BLU-109 bomb

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BLU-109
BLU-109 aboard F-15E.jpg
A BLU-109 aboard an F-15E Strike Eagle configured as a JDAM
TypeFree-fall penetration bomb (guided when equipped as JDAM or Paveway)
Place of originUnited States
Service history
In service1985-today
Used by United States Air Force
Israeli Air Force
Wars
Specifications
Mass2,000 lb (910 kg)
Length7 ft 11 in (2.41 m)
Diameter14.6 in (370 mm)

Filling Tritonal [1]
Filling weight550 lb (250 kg) [1]
A BLU-109 aboard a General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon configured as a JDAM BLU-109 aboard F-16.jpg
A BLU-109 aboard a General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon configured as a JDAM
F-16I (Israeli Air Force) with BLU-109 forged steel point tip, and a BLU109 JDAM, 2,000 lb (910 kg) bunker buster penetration bomb F-16I (IAF).jpg
F-16I (Israeli Air Force) with BLU-109 forged steel point tip, and a BLU109 JDAM, 2,000 lb (910 kg) bunker buster penetration bomb

The BLU-109/B is a hardened bunker buster penetration bomb used by the United States Air Force (BLU is an acronym for Bomb Live Unit). As with other "bunker busters", it is intended to penetrate concrete shelters and other hardened structures before exploding. In addition to the US, it is part of the armament of the air forces of Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Israel, Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, and United Arab Emirates. [2]

Contents

Design

The BLU-109/B has a steel casing about 1 inch (25 mm) thick. Its warhead is filled with 550 pounds (250 kg) of Tritonal. [3] It has a mechanical-electrical delayed-action FMU-143 tail-fuze. [4]

The BLU-109 entered service in 1985. It is also used as the warhead of some marks of the GBU-15 electro-optically guided bomb, the GBU-24 Paveway III and GBU-27 Paveway III laser-guided bombs, as well as the GBU-31 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) [5] and AGM-130 air-to-surface missile.

Variants

The BLU-118 is reportedly a thermobaric explosive filler variation on the BLU-109 casing and basic bomb design. [6] It contains PBXIH-135, a traditional explosive. [7]

In 2015 General Dynamics started a $7.2 million development of a version called HAMMER, which is intended to destroy chemical and biological substances by spreading dozens of Kinetic Fireballs Incendiaries (KFI) (not explosions) inside a bunker. The KFIs evolved out of the earlier Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program by Exquadrum, Inc. of Adelanto, California. [8]

Operators

The BLU-109 has been sold to key US allies including South Korea, Israel, Greece, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Pakistan, and Turkey [9] [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuclear bunker buster</span> Earth-penetrating nuclear weapon

A nuclear bunker buster, also known as an earth-penetrating weapon (EPW), is the nuclear equivalent of the conventional bunker buster. The non-nuclear component of the weapon is designed to penetrate soil, rock, or concrete to deliver a nuclear warhead to an underground target. These weapons would be used to destroy hardened, underground military bunkers or other below-ground facilities. An underground explosion releases a larger fraction of its energy into the ground, compared to a surface burst or air burst explosion at or above the surface, and so can destroy an underground target using a lower explosive yield. This in turn could lead to a reduced amount of radioactive fallout. However, it is unlikely that the explosion would be completely contained underground. As a result, significant amounts of rock and soil would be rendered radioactive and lofted as dust or vapor into the atmosphere, generating significant fallout.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bunker buster</span> Munition for penetrating hardened or deeply buried targets

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">GBU-43/B MOAB</span> American large-yield bomb

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The Mark 82 is a 500-pound (230 kg) unguided, low-drag general-purpose bomb, part of the United States Mark 80 series. The explosive filling is usually tritonal, though other compositions have sometimes been used.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">General-purpose bomb</span> Aerial bomb used for multiple purposes

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">B53 nuclear bomb</span> American high-yield nuclear gravity bomb

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paveway IV</span> American precision-guided bomb

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The BLU-116 is a United States Air Force bomb, designed as an enhanced bunker buster penetration weapon, designed to penetrate deep into rock or concrete and destroy hard targets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb</span> American precision-guided glide bomb

The GBU-39/B Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) is a 250-pound (110 kg) precision-guided glide bomb that is intended to allow aircraft to carry a greater number of smaller, more accurate bombs. Most US Air Force aircraft will be able to carry a pack of four SDBs in place of a single 2,000-pound (910 kg) Mark 84 bomb. It first entered service in 2006. The Ground Launched Small Diameter Bomb (GLSDB) was later developed to enable the SDB to be launched from a variety of ground launchers and configurations.

References

  1. 1 2 BLU-109/B fact sheet - Hill AFB, USAF
  2. "BLU-116/B". Forecast International. 2004. p. 4. Archived from the original on 10 March 2012. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
  3. J. Hart, Russell (15 February 2012). "Defeating Hard And Deeply Buried Targets in 2035" (PDF). Defense Technical Information Center (.mil). p. 7-8. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  4. "Gulf War - Air Power Survey, Volume IV - Weapons, Tactics, and Training" (PDF). U.S. Department of Defense. p. 71. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  5. Chow Seng, Chor (December 2008). "A Business Case Analysis of the Hard Target Void Sensing Fuze (HTVSF) Joint Cap Capability Technology Demonstration (JCTD)" (PDF). Defense Technical Information Center (.mil) | Naval Postgraduate School. p. 1. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  6. "BLU-118/B Thermobaric Weapon". GlobalSecurity.org. Archived from the original on 27 July 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
  7. Little, Robert. "A race to get a new bomb for cave war". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  8. Drew, James. "Pentagon taps General Dynamics to test fireball bunker bomb". Archived from the original on 19 February 2018.
  9. "The Most "Political" of All Bombs". Archived from the original on 6 September 2018.
  10. 1 2 "BLU-109/B (Bomb Live Unit)". www.haf.gr.