayed
options
+ Standoff maximum range: more than 60 nautical miles
o BRU-61/A "smart" pneumatic carriage
+ Payload capacity: four weapons
+ Weight: 320 pounds (145 kg) empty, 1,460 pounds (664
kg) loaded
+ Dimensions (L x W x H): 143" x 16" x 16" (3.6 m x 40.6
cm x 40.6 cm)
+ Fits nearly all delivery platforms, including
internal/external carriages in the F-22A, F-35,
Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) and B-1 and B-2 bombers
o Guidance
+ Precision inertial navigation system/global
positioning system (INS/GPS)
+ Anti-jam GPS and selective-ability anti-spoofing
module (SAASM)


Advantages

The SDB System offers the following advantages over systems that have a 
single 1,000-pound or 2,000-pound weapon:

* More targets per sortie (4 weapons per aircraft weapons station)
* Reduces collateral damage as a result of accuracy and small weapon
size
* Improves pilot/aircrew safety with its extended standoff range


Status

* Production deliveries started in April 2006 and system is in full
rate production
* Air Combat Command Commander declared initial operational
capability for the SDB System on October 2, 2006--fielded ahead of
schedule
* SDB System successfully employed in combat from F-15E Strike
Eagles of the 494^th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron providing
close-air support for ground troops operating in Iraq starting on
October 5, 2006


For more information on Small Diameter Bomb I (SDB I), read the Small 
Diameter Bomb Increment I (SDB I) 
<http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/missiles/sdb/docs/SDB_overview.pdf> 
overview.

For more information on Small Diameter Bomb II (SDB II), read the Small 
Diameter Bomb Increment II (SDB II) 
<http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/missiles/sdb/docs/SDBII_overview.pdf> 
overview.

For more information on Small Diameter Bomb Focused Lethality Munition 
(SDB FLM), read the Small Diameter Bomb Focused Lethality Munition (SDB 
FLM) 
<http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/missiles/sdb/docs/SDB_FLM_overview.pdf> 
overview.

If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader for reading PDF files, it is 
available for Free from Adobe 
<http://www.boeing.com/utilities/acrobat/acrobat.html>.


SDB in the News (stories from Air Force Link)

Strike Eagles 'rain thunder' on enemy 
<http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123039555>

Small Diameter Bomb debuts in Afghanistan 
<http://www.bagram.afnews.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123039232>