why are american missiles and bombs not accurate at moveing targets?

Question

i hve seen hundreds of video clips of military hardware from all over the world,since america has fought in the most recent wars and they show clips from thier jets, helicoptersand jets dropping or fire missiles at fixed targets only,i hve seen only two clips of american helicopters and jets fireing at moveing targets and all of them missed,it took nealry a dozen shots before a lucky hit stopped its target.

Answer 1

Oh my gosh, this is amazing!! alpha_male already anwered this question as well. I guess I won't bother, since you will choose his answer as the best.
But as always, thanks for the points mr_truth, aka: the_reporter, alpha_male, and valadmir

Answer 2

The weapons that the military use are 2 kinds, smart and dumb. Dumb weapons are the ones that have no guidance and depend on skill, altitude and meteorological conditions.
Smart weapons on the other hand are only as smart as their operator. The military have several kinds of smart weapons, laser guided, GPS guided, terrain following, TV guided and so on.
GPS guided munitions home in on a fixed geographical coordinate, extremely accurate but not very good for moving objects, weapons like the MOAB and bunker busters.
Terrain following weapons, like the Tomahawk cruise missile, are given a GPS location and the picture of the target, which for added accuracy, the weapon compares with the picture it sees when arriving at the target.
TV guided are weapons like the Maverick missile, since it's guidance depends on seeing the target it is very accurate for moving objects.
Laser guided munitions, like the Hellfire missile, these require that a laser be bounced of the target, laser fired from the firing platform such as the Apache attack helicopter, or from operatives in the field with a direct line of sight to the target, these weapons are also very accurate, as long as the laser keeps on target, and there are no malfunctions.
I believe that you just have been watching the wrong video clips, because when the US military wants to stop a moving target, the consequences for the people in it are often a very violent death.
I hope I answered your question.

Answer 3

Come a long ways since these days
http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A9G_RtshskhFPKgA1ySjzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTA4NDgyNWN0BHNlYwNwcm9m/SIG=12fpu77sq/EXP=1162478497/**http%3a//dekart.f.bg.ac.yu/%7esmijusko/drstrangelove/bomb.jpg

You will find that what you are describing is more a problem of film crews than controllers or weaponry.
Filming a stationary target is nothing more than aiming the camera and then waiting for the ordnance to get there. With a moving target you don't even know things as basic as where to set up the camera let alone how to achieve a good camera angle at the proper moment.

I can assure you modern day ordnance is more than capable of hitting moving targets. There are some systems of course that were not designed for a moving target, it would be one hell of a math problem to use "global positioning" on a moving target for instance.

Answer 4

They are very accurate at a moving target, believe me. Ever heard of a side-winder?

We may not see many videos of missiles hitting moving targets because, when you see a building blow up, you think, "Ohh, a building blew up" Without necessarily thinking about a person being inside.

When you see a car or a truck blow up, a person instinctively thinks that a person just died while they watched it.

And unless it is a heat seeking device, you could drop a bomb, and have the target change course and the bomb would miss. It is not so easy.

Answer 5

actually not just their lives, but also Japanese lives. You see by bringing an end to the war we prevented the necessity for a ground war in Japan which would have cost even more lives than the bomb did, also it stopped the Japanese movement through Asia, saving countless lives in other Asian countries, also with Russia planning an invasion of japan, it again saved countless Russian lives. Without the A bomb, that war could have raged on for 20 more years, and cost untold millions upon million s of lives.

Answer 6

I don't know what you were watching, but the missiles of the USA are very accurate. Most of them now a days are guided by video and remote control. If you were in the military you would get to see the real footage.

Answer 7

Trust me son. Our missiles can hit moving things. The patriot missile for instance can hit another missile. Even the should launched tow missile can hit a moving vehicle. You are safe.

Answer 8

they r accurate
look for the apaches destroying iraqi Hamurabi republican guard division in gulf war , the videos showing splash of many iraqi tanks and APCs by AGM-114 hellfire missiles

Answer 9

Depends on the pay load .
Not all weapons are SMART weapons , those are usually used on high value targets .
Low value targets ( trucks ) get dumb weapons that still get the job done .

Answer 10

well .. alot of the whole issue has to do with the popular thought of a "sanitary" war where there is no collateral damage ... its a myth ... can we kill a moving target? yes ... can we have pinpoint accuracy and no civilian casualties and mistakes?no .. and i can guarantee you that the military has much less concern about collateral damage than the press leads us to believe .. you cant drop a "smart" bomb in the middle of a neiborhood on a house and not kill civilians.