yep, the range of the firefinders are about 50km....so unless sg
gets a better upgrade, it won't be so effective against MLRS 90km
away. Moreover, how does it performs against massive rocket
attack.....will the large numbers of rockets overload the computing
power of the system ?
Visual targetting from the air is more realistic....but then only
after launching can you see the huge smoke cloud.
Tho RSAF is the top dog in SEA, its still no where near the
capability of the USAF in Iraq where they had total supremacy over
the airspace plus a whole host of satelites and JSTARS to help them
in '91. Even with this, Scud hunting was not really a resonding
success. M'sia thick vegetation is far more challenging compared to
Iraq's desert terrain.
Even with the above challenges, and to his credit, the M'sian
General has not ignored the possibilty of air attack. Hence, the
2nd part of the news release where he mentioned about the induction
of new Shorads and manpads system.
Clearly, the entire demostration was a PR exercise and to serve as
a warning that the capability gap will be narrowed. Expect more arm
purchases to be announced end this year at Lima '03.