Aircraft Equipment/Proposed/Anti UFO Bomb
UFOpaedia Entry
Proposal
TO: Base Commander, PHALANX, Atlantic Operations Command
FROM: Cdr. Paul Navarre, R&D: Engineering Division, PHALANX, Atlantic Operations Command
DATE: %02i %s %i
SUB: Proposal: Anti-UFO Bomb
Commander,
I'm sure you harbor no doubt that we are locked in an extremely costly war, with human lives as the ultimate price being paid. One of our main goals as a research team is to develop the technologies that will save as many human lives as possible -- be they protective technologies that increase a soldier's survival odds against enemy fire or offensive weapons which make it easier for our troops to eliminate the aliens. Every time our ground troops engage the aliens, they risk life and limb for the sake of humanity.
Obviously, the most effective way protect our soldiers would be to keep them completely out of harm's way and send them in as few missions as possible. Our analysis has shown that the largest amount of counter-alien operations our soldiers perform concern the recovery of crashed UFO's. However, we can't simply shoot down alien ships and leave them unclaimed. Politically, such a thing would be viewed by our supporting nations as a serious lack of initiative, perhaps even negligence of duty. Aside from that, we have received confirmation that, when not eradicated, the alien survivors of a crash site proceed to terrorize the local populace, causing significant havoc and loss of human life. On occasion they may even be rescued by another UFO -- though whether such rescue missions are intentional or simply a coincidence eludes us.
During a brainstorming session, one of our more enthusiastic researchers expressed his wish that we could "bomb them all to hell". Although we shared his enthusiasm at the prospect, we initially discarded the idea as impractical: the conventional payload required to pummel even the smallest of hard-shelled UFO's into oblivion is several tonnes, more than any single interceptor could carry. Additionally, a bombing run in order to be effective would have to be initiated imediately after a UFO's crash landing, so as to prevent any aliens from escaping.
However, we may have actually found a solution. While reexamining the UN files we focused on bunker-busters, heavy bombs which were used in the late 20th and early 21st centuries against ungerground or heavily-armoured targets. These behemoths could penetrate more than 30 meters of earth and 6 meters of reinforced concrete, destroying their target from the inside. I am optimistic that we could adapt such technology, creating a smaller but powerful bomb that penetrates the tough exterior armor of a crashed UFO and obliterates everything inside.
We simply need your go-ahead to begin our efforts.
--Cdr. Navarre
Result
TO: Base Commander, PHALANX, Atlantic Operations Command
FROM: Cdr. Paul Navarre, R&D: Engineering Division, PHALANX, Atlantic Operations Command
DATE: %02i %s %i
SUB: Re: Anti-UFO Bomb
Commander,
I am pleased to report that we have successfully developed our first Anti-UFO bomb, designated "Underminer". Our design was based on the GBU-86 "Bunker-Buster II" which developed by the former United States near the end of 2029 but never moved past prototype stage due to the collapse of 2031. I will provide you with a brief summary of our results.
Although we refer to the "Underminer" as a bomb, it is technically a large rocket since it includes a solid-fuel rocket engine. The reason we prefer the term "bomb" is because the rocket engine is used solely to increase the weapon's penetration capabilities; it is not required in order for the weapon to reach it's intended target.
A single "Underminer" weighs a total of 500 kilos and can be mounted on any medium hardpoint without the need for a specialized launcher. The nose of the bomb is made from an alloy of depleted uranium and a small percentage of titanium. This alloy is two times more dense than lead while also being self-sharpening (on impact with a hard surface it fractures in such a manner as to remain sharp) and pyrophoric (it disintegrates to dust and catches fire when reaching air inside a target). The central section of the bomb contains 200 kilos of high-yield explosives, while the tail section consists of four guidance fins and the rocket engine.
The "Underminer" must be deployed from a height of at least 35,000 feet and with an approach angle of 70 degrees or more. During the first flight stage, the bomb relies solely on gravity and the stabilizing fins in order to achieve the optimum approach vector. At 10,000 feet, the engine ignites in order to maximize impact velocity and penetration.
Our tests have shown that the "Underminer" is capable of penetrating up 170 meters of earth and 35 meters of reinforced concrete. It will also penetrate the exterior shell of any Scout or Fighter class UFO and completely annihilate every alien located inside. In most cases, the bomb's explosion is enough to rupture the anti-matter fuel tanks inside UFO, thereby adding the anti-matter's explosive power and completely destroying the UFO. Against larger UFO's, however, results are dissapointing due to their heavy armour: the "Underminer" will cause some structural damage but most aliens will survive.
We should be extremely careful when utlizing the "Underminer". Whenever a UFO crashes in uninhabited areas, local governments will have no objections against us bombing the crash site. However, we must NEVER use it near inhabited areas due to the near-certain probability of extensive collateral damage. Also, politicians will not view our bombing of a crash site half as favorably as they would view a successful recovery mission.
If the aliens continue to escalate their operations on Earth, these bombs will become necessary to weed-out as many targets as possible and allow our forces to concentrate on the important ones. Our workshops are ready to begin production as needed.
--Cdr. Navarre
Links
Research Tree Data
(This information for reference only; do not translate or include in-game.)
Prerequisites: UFO -- Scout or UFO -- Fighter
Opens: Enables production -- Underminer Bomb