The US military looks set to increase its use of 鈥渟mart鈥 weapons following
the development of a cheap, steerable bomb. Smart bombs use hugely expensive
on-board target-seeking systems, and this makes the military very choosy about
when they are used. But Lockheed Martin鈥檚 new Owl bomb has no on-board seekers
or sensors. Instead, it鈥檚 steered by radar signals from friendly aircraft. On
launch, Owl extends its wings and glides towards the target, steered by
computers on the nearby aircraft that continuously track it and recalculates its
aim. The 鈥渄umb bombs鈥 can work at night or in bad weather, and unlike TV-guided
or laser-guided bombs, they are not troubled by smoke or dust.
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