A TR3B topic on Military.com?

a reply to: Zaphod58

I've also found brief mentions of a weapon related to the Rods-From-God - Smart Spears. These are similar to the RFGs, but have a guidance system.

Perhaps the needle-penetrating devices seen entering incoming meteors/flaming-UFOs are a hybrid, or a Guided Rod.

Lockheed-Martin produces a smart-missile, the PAC-3:

www.lockheedmartin.com...
PAC-3

And a smaller, shoulder mounted "SMART" Javelin:

www.lockheedmartin.com...
JAVELIN

The idea being that Rod and Spear weapons with guidance systems DO exist, and are in production.

a reply to: MKMoniker

They have a guidance system because Thor accuracy was measured in large distances to begin with. In this case a miss was a mile or more. You could drop a Rod pointed directly at the target and have it hit two miles from the aim point or more. Guidance means it will actually hit what it's aimed at. It still won't hit a moving target.

a reply to: Zaphod58

There ARE "smart missiles" now that can hit moving targets:

news.usni.org...
VIDEO OF TOMAHAWK MISSILE THAT PUNCHES HOLE IN MOVING MARITIME TARGET

The Tomahawk Block IV can "adjust its flight path based on new info" given to the missile, presumably while in flight.

a reply to: MKMoniker

Yes there are. Launched from the ground. I don't know why you think this is a recent development. Guided missiles have been around since the end of WWII.

Tomahawk is a land attack missile. It can't hit a flying object, or a high speed object.

Patriot is a Surface to Air Missile used as a ground defense missile.

Javelin is an anti tank missile that's man portable.

Because they exist doesn't change the fact that Rods From God and Smart Spear aren't designed to hit moving targets. Period. You can twist it any way you want but it won't change that fact.

ROD and SPEAR are for area of effect destruction. Think man made asteroids hitting a target(staionary or with enough lead to intercept it)and destroying it.

a reply to: yuppa

You know what would be cool. Cloaked astroids in orbit. Where they could controllably come down by chance on enemy nations. But I guess that's only something a mad genius would think up in a galaxy far, far away.

a reply to: BASSPLYR

I rand it by DARPA but they said too exspensive. Im like how har dis it to put guidance on a rock and rocket motors to push it in certain directions?

a reply to: yuppa

DARPA? No, no!!! You should have asked KDY or Sienar Fleet Systems. They could probably do it on the cheap.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: MKMoniker

Rods From God aren't launched like a missile, they're dropped... There's no way they could hit a moving target.

Erm, maybe...

a reply to: _Del_

They're given some impulse but they're not fired like a missile. They don't have a motor to fire attached to them.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Well, there were/are a few schemes with small thrusters to de-orbit, but there have also been also a few schemes trying to device a way to target a moving object with various types of sensors and methods of control.

Can we man ufacture soem "asteroids" in space and d e orbit them to"accidentally" hit a enemy city?

a reply to: _Del_

None of which have been successful that I've heard of.

a reply to: Zaphod58

"rods from god" is great for science fiction, and fiction alone.

In practice, it's hellaciously expensive and gives little more effect than standard ground-penetrating weapons (there's some limit as increased kinetic energy doesn't result in more penetration) and presents far more technical challenges.

For non-nuclear 'area of effect' on surface, it's hard to beat a cluster bomb.

And there's a reason why ballistic missiles are the big dogs of long-range combat.

a reply to: mbkennel

I know. It's great on paper, not so much in reality. I'd rather have a MOP and a B-2.

Despite the photo I posted a few days ago, of an incoming meteor being destroyed with a Rod-from-God, shot by a semi-visible TR-3B from the upper right, there continues to be disagreement as to whether Rods-from-God have advanced to the point of being "guided" into and thru an incoming meteor.

Since the TR-3B is still being "officially denied", I'm sure their weaponry is too. But anyone examining photos or video of incoming meteors being shot thru with a "needle" missile that blows up the meteor in multiple small blasts before impact, can clearly see that something/someone is protecting the Earth from fireballs and meteors.

So here is an interesting patch from e-Bay, that shows a winged half-man/half-horse with a sword that looks more like a missile about to be fired where he's pointing, rather than just a sword:

www.ebay.com...
U.S. ARMY 160TH SOAR "NIGHT STALKERS" MILITARY SPEC OPS PATCH

Or how about this one, with red wings on what looks like a Rod-from-God:

www.ebay.com...

a reply to: MKMoniker

Again, patches can be made to look like anything they want them too. They don't always have some deep meaning.

Rods From God aren't missiles. They're ORBITAL weapons, not fired from a craft.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Zaphod....my head hurts again.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Whether this is an assigned or "optional" morale patch, its design DOES reflect the mission of the 160th:

www.campbell.army.mil...
U.S. ARMY - 160TH SOAR 'NIGHT STALKERS'
The last line says this Airborne unit "is constantly ready for the next mission, anytime, anywhere, and is poised to arrive-time-on-target, plus or minus 30 SECONDS."

What other U.S. military Airborne unit can brag that - except the one that flies the TR-3B?

a reply to: MKMoniker

Any Special Operations unit. The 160th is the premier SOF unit. And that's not within 30 seconds, it's within 30 seconds of their planned ToT.