BOMBER, MULTI-ROLE BM-747

The 747 as a multi-role bomber

Carlton Meyer
21st Century Weapons
e-mail May 1998

The first aircraft to attack Baghdad during the Persian Gulf war were not F-117 stealth aircraft, but old B-52s

www.af.mil/news/factsheets/B_52_Stratofortress.html

which launched cruise missiles hundreds of miles from Iraqi territory.

BUFF launching ALCMs in combat

Later in the conflict, the B-52s became a key weapon to pummel Iraqi forces in Kuwait, and delivered 40% of all air munitions during that conflict. Unfortunately, the Air Force has scrapped half of its B-52s since the end of that war. The remaining B-52s are capable, but they are expensive to maintain and need new engines.

During the early 1980s, Boeing aircraft designed a low cost bomber. The idea was to modify a Boeing 747 to launch 72 cruise missiles from internal rotary launchers; the B-52 can only carry 20 cruise missiles. A 747 costs only 10% of a B-2, and Boeing 747 service and spare parts are available at every major airport in the world. 747s is being used to fly the Advanced Airborne Laser Weapon. The Air Force needs to adopt this idea as the Boeing Multi-role 747 (BM-747).

The Falklands war showed the vulnerability of surface ships to missile attacks

BM-747s could also dominate the world oceans. A squadron of 12 BM-747s loaded with anti-ship cruise missiles could be vectored toward a enemy fleet by satellites or submarines, while E-2C Hawkeye or E-3 Sentry AWACS provide escort with long-range radar and even their own long-range missiles. The squadron could break into four flights and launch a total of 1064 cruise missiles at a naval fleet from four directions over a thousand miles away. Anti-ship missiles are already in service with B-52 squadrons; numerous types could be carried by BM-747s, such as:

-RADAR-SEEKING missile - homes on a ship radar
-RADAR-IMAGE missile - seeks a ships radar profile
-TORPEDO missile - releases a homing torpedo near the fleet.
-INFRA-RED missile - seeks a ships heat
-MAGNETIC missile - seeks a ships metal
-ACOUSTIC missile - seeks the sound produced by engines
-FOCAL PLANE ARRAY missile - seeks large objects which are a different shade of color than the background.
-RADIO WAVE missile - seeks out radio waves produced by communication systems.

These missiles already exist, or can be constructed using existing technology. It would be impossible to jam this mix of missiles. Even if 90% of the 1064 missiles were successfully destroyed or jammed, 106 would strike the fleet. If this doesn't sink all the ships, the squadron can return the next day and launch more.

Once air superiority is established, BM-747s could fill the B-52 high altitude bomber role. They could drop regular iron bombs from their rotary launchers. These launchers could be easily removed to allow BM-747s to provide regular airlift-with anchor line cables and side jump doors/deflectors so Paratroopers could jump. This would provide our Air Force with tremendous flexibility as BM-747 squadrons could rapidly switch between missile attack, bomber, and transport roles. Finally, the BM-747 is ideal for reserve squadrons since thousands of pilots and mechanics work with 747s in their civilian occupations.

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