Danish F-16s First in Europe Capable Of Precision Bombing (jdam)

By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, COPENHAGEN

Denmark has become the first country in Europe with F-16 fighter jets equipped with satellite-guided precision bombing technology that works in all weather conditions, a newspaper reported April 5.

One of the planes dropped two satellite-guided bombs on a Norwegian training ground last week from an altitude of 16,400 feet. Both exploded within two to three yards of their target, and only centimeters from each other, Berlingske Tidende said.

NATO member Denmark’s F-16 satellite guided bombing capacity had been held up by the U.S. administration, which refused to deliver the codes needed to transfer target positioning information to the bomb programming mechanism.

American technicians finally solved the problem by installing an antenna on the tail of each bomb, allowing it to collect the information on the way to the selected target, the paper reported.

The Danish air force is in the process of upgrading its fleet of 61 F-16s, and the first eight aircraft should be equipped with operational satellite guided technology by 2005, equipment manager Kaj Poulsen said.