United States Military Weapons of War
Part 2: Non-Nuclear Missiles and Bombs (Page 4)

GBU-15. The GBU-15 bomb is an unpowered, glide weapon used to destroy high value enemy targets. It is designed to be used with F-15E and F-111F aircraft. The weapon consists of modular components that are attached to either an MK-84 or BLU-109 penetrating warhead. Each weapon has five components -- a forward guidance section, warhead adapter section, control module, airfoil components and a weapon data link.

The guidance section is attached to the nose of the weapon and contains either a television guidance system for daytime or an imaging infrared system for night or limited, adverse weather operations. A data link in the tail section sends guidance updates to the control aircraft that enables the weapon systems operator to guide the bomb by remote control to its target. The umbilical receptacle passes guidance and control data between cockpit control systems of the launching aircraft and the weapon prior to launch. The rear control section consists of four wings are in an X-like arrangement with trailing edge flap control surfaces for flight maneuvering.

The control module contains the autopilot, which collects steering data from the guidance section and converts the information into signals that move the wing control surfaces to change the weapons flight path. The GBU-15 may be used in direct or indirect attack. In a direct attack, the pilot selects a target before launch, locks the weapon guidance system onto it and launches the weapon. The weapon automatically guides itself to the target, enabling the pilot to leave the area. In an indirect attack, the weapon is guided by remote control after launch. The pilot releases the weapon and, via remote control, searches for the target.

Once the target is acquired, the weapon can be locked to the target or manually guided via the data-link system. This highly maneuverable weapon has an optimal, low-to-medium altitude delivery capability with pinpoint accuracy. It also has a standoff capability. Desert Storm F-111F pilots used GBU-15 glide bombs to seal flaming oil pipeline manifolds sabotaged by Saddam Hussein's troops.

Primary Function: Air-to-surface guided glide bomb.
Mission: Offensive counter air, close air support, interdiction, naval anti- surface warfare
Targets: Mobile soft, fixed hard, fixed soft
Service: Air Force
Contractor: Rockwell International Corp.
First capability: 1983
Guidance System: Television Electro Optical TV via Mid-course guidance Beacon Data Link
Launch Weight: 3640 lbs
Length: 12 feet, 10.5 inches (3.91 meters)
Diameter: 18 inches (0.45 meters)
Wingspan: 4 feet, 11 inches (1.49 meters)
Range: Greater than 5 nautical miles
Ceiling: 30,000-plus feet (9,091 meters)
Speed: Classified
Warheads: Mk-84 general purpose or
BLU-109 penetrating bombs
Explosive: 945 Lbs. Tritonal[Mk-84]
535 Lbs. Tritonal [BLU-109]
Production unit cost: $195,000

GBU-24 Paveway III. The GBU-24 is a third generation laser guided bomb, called the Paveway III, and contains a penetrating warhead. The bomb is a precision guided munition effective against a broad range of high-value targets. It can be employed from various altitudes to include low, medium, and high altitude operations. The Paveway III was developed by Texas Instruments and is employed by the F-111, F-15E, and F-16. The GBU-24s performance was proved successfully during the Gulf War, and it remains in production.

The Paveway III uses semiactive laser homing to guide to its target, and has an advanced guidance section with an adapted high lift airframe to improve stability and performance. The system provides operational flexibility with the use of an adaptive auto pilot feature, along with a very sensitive scanning seeker. The entire bomb weighs 2,350 pounds and is approximately 14 feet long.

Mission: Close air support, interdiction, offensive counter air, naval anti- surface warfare
Targets: Mobile hard, fixed soft, fixed hard
Service: Air Force, Navy
First capability: 1983
Guidance method: Laser
Range: Greater than 10 nautical miles
Production unit cost: $55,600
Quantity: 13,114
Platforms: A-6, A-10, F-14, F-15, F-16, F/A-18, F-111

GBU-27. The GBU-27 is a 2,200 pound laser-guided bomb designed specifically for use by the F-117 Stealth Fighter. It is a highly accurate, hard-structure munition compatible with the F-117's advanced target acquisition/designator system. The GBU-27 uses a BLU-109 improved performance 2,000 pound bomb developed in 1985 under the project name HAVE VOID. The BLU-109 was designed for use against hardened structures and features a high-strength forged steel case and a new delayed-action tail fuze. It carries 550 pounds of high explosives and can penetrate more than six feet of reinforced concrete before exploding.

The GRU-27 uses a modified Paveway II guidance control unit which provides "terminal trajectory shaping" for optimum impact angle against various target structures. For example, it will hit an aircraft shelter with a vertical impact, but make a horizontal approach to a bridge support. A Paveway II tail assembly with folding wings completes the bomb.

The F-117 can carry two GBU-27s in two weapons bays and is reportedly capable of hitting a one square meter target from an altitude of 25,000 feet. The GBU-27 was used extensively during Desert Storm, with a claimed hit probability of over 95 percent.

Mission: Close air support, interdiction, offensive counter air, naval anti- surface warfare
Targets: Mobile hard, fixed hard, fixed soft
Service: Air Force
First capability: 1987
Guidance method: Laser
Range: Greater than 10 nautical miles
Production unit cost: $55,000
Quantity: 3,213
Platform: F-117

GBU-28. The GBU-28 is the famed bunker buster used in Desert Storm. It was developed in minimal time under USAF's rapid response program. It is primarily used as a deep penetration weapon against buried and hardened command and control facilities. The bomb is essentially an Army 8 inch howitzer modified with a GBU-27 guidance kit to produce a 4,700 pound laser guided bunker busting bomb. Lockheed Missile and Space System was the contractor on the project. Two GBU-28s were dropped in Desert Storm by F-111s but has been flight tested for use on the F-15E too. Advanced versions to improve operational capability and flexibility are being studied.

Mission: Offensive counter air, close air support, interdiction
Targets: Fixed hard
Class: 4,000 lb. Penetrator, Blast/Fragmentation
Service: Air Force
Contracto:r Lockheed (BLU-113/B), National Forge (BLU-113A/B),
First capability: 1991
Weight (lbs.): 4,414
Length (in.): 153
Diameter (in.): 14.5
Explosive: 6471bs. Tritonal
Guidance: method Laser
Range: Greater than 5 nautical miles
Production unit cost: $145,600
Quantity: 125 plus additional production
Platforms: F-15E, F-111F

BLU-82B Daisy Cutter. The Daisy Cutter was first used by the Air Force in the final year of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War for clearing thick jungle areas to create instant landing zones for Army helicopters. Air Force documents call the BLU-82B weapon system “Commando Vault.”

It is a general-purpose “dumb bomb” loaded aboard newer versions of the C-130 Hercules, a four-engine workhorse used by the Air Force for more than 30 years.

Because the bomb lacks a tail fin assembly, the same parachute that pulls the weapon from the back of the C-130 keeps its nose down as it falls.

The warhead contains 12,600 pounds of explosives and is detonated just above the ground by a 38-inch fuse probe extending from the bomb’s nose.

It produces enough power to level trees and buildings.

Eleven BLU-82s were dropped during Operation Desert Storm, all from special operations C-130s known as Combat Talons.

The initial drops were intended to test the bomb’s ability to clear mines; however, no reliable assessment was completed because the war didn’t last long enough.

The crew of a MC-130E Combat Talon special operations airplane dropped a BLU-82 bomb near an Iraqi position.

The bomb detonated in an explosion that momentarily lit up the entire front.

A leaflet drop warned Iraqi soldiers more such bombs would be dropped on their positions; the threat was believed to be responsible for mass defections, including almost all of one Iraqi battalion’s staff.

Class: 15,000 lb. Blast
Guidance: Ballistic
Autopilot: None
Propulsion: None
Weight (lb.): 15,000
Length (in): 141.6
Diameter (in): 54
Warhead (lbs.): 15,000
Explosive:Aluminum Powder (12,600 lbs.)
Fuze: M904 (Nose); M905 (Tail)
Unit Cost: $27,318
Aircraft: MC-130

MOAB. On 11 Mar 03, at about 1300 hours (1:00 PM), Eastern Time, the Air Force conducted the first full operational test of the MOAB (Massive Ordnance Air Burst) bomb, quite literally the largest non-nuclear bomb in the World. The test was conducted at Eglin Air Force Base, in Florida.

The MOAB is designed to replace the BLU-82B "Daisy Cutter," which was used successfully in Vietnam for clearing thick jungle areas to create instant landing zones for Army Helicopters, and again during the Gulf War (where 11 Daisy Cutters were dropped from Special Operations C-130 aircraft), and again in Afghanistan.

MOAB officially stands for "Massive Ordinance Air Burst," but many folks involved in the test program have begun referring to the weapon as "Mother of All Bombs." While the test was reported to be a success, it's too soon to tell if enough MOABs can be manufactured in time for use in the conflict with Iraq.

There is not yet much public information available about the MOAB. It weighs 21,500 pounds, compared to the 15,000 pound Daisy Cutter, and is the size of a small truck. Like the Daisy Cutter, the MOAB is designed to be dropped out of the back of a C-130 aircraft, but can possibly be dropped from a C-17 aircraft, as well.

Unlike the Daisy Cutter, which is a free-fall (dumb) bomb, that descends attached to a parachute, the MOAB is a precision bomb guided by GPS (Global Position Satellite). After being pulled out of the cargo hold of the aircraft by a parachute, the parachute releases, and the GPS guides the bomb to the target destination. At a designated altitude, the MOAB sprays the area with a highly flammable mist, which is then ignited by a conventional explosive within the bomb. The results are a truly devastating explosion that can destroy tanks, buildings, and personnel in an area of several hundreds of meters.

Primary Function: Guided air-to-surface weapon
Contractor: Dynetics
Guidance System: GPS/inertial gyroscopes
Launch Weight: 21,500 pounds, incl. 18,000 pounds of high explosives
Diameter: 40.5 inches

> Page 1, 2, 3, 4

Above Photographs Official U.S. Air Force & Navy Photographs