Air-Launched Weapons -Smaller, Smarter, Further

摘要

The sleek and shiny Enola Gay B-29 bomber that took off from the Mariana Islands in the Pacific Ocean to drop the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, was the climax of this trend. Following World War 2, as fighter and bomber aircraft became ever more versatile and complex, so too were the weapons they carried. Bombs could navigate and optimise the attack profile by determining strike angle; smart fuses enabled proximity or delayed action, improving terminal effect with a conventional warhead, thus achieving maximum lethality without reverting to a nuclear option. With added propulsion, weapons also became more independent and have enabled airstrikes from a stand-off range, thereby reducing the risk associated with enemy air defences.