U.S. Air Force manages to turn cargo planes into bombers
The U.S. Air Force is fast approaching the completion of parachute missile launchers in less than two years, and in theory, they could turn any large cargo plane into a bomber. The need is clear, the analysis notes. The U.S. Air Force, in the event of a large-scale conflict with a high-tech enemy such as the Chinese Communist Party, could use this approach to concentrate enough firepower in one place at a time to break through enemy air defenses.
In March, an MC-130J transport aircraft from the U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command dropped a “Deployment Box” attached to a G-11 high-altitude parachute over the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, according to Forbes magazine. Deployment Box” (Deployment Box) strapped to a G-11 high-altitude parachute. This was mainly to test the stability of the “Deployment Box” under high-altitude drops, but also to show that the U.S. Air Force in the actual deployment of “missile in a box” (missile in a box), there has been steady progress. The number of military aircraft capable of using such weapons is growing today, with hundreds of aircraft capable of deploying to launch long-range strikes.
The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) developed this simple and brilliant munitions system under the Rapid Dragon program. They mounted two Joint Air-to-Air Long-Range Cruise Missiles on separate wooden pallets with parachutes, then loaded them onto a cargo plane and placed them into the system’s simple fire control computer. The missiles are detached from the cargo plane from the rear bays and fly slowly to the ground, where they are flown to a safe distance before spreading their wings, firing their engines and flying to their intended targets.
Last year, the U.S. Air Force spent $25 million (nearly 700 million Taiwan dollars) to commission Lockheed Martin (Lockheed Martin) to develop these pallets. The U.S. Air Force believes that a four-engine C-17 can carry 32 extended-range cruise missiles, and the Air Force has more than 200 C-17s under its command, as well as hundreds of smaller C-130s, so the calculated firepower is very considerable.
The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory program manager Evans (Dean Evans) said, through this system, you can let a variety of transport aircraft with different weapons, providing the Air Force alternative options to play a more powerful combat firepower.
Distance is a major issue, especially in the Western Pacific. In war zones where conflict may erupt, the U.S. Air Force has access to only a few large air bases within striking distance. Kadena Air Base in southern Japan is only a few hundred miles from Taiwan, and Air Force strategic planners anticipate heavy missile fire in the event of any conflict with the Chinese. Andersen Air Force Base in Guam is relatively safe because it is 1,800 miles (nearly 2,900 kilometers) from the Taiwan Strait.
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