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Laser guided bombs are quite accurate and cause considerable damage to most targets. However, bunkers, heavily reinforced buildings and buried structures can generally withstand such attacks. For that reason the U.S. developed a penetration warhead designated BLU-109. Compared to a standard 2,000 lb (907 kg) high-explosive bomb the BLU-109 is quite narrow and made of high-grade forged steel. Penetration capability is directly proportional to the warhead's sectional density - its weight divided by its cross section. This means that a bomb of a given weight can penetrate better just by forming it into a narrow shape. Advances in fuse technology have enhanced the effectiveness of these penetrating weapons even further. Most notably, the Hard-Target Smart Fuse (HTSF) allows great precision in attacking heavily fortified structures. The HTSF has an accelerometer which can be programmed to detonate the bomb at a precisely specified depth or after crashing through a specified number of walls.| Structure: | single-piece, forged casing of hardened 4340 high-grade steel |
| Length: | 98.54 in |
| Diameter: | 14.5 in (370 mm) |
| Explosive Filling: | 535 lb (243 kg) Tritonal or PBXN-109 explosive |
| Overall Weight: | 1,950 lb (885 kg) |
| Pentration of reinforced concrete: | 6 ft (1.8 m) |
| Fuze: | FMU-143 Series; provision for a variety of additional fuzes. |
| Weapons Systems: | GBU-10, GBU-15, GBU-24, GBU-27, AGM-130 |
| Structure: | thick, high-grade steel |
| Length: | 153 in |
| Diameter: | 14.5 in (370 mm) |
| Explosive Filling: | 630 lb (285 kg) Tritonal explosive |
| Overall Weight: | 4,400 lb (2000 kg) |
| Pentration of reinforced concrete: | more than 20 ft (6 m) |
| Fuze: | FMU-143 Series |
| Weapons Systems: | GBU-28, GBU-37 |
| Structure: | Elongated narrow diameter case made of a tough nickel-cobalt steel alloy called Air Force 1410 encased in an aluminum shroud to duplicate the external dimensions, mass properties, and aerodynamics of a standard BLU-109. With thicker case walls and an improved nose shape the BLU-116 has at least twice the penetrative power of the BLU-109 |
| Length: | 98.54 in (2.4 m) |
| Diameter: | 14.5 in (370 mm) |
| Explosive Filling: | 240 lb (109 kg) PBXN |
| Overall Weight: | 1927 lb (874 kg) |
| Pentration of reinforced concrete: | 11 ft (3.4 m) |
| Fuze: | Hard Target Smart Fuze (FMU-157) |
| Weapons Systems: | GBU-15, GBU-24, GBU-27, AGM-130 |
| Structure: | single-piece, forged warhead casing of one-inch, high-grade steel |
| Length: | 98.54 in |
| Diameter: | 14.5 in (370 mm) |
| Explosive Filling: | 560 lb (254 kg) 'thermobaric'* explosive |
| Overall Weight: | 1,975 lb (895 kg) |
| Pentration of reinforced concrete: | ? 11 ft (3.4 m) |
| Fuze: | FMU-143 fuze modified with a new booster and a 120-millisecond delay. |
| Weapons Systems: | GBU-15, GBU-24, AGM-130 |
| Length: | 141.6 in |
| Diameter: | 54 in |
| Explosive Filling: | 12,600 lb (5715 kg) Aluminum powder slurry |
| Overall Weight: | 15,000 lb (6804 kg) |
| Pentration of reinforced concrete: | The weapon is designed for maximum blast effect not penetration, a 38-inch long fuze extender detonates the BLU-82 a few feet above ground. |
| Weapons Systems: | MC-130 |
Dropped from MC-130 aircraft this weapon can destroy minefields and create instant landing zones for helicopters. The "Daisy Cutter" is, of course, quite lethal to any personnel caught in the blast zone.
| Type: | GBU-10 |
| Service: | Air Force, Navy |
| Weight: | 2081 lb (944 kg) |
| Length: | 170 in |
| Diameter: | 460 mm |
| Fin Span: | 0.72 m, and this extends to 1.68 m |
| Range: | |
| Guidance: | MAU-169 H/B or MAU-169 J/B |
| Warhead: | Mk84 2000 lb (907 kg) |
| Cost: | |
| In Service: | |
| Aircraft: | A-10 F-15 F-16 F-117 F-14 F-18 |
| Use: | 2,637 were dropped in Desert Storm. 303 in Deliberate Force. |
| Type: | |
| Service: | Air Force, Navy |
| Weight: | 611 lb (277 kg) |
| Length: | 131 in |
| Diameter: | 273 mm |
| Fin Span: | 0.43 m; this extends to 1.34 m |
| Range: | |
| Guidance: | MAU-169 H/B or MAU-169 J/B |
| Warhead: | Mk82 500 lb (227 kg) |
| Cost: | |
| In Service: | |
| Aircraft: | A-10 AV-8B F-15 F-16 F-117 F-14 F-18 |
| Use: | 4,493 were dropped in Desert Storm. 125 in Deliberate Force. |
| Type: | |
| Service: | Air Force, Navy |
| Weight: | - |
| Length: | - |
| Diameter: | - |
| Fin Span: | - |
| Range: | |
| Guidance: | - |
| Warhead: | Mk84 2,000 lb (907 kg) |
| Cost: | |
| In Service: | |
| Aircraft: | F-15E F-16 |
| Use: | - |
| Type: | |
| Service: | Air Force, Navy |
| Weight: | 1092 lb (495 kg) |
| Length: | 145 in |
| Diameter: | 350 mm |
| Fin Span: | 0.72 m, and this extends to 1.68 m |
| Range: | |
| Guidance: | MAU-169 H/B or MAU-169 J/B |
| Warhead: | Mk83 1000 lb (454 kg) |
| Cost: | |
| In Service: | |
| Aircraft: | A-10 AV-8B F-15 F-16 F-117 F-14 F-18 |
| Use: | 219 were dropped in Desert Storm. 215 in Deliberate Force. |
| Type: | |||
| Service: | Air Force | ||
| Designation: | GBU-24/B | GBU-24A/B | GBU-24B/B |
| Weight: | 2315 lb | 2350 lb | 2350 lb |
| Length: | 173 in | 170 in | 170 in |
| Diameter: | 640 mm | 370 mm | 370 mm |
| Fin Span: | 0.94 m, which extends to 2.0 m | 0.94 m, which extends to 2.0 m | 0.94 m, which extends to 2.0 m |
| Air Foil Group: | BSU-84A/B | BSU-84A/B | BSU-84/B |
| Adapter Group: | none | ADG-769/B | ADG-770/B |
| Range: | |||
| Guidance: | WGU-12B/B or 39A/B or 43/B | WGU-12B/B or 39A/B or 43/B | WGU-12B/B or 39A/B or 43/B |
| Warhead: | Mk84 2000 lb | BLU-109 | BLU-109 |
| Cost: | $53,933 | $65,199 | |
| In Service: | |||
| Aircraft: | A-10 F-15 F-16 F-14 F-18 | ||
| Use: | 1,181 (284 GBU-24/B and 897 GBU-24A/B) were dropped in Desert Storm, all by F-111s. 6 more were used in Deliberate Force | ||
| Type: | |
| Service: | Air Force |
| Weight: | 2170 lb (984 kg) |
| Length: | 167 in |
| Diameter: | 370 mm |
| Fin Span: | 0.72 m, and this extends to 1.68 m |
| Air Foil Group: | BSU-88/B |
| Range: | |
| Guidance: | WGU-25B/B or 39A/B |
| Warhead: | BLU-109 |
| Cost: | $62,774 |
| In Service: | |
| Aircraft: | F-117 |
| Use: | 739 were dropped in Desert Storm, all by F-117 Stealth Fighters |
| Type: | |
| Service: | Air Force |
| Weight: | 4650 lb (2109 kg) |
| Length: | 230 in |
| Diameter: | 370 mm |
| Fin Span: | 0.72 m, and this extends to 1.68 m |
| Airfoil Group: | BSU-92/B |
| Range: | 8 nm |
| Guidance: | WGU-36A/B |
| Warhead: | BLU-113 |
| Cost: | $131,874 |
| In Service: | 1991 |
| Aircraft: | F-15E, F-111 |
| Use: | Only two of these massive weapons were used in Desert Storm. |
| Type: | Paveway II (UK) |
| Service: | UK |
| Weight: | 1205 lb |
| Length: | 136 in |
| Diameter: | 16.5 in |
| Fin Span: | 67 in |
| Range: | 8 nm |
| Guidance: | MAU-169 H/B or MAU-169 J/B |
| Warhead: | 1,000 lb |
| Cost: | |
| In Service: | |
| Aircraft: | Tornado |
| Use: |
| Type: | |||
| Service: | |||
| Designation: | BGL-250 | BGL-400 | BGL-1000 |
| Weight: | ? | 475 kg (1045 lb) | ? |
| Length: | 131.07 in (3.329 m) | 133.94 in (3.402 m) | 165.83 in (4.212 m) |
| Diameter: | 8.98 in (0.228 m) | 15.87 in (0.403 m) | 18 in (0.457 m) |
| Fin Span: | 25.2 in (0.64 m) | 31.06 in (0.789 m) | 35.43 in (0.90 m) |
| Range: | |||
| Guidance: | Thomson-CSF TMV 630 Eblis semi-active laser homing | ||
| Warhead: | 250 kg (551 lb) bomb | 400 kg (882 lb) bomb | 1000 kg (2,205 lb) bomb |
| Cost: | |||
| In Service: | |||
| Aircraft: | |||
| Use: | Several air forces have ordered more than 1,750 General Purpose and Penetration versions of the LGB. The weapon was used successfully in Bosnia (1994) and in the Balkans (1999) on French Mirage 2000D aircraft. | ||
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