Iran sends message with 'Messenger' bomb

(Credit: Al-Manar)

Iran has kicked off production of its new GBU-78/A Qassed (Messenger), a 2,000-pound "smart" bomb, that will be used "against our enemies at the adequate time," Iranian Minister of Defense and Logistics Mostafa Mohammad Najjar announced on state television.

Najjar pointed out that research and design for the Qassed were carried out exclusively by his ministry, which had also provided 75 percent of the material for the bomb's production, as reported by Jane's Defense Weekly.

The minister said that this proves U.S.-led economic sanctions on Iran have been ineffective and instead "had encouraged self-sufficiency in military-related design and manufacturing," according to Janes. Iran would use Shah-era F-4 and F-5 fighters to deliver the weapon. (Check out their pilot.)

"We will use this weapon where we want," Najjar told the TV audience. He went on to point the finger at "foreign forces occupying Iraq and Afghanistan with an aim of plundering the oil and the energy of the Middle East, to preserve the safety of the mode Zionist and to give a blow to Iran". Anyway, that's roughly the gist, translated from French language TV.

[Daddy Sasquatch]

Thanks for bringing me down

Dudes, and dudettes, I come to Crave for happy techy stuff not this all too real world news. I get enough of that elsewhere. Bummer.

[onolo128]

Flippin Heck

That's crazy...

Jason
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
video6.b00mtube.com
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

[make_or_break]

But it's not just about the bomb's smarts

It's also about the delivery system. Reliance on antiquated F-4s and F-5s--however ad hoc upgraded they may be these days--is still a significant liability for Iran's fanatical war mongers. It would've been better for them if they could've used their F-14s, but even those are of a vintage reeking of ancient technology, relatively speaking. Plus, most of their Tomcats aren't even air-worthy, thanks to the Iranian revolution and the dearth of new parts that would have to be sourced from their chief "enemy", the good ol' U. S. of A., who isn't exactly in any sort of selling mood.

As long as airborne early warning systems are watching the surrounding airspace, those smartbombs aren't going anywhere. Now, had this development been a mobile launched ballistic missile...

[mythrilfan]

so... uh, why?

This is artificially kept on the first page because...? You think the US should attack Iran?