Word: exocet
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...just as real. One is simply the exasperation always felt at watching diplomacy devolve to bloodshed. Another is the childish reactions that events like these inevitably bring out, especially in observers. Both wars have been remarkable for their displays of weapons and tactics. The effects of Argentina's Exocet missiles are still benumbing to consider. The story, when finally told, of how the Israelis adapted their E-2C Hawkeye surveillance planes to take out the Syrian MiGs is bound to enter national legend. Descriptions of what the new equipment can do are spellbinding: ECMs, HUDs, jamming and antijamming devices; "smart...
Ironically, the most impressive weapon in the war came from Argentina's arsenal: the French-built Exocet missiles, which sank the H.M.S. Sheffield. And in the final analysis, military experts agree, Argentina was defeated not by sophisticated weaponry but by the superior training, tactics and morale of the British forces...
...frigate, H.M.S. Antelope, destroyed when a bomb in its midsection exploded as efforts were being made to defuse it (see photograph at right); a destroyer, H.M.S. Coventry, sunk by bombing; and a supply vessel, the Atlantic Conveyor, disabled and abandoned. The Conveyor was hit by the same type of Exocet missile that sank the British destroyer H.M.S. Sheffield four weeks ago. Including another frigate, H.M.S. Ardent, sunk on May 22, Britain said it had lost five ships in the struggle to regain the islands, but Argentina claimed Royal Navy losses were higher than that...
...four of the attackers but was hit and sunk by later sorties. Then the 14,946-ton Atlantic Conveyor, a merchant ship hired for the task force, was attacked by two of Argentina's deadliest type of warplane: the French-built Super-Etendard fighters that carry the sea-skimming Exocet missile. The aircraft fired their weapons from a distance of about 28 miles. One missed the Conveyor; the other struck home. Though the vessel stayed afloat, the crew abandoned ship. Loss of the Conveyor was particularly painful for the British: the ship was carrying a large load of invasion equipment...
...Chief of Naval Operations Thomas Hayward to worry: "We are pushing the Navy as hard as you can push it in peacetime." Argentina was also being increasingly hard-pressed by the war and was searching world markets for spare parts and weapons. In particular, the Argentines were seeking Exocet missiles. Originally, there were believed to be only six in the country's arsenal, and four have already been fired. Only a few other countries in the world might have Exocets to sell. Among them: Iraq, Pakistan, South Africa and Peru. The latter has already offered Argentina military support. A Peruvian...