CNN article; February 9th, 1998
Military researchers have developed a new bomb that is guided by satellites instead of lasers so pilots can hit their targets even during cloudy weather.
During the 1991 Persian Gulf War, pilots couldn’t always hit their targets with laser-guided bombs in cloudy weather because clouds interfere with the lasers. If pilots flew beneath the cloud cover to guarantee a hit, they risked exposure to Iraqi anti-aircraft fire.
So the Pentagon ordered researchers at Eglin Air Force Base to develop a solution to the problem. The scientists say they have.
“We’ve capitalized on the ability to use the Global Positioning System,” said scientist Frank Robbins. “We can strike the Earth where we want, in all weather, day or night.”
The Global Positioning System, or GPS, is a series of orbiting satellites developed by the military to pinpoint specific locations on the Earth’s surface.