Question: e-bomb against stealth aircraft???

Since todays stealth aircrafts are still almost imposible to track down due to their low radar signature. I was thinking why not use a SAM missile with a very powerfull electromagnetic bomb(or E-bomb) as a warhead. As soon as it is at a safe altitude and somewere close, it detonates and the electromagnetic impulse should jam every nearby plane.

Just a thought....

It will always almost certainly take out the SAM battery and anything you wanted to protect as well.

This is why the US abandoned it's nuclear-armed ABM system back in the 70's.

Exactly. The missile will destroy all electronics on it's horizon. The higher it goes, the further the horizon. I'd imagine the Air Force fighters are meant to withstand EMP. The Navy's ships are.

Originally posted by PeanutButterJellyTime
Exactly. The missile will destroy all electronics on it's horizon. The higher it goes, the further the horizon. I'd imagine the Air Force fighters are meant to withstand EMP. The Navy's ships are.

I won't matter much if where the nuke goes off, since it will give the crew lethal dose of radiation. No one has tested EMP bombs in battle so its dangerous to pretend planes will be immuned to its effects. From what I remember Fibre optics systems were supposed to be immune but I gather thats not the case.

He's talking about an EMP bomb, not an EMP blast from a nuke. An EMP blast from a nuke is caused when the particles emited from the nuclear blast react with the Earth's magnetic field in the atmosphere. An EMP bomb uses conventional explosives to propel a large conductor (a large metal rod) through a coil of wire (a magnetic field).

Fiber optic cable is imune from EMP, but the electronics at either end that transmit and receive the light would get fried if they were in range of the blast.

Yes.. he's talking about the possibility of building a concentrated well-directed EMP emitting device..
A concept I think I had brought up in the Radar and/or Jamming thread..
Thts why I inquired the methods of making circuitry EMP proof or sheilded

Any warhead being able to be fitted in a SAM would have bugger all effective range. E-bombs have a very small footprint, even the 2000lb ones only have about 100m effective radius.\
It just isn't worth it blast/fragmentation warheads are far more effective.

I’m not 100%sure but I believe some jets have EMP shielding, and it will due you more harm than good trying to hit an enemy plane with an EMP missile.

If you could shoot an EMP SAM at a stealth aircraft? Why? The hard part is tracking the darn thing. If you develop an anti-stealth SAM you can hit it with anything...right? Or are we talking about an area effect weapon. You know see a faint trace and then shoot at a general area?

Originally posted by Imperium Americana
If you could shoot an EMP SAM at a stealth aircraft? Why? The hard part is tracking the darn thing. If you develop an anti-stealth SAM you can hit it with anything...right? Or are we talking about an area effect weapon. You know see a faint trace and then shoot at a general area?

Yes, he is talking about shooting in the general area. Don't need to be close, 12 miles is fine.

But most new aircraft are designed to withstand it. It is the same as a high frequency pulse and can be filtered and shielded to reduce the effects. In the meantime, you have destroyed all civilian electronics (radio, tv, computers) within it's range.

Originally posted by Qwas
Yes, he is talking about shooting in the general area. Don't need to be close, 12 miles is fine.

lol, what are you going to use a multi-megatin nuke ? Because EMP weapons at very best have a range no greater than a couple of hundred meters.

Originally posted by rogue1

Originally posted by Qwas
Yes, he is talking about shooting in the general area. Don't need to be close, 12 miles is fine.

lol, what are you going to use a multi-megatin nuke ? Because EMP weapons at very best have a range no greater than a couple of hundred meters.

The point I'm trying to make is that you probably won't succeed at bringing down any aircraft. You will only piss off the civilians who have no protection.