Arminkh
SENIOR MEMBER
- Joined
- Nov 20, 2014
- Messages
- 3,036
- Reaction score
- 15
- Country
- Location
Nobody said it is supposed to shoot down F-22s. It can be used against other drones, choppers or surveillance aircrafts and etc that don't have air combat capacity. In that case, it can get close enough and can fire its IIR guided missiles.It is possible only If a jet powered target drone will be introduced as an UAV bro. It was done by Iranian officials in past.
Theory don't lead like you thought.
-If the missile to be launched by UAV, is IIR guided, Detecting/Locking an aircraft by low speed UAV's FLIR without destroyed, must be a serious thing Guinness record book should note. Addition, IIR guidance on SAM and A2A missiles are effectively used on terminal phase to just increase accuracy to correct the RF.
-If the missile to be launched by UAV, is radar guided, There is not a possiblity like that.
-If the missile to be launched by UAV, is lazer guided, Illuminating the target with UAV's FLIR until missile reaches the target is also impossible. Lazer guidance are mostly used on missiles to be launched against land targets.
-If the missile has Milimetric wave guidance (I don't suppose Iran has this technology because Iran didn't order any MMW radar in past), The UAV itself should host a MMW radar on fuselage.
But there are other solutions as well.
How do US Predators perform precision strikes at ground targets? Besides using GPS, usually a special force member marks the target with laser beam and then the nearby drone fires the missile towards the target.
Same can be done here. The drone can be guided towards the target using ground based radars. When the drone is close enough, the target can be marked with a ground based tracking radar. Then the drone can fire the missile towards the target.
This is one of the many possibilities that I can think of. There is nothing more published about how it does it or how effective it is. So whatever you and I are talking about is only our own stipulations. But I'm not a fan of the common belief that since it has not been done before by others, then it won't be done in the future or by a country like Iran.