Skip to main content
CNN.com /TRANSCRIPTS
CNN TV
EDITIONS
SERVICES
CNN TV
EDITIONS


CNN LIVE EVENT/SPECIAL

America Strikes Back: Description of How Radar and Surface-to- Air Missiles Work

Aired October 11, 2001 - 06:23   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Well obviously nothing but good news so far out of the Pentagon. It is claiming that it's knocking out the Taliban's defense systems, but the Taliban says the real war will start when U.S. ground troops land in Afghanistan.

So exactly what does the Taliban have in its arsenal? CNN's Miles O'Brien has been investigating.

Morning, Miles.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

Let me tell you a little bit about what the Pentagon does to try to gain what it calls air superiority in a situation. The initial air attack on Afghanistan was not unlike the initial air attack in the Gulf War. What is going to happen subsequent to that initial air attack is where this particular engagement will depart very differently from what happened in the Gulf War back in 1991.

But let's take you through a scenario where the air forces of the U.S., and in this case it's naval aviation primarily, take out the offensive capability of a surface-to-air missile site on the ground in Afghanistan. Let's take a look at the big board and put the map in motion for you. And just for the sake of argument, we'll put Kabul on the map and give you a sense of what's going on on the ground.

An aircraft comes in, in this case an F-14 or an F-18. It is detected by an early warning radar system. That early warning radar system then communicates with another radar site near the surface-to- air missile. It hones -- homes in more accurately on the aircraft, giving it a precise position, giving it a tracking kind of information. Yet another radar then actually gives the surface-to-air missile, the SAM, the -- its direction. It sends a missile on the way. The aircraft receives information that a missile is on the way and the pilot begins evasive maneuvers. And one of the things he does is he kicks out some chaff. Chaff are tiny pieces of aluminum that spoof the radar systems and send that missile, it is hoped, out of harm's way.

Now speaking of harm, this is just the beginning of this coordinated effort as the F-18 or F-14 begins its effort up there that we just described. Other aircraft are involved and these aircraft come from different locations. First of all, the EA-6B Prowler is a weapon system that is designed to jam the radar systems on the ground. And meanwhile, another aircraft comes in with a different kind of missile on it. It's called a Harm missile. That is a high-speed anti-radiation missile. It is designed to home in on those radar systems that control the surface-to-air missiles and then that surface-to-air missile site can be taken out. So it's a coordinated effort. It involves at least three radar systems on the ground, not to mention the radar systems on the aircraft, in order to take out those surface- to-air missiles sites.

Once they are out, the forces on the ground are essentially blind to any attacks. You don't have to worry necessarily about using B-2 bombers with their stealth capability because in the case of not having surface-to-air missile sites that are operative, most any aircraft can fly in the area and fly without being seen on the ground -- Carol and Leon.

LIN: All right, thanks so much, Miles.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


 
 
 
 


 Search   

Back to the top