Re: PLAAF precision guided munitions
well, Galileo is not up yet. If something like this is going to be using Galileo for guidance, then it will be a future update. China could very well be using glonass for its own version, but there is no evidence of that. In the end of the day, it seems to be far more logical for China to wait for its own Beidou 2 (or Compass, whatever you want to call it) to get set up.So, are you saying china won't use it because it knows it can't use it? But at the same time, they know other countries might use it so they are selling it outside china only?
Doesn't galileo have just one working mode? Unlike GPS, it is not designed in such a way that owner can selectively deny just the civilian gps signals. In order to deny usage of galileo signal over one area on earth, one has to shut off the signal for everyone there.
Also, we don't know if there is any chinese money in rebuilding of glonass network which is going on at nice pace. Wouldn't be surprised if china is hedging its bets. And such an arrangement could fairly easely be hidden from third parties.
LGB and TV guidance is nice but like said, it is both more expensive and less precise in very harsh weather. Also, range for LGBs is fairly short. Speaking of TV guidance, one can basically turn the bomb into a RC gliding vehicle, no? If it has a protected enough datalink, that is. And target large enough/contrast-y enough for the operator to spot.