This week, Pentagon officials announced that two new weapons were introduced to root out Taliban resisters and the elusive Osama bin Laden: a precision missile warhead and a wind-corrected bomb dispenser.

B-52 bombers have dropped a 3,000-pound precision missile, called the AGM-142 "Have Nap," on caves where Taliban or al-Qaida holdouts may be holed up.

Each missile warhead is armed with 750 pounds of explosives and is equipped with a special tip that penetrates rock.

The missile was produced jointly with Israel several years ago, but is seeing its first use in the war on terrorism after the Air Force adopted it for heavy bomber use.

A medium-range conventional missile, the weapon allows the B-52H to launch high-precision attacks from long range, Air Force officials said.

The missile’s flight can be viewed on a cockpit television monitor, its trajectory adjusted until impact.

The AGM-142 adds additional precision-guided munitions capability for the aging but constantly updated B-52H, traditionally known for dropping "dumb bombs."

Enhancements to the AGM-142 system are done at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control in Orlando, Fla., and Troy, Ala., and at locations in Israel.

The missile weighs 3,000 pounds, is 16 feet long, and is powered by a solid propellant rocket motor with a range in excess of 50 nautical miles.

Warheads and seekers are modular to allow four different missile configurations.

According to an Air Force Gulf War Airpower Study, Have Naps were not used during Desert Storm because of potential policy implications of launching an Israeli-made weapon against an Arab country.

Meanwhile, the first combat use of the Wind Corrected Munitions Dispenser in Afghanistan is earning the praise of U.S. military officials, Col. Ken Merchant, director of the Area Attack Systems Program Office at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., told The Associated Press.

The dispenser was developed after operational limitations during Operation Desert Storm.

Adverse weather, smoke and dust severely limited a pilot’s ability to deliver cluster bombs accurately from higher altitudes.

WCMD corrected this deficiency by turning three major cluster bomb units, or CBUs, into "smart"
precision-guided weapons.

The munition is steered from its release point to the target while compensating for aircraft movements, winds, surface winds and adverse weather conditions.

Merchant declined to say when the WCMD was used or against what specific targets, but he did say it was dropped from a B-52 and dispensed the CBU-87 Combined Effects Munition (CEM).

Also built by Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, the WCMD tail kit allows delivery of weapons from altitudes up to 40,000 feet, Merchant said.

"During the Gulf War, we had problems," Merchant said. "We were required to deliver at low levels with dispenser weapons, but problems with oil, fire, smoke and sand and other things got in the way."

That meant pilots had to drop bombs from higher altitudes, increasing the chances they would miss.

The first WCMDs were fielded last year, and the weapon was cleared about the same time for use on the B-52 and the F-16, Merchant said.

While Merchant said he couldn’t talk about specific employment of the WCMD in Afghanistan, he did say generically what kind of targets it can be used against.

"For CEM, it’s useful primarily against the softer targets — troops, softer vehicles, anything that’s not armored — basically, a truck or actually something that’s got light armor on it."

Officials at Eglin, where the dispenser was tested, said the kit achieved an accuracy of fewer than 30 feet from intended targets.

Gen. John P. Jumper, Air Force chief of staff, told reporters during a Pentagon briefing Nov. 27 that the accuracy of weapons delivery has increased in Afghanistan.